Zkouška umění

Artistic endeavour isn’t about competing; even so, applicants still have to be placed in order of merit at the academy’s entrance exams. But how do you assess artistic talent? And what role can art play in today’s world? Adéla Komrzý and Tomáš Bojar decided to film talent exams in three studios at Prague’s Academy of Fine Arts. In their observational documentary they pose simple questions that we are usually afraid to ask; perhaps because, in other situations, they lead to unsatisfactory or even banal answers. The directors also demonstrate that a portrait of an institution can also be taken as a light generational statement, in which it makes sense to ask why a person feels the need to create art in the same way he needs to know that bread costing a mere 14 crowns might stay fresh for a whole week. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)