Stop Time

This documentary about five Czech women and men traces the months when life came to a standstill because of the covid-19 pandemic. How did actress Vanda Hybnerová, singer-songwriter Radůza, theologian Tomáš Halík, ski resort operator David Chmelař, and café owner Havel Parkán cope with the situation? From one day to the next, they lost the opportunity to work, lost clients, moved their business to a digital environment, but most importantly, had to learn to wait. The experience of lockdown is conveyed through the lives of individuals trying to reconcile their professions with anti-pandemic measures. While Radůza starts to earn money through her hobby, Tomáš Halík celebrates mass online in an empty church. The subjects of the documentary oscillate between scepticism regarding the decisions of politicians and violation of prohibitions. But no one loses hope. The documentary’s primary focus is not the unknown virus, but the people themselves who refused to give up. (One World)