Private Universe

In a documentary that is reminiscent of Michael Apted's series, Helena Trestíková shows the history of an average Czech family. When her friend Jana became pregnant with her first child in 1974, Trestíková asked her if she could film the birth. Jana consented, and together with her baby, a very special, long-lasting project was born. Over a period of 37 years, Trestíková filmed the expanding family of Jana and her husband Petr, with particular focus on their first-born Honza. Before her camera's eye, he came into the world, blew out his first candles and got his first pimples. Meanwhile, Petr kept a diary of family life. Thirty-seven years later, Petr sits with his diaries in front of him and watches the trove of footage Trestíková has filmed. Visibly moved, he looks on as his family grows and changes, reading from the diaries as the images pass by. This personal family chronicle is placed against the backdrop of Czech history. Back in 1974, the country was still hidden under the veil of the Iron Curtain. Using her beautiful archive footage, Trestíková sketches an era in which two world powers were embroiled in the space race, singer Karel Gott celebrated great success, the Cold War came to an end with the fall of the Berlin Wall, and Václav Havel became a national hero.