Dancing with the Bear

Lucie Bokšteflová (1987) is a Czech screenwriter and dramaturge.

She studied screenwriting and dramaturgy at FAMU. In addition to her work as a screenwriter and dramaturge, she performs as a singer and performer in various musical ensembles.

She wrote the screenplays for the films  I Love You Heavenly (2017) and All the Good Deeds (2025), as well as for the TV series The Rose Garden Clinic (2016, 2017, 2018) and Bitter World (2022), among others.

Awards

Czech Lion

2018 - nomination – Bear with Us (Best Screenplay)

Czech Film Critics' Awards

2018 - winner – Bear with Us (Best Screenplay)

Ferdinand Mazurek (1979) is a Czech cinematographer.

He graduated from the Secondary School of Graphic Arts, specializing in photography, and then studied cinematography at FAMU in Prague. He currently works as a cinematographer. He has been involved in the visual arts, mainly painting, for many years. He is a member of the Mazačkáři and Secret Cross art groups.

As a cinematographer, he has worked on films such as The Gardener's Year (2024), A self-educated Life (2023), The Watchmaker's Apprentice (2019), and others. He has also worked on the series Crime on the Right Track (2025), Cpt. Exner (2017), and Innocent Lies (2014). He has also shot several documentaries.

Awards

Czech Lion

2013 – nomination – Delight (Best Cinematography)

Czech Film Critics' Awards

2013 – nomination – Delight (Best Cinematography)

The character of Linda

 Pavla Gajdošíková (1991) studied acting at the Janáček Conservatory in Ostrava. For her portrayal of Maryša in the play of the same name, she won the Theater Critics' Award, the Jantar Award, and was nominated for the Thalia Award.

Recently, she has appeared in the films See Salisbury (2022), Mistakes (2021), Burning Bush (2013), and the series Milionaires (2025) and Badge Highlands (2024).

The character of Marek

Kryštof Hádek (1982) has been involved in the arts since childhood, when he began performing in the Disman Children's Radio Ensemble. He studied acting at the Prague Conservatory, from which he was expelled in his fourth year due to excessive absences, as he was actively involved in acting during his studies. In 2003–2004, he studied at the Academy of Music and Drama Art in London.

Kryštof Hádek appeared on camera several times as a child, but it was Dark Blue World (dir. Jan Svěrák, 2001) that made him famous, in which he had the opportunity to showcase his acting talent in the role of Sergeant Karel Vojtíšek. For his portrayal of the young pilot, Hádek was nominated for a Czech Lion Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2001.

He also appeared in the films White Lie (2023), The Last Race (2022), The Snake Brothers (2015) and in the series Oktopus (2023), Volga (2023), Maria Theresa (2019) and many others.

Awards

Czech Lion

2023 – winner – Volga (Best Actor)

2020 – nomination – Droneman (Best Actor)

2015 – winner – The Snake Brothers (Best Actor)

2009 – winner – 3 Seasons in Hell (Best Actor)

2001 – nomination – Dark Blue World (Best Supporting Actor)

Czech Film Critics' Awards

2015 – winner – The Snake Brothers (Best Actor)

The character of Jana

Klára Melíšková (1971) studied at the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theater at DAMU in Prague. She is primarily a theater actress, but she has already appeared in a number of interesting film projects.

She made her debut in the drama The Past (1998). She is the recipient of two prestigious Czech Lion film awards for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the innkeeper's wife in the tragicomedy Champions (2004) directed by Marek Najbrt and for her role as the local guru's wife in the tragicomedy Four Suns (2012) directed by Bohdan Sláma.

We could see her in front of the camera, for example, in the films Girl America (2024) and Living Large (2024). We can also see her acting in series such as Bora (2025) and Volga (2023).

Awards

Czech Lion

2024 - nomination – Girl America (Best Supporting Actress)

2022 - winner - Suspicion (Best Actress)

2019 - winner – The Owners (Best Supporting Actress)

2016 - winner – I, Olga Hepnarova (Best Supporting Actress)

2014 - nomination - Angels (Best Actress)

2012 - winner - Four Suns (Best Supporting Actress)

2009 - nomination - Protector (Best Supporting Actress)

2004 - winner - Masters (Best Supporting Actress)

Czech Film Critics' Awards

2012 - Winner – Four Suns (Best Supporting Actress)

The character of Vašek

Vladimír Javorský (1962) was born in Ostrava. He studied at JAMU in Brno, joined the Drama Club in Prague in 1993, and has been working at the National Theater since 1999.

He first appeared on television screens during his studies in the series Black Earth. This was followed by other television roles - Private "Oxygen" in Boys and Man, There Were Five of Us directed by Karel Smyczek, a negative role in The Train of Childhood and Expectation, and certainly his most significant opportunity came in the co-production series The Greatest of Pierrots. Javorský played Kašpar Deburau, the world-famous mime, brilliantly. Perhaps this was thanks to the fact that he had been involved in pantomime before filming and had been a member of a troupe in France for some time, which lived like a real traveling company.

Recently, we have seen him in the films Duchoň (2025), Girl America (2024), Bethlehem Light (2022) and in the series Daughter of the Nation (2024) and The Wheel of Time (2023).

The character of Eva

Zuzana Kronerová (1952) was born in Martin and comes from a famous acting family. Her father was the renowned Slovak actor Jozef Kroner and her mother was the actress Terézia Hurbanová-Kronerová. In high school, she considered studying philology. However, influenced by the acting environment, she applied to the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, majoring in dramaturgy, and eventually decided to study acting there. Her first engagement was in 1974 at the Theater for Children and Youth in Trnava. She made a name for herself on television very early on, appearing in a number of productions while still a student. She is not one of those actresses who win over audiences with their charm, but rather with the strength of their personality. From her early days, she most values the fairy tale The Exchanged Princess, in which she starred alongside her father. She repeated this family collaboration in the television comedy MIŠO, for example. She also appeared in Jakubisko's film Infidelity according to Slovaks, in the comedy Women´s, and in the series VIVAT BEŇOVSKÝ.

In 1979, she moved to Bratislava's Nová scéna theater and also performed at the Slovak National Theater. She has been a permanent member of the Astorka Theater since its founding. There she has performed in productions such as Romeo and Juliet, The Silent House, and Before retiring. After the division of Czechoslovakia, the production of original Slovak television programs decreased significantly, but Zuzana Kronerová made up for it by regularly appearing in supporting roles in Czech films from the mid-1990s onwards. She was cast in films such as Lea, Pupendo, Something Like Happiness, and Vaclav. In the film The Country Teacher, she played the mother of the main character. For her role in the film The Wild Bees, she won a Czech Lion award for best supporting actress. Audiences also fell in love with her in one of Bohdan Sláma's latest films, Ice Mother. She also appeared in the films Bear with Us, The Beloved and Shadow Country. In Slovakia, she is considered one of the most important actresses on the local theater scene.