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Kha-chee-pae

Kha-chee-pae

(Chačipe), Miroslav Janek / ČR, 2005
Czech version, 57 min

Miroslav Janek investigates life in a children’s home by means of play. He invites the kids to become his filmmaking partners: he teaches them how to operate a movie camera, and encourages them to film the environment in which they live. The director introduces the children to various filmmaking crafts, and thus they aren’t limited to merely capturing reality. Together they create animation, shoot skits they have thought up by themselves, and experiment with film materials – all the while revealing many things about their lives. “Hi mom, hi Kuba, I’m in the woods and my phone number is 021905. On the way, I saw forest men, homeless people, nymphs, drunks, and a witch who gave us some snakes. We ate the snakes. Then I flew home to where the beginning is. Big animals were at the table worrying about something. Suddenly, I looked up and the social lady was standing at the door, and Uhu flew to the stars, and there was creepy thunder. Then I dissolved completely, like sugar in water. It was pretty impressive. That’s what I remember. I won’t even mention the car crash.”