by Sandy Mandelberger, Festival Dailies Editor

VACLAV, an award-winning Czech drama, will open the 25th edition of FESTROIA: Troia International Film Festival on Friday evening, September 4. The film, winner of several Czech Lions (the Czech Oscar) and awards at the Shanghai Film Festival, is part of a tribute to recent Czech cinema that will present over a dozen films. The Festival, situated in the beautiful coastal resort of Setubal, less than one hour south of Lisbon, is the oldest and most prestigious in the country, known as the "Cannes of Portugal".

VACLAV, written and director by Jiri Vejdelek, is based on a true story that took place during the amnesty period declared by President Vaclav Havel in the early 1990s. Another Vaclav is a man in his 40s who lives with his widowed mother on the outskirts of the village. He is seen by villagers as the local fool, nothing but a constant pain for them, but there is a skeleton in the village closet concerning his father's death. The tension between Vaclav, his brother and the village escalates into a criminal act which sends the mentally unstable man into prison. His mother decides to ask for a presidential pardon from Vaclav Havel, but it will only have a chance if she submits a letter of support signed by all the villagers.

The drama won Czech Lions for Ivan Trojan as the autistic man-child and Jan Budar as his brother. At the Shanghai Film Festival, the film was honored for its screenplay by Marek Epstein and for Emilia Vasayrova, who won the Best Actress prize as the mother in this tense triangle.

FESTROIA will present a truly international showcase of new films from around the world. For a complete list of films and events, visit the Festival website: www.festroia.pt and stay tuned to this Festival Dailies site for all the excitement.