Joint photo after the press screening of the film Children of Nagana directed by Dan Pánek, February 16, 2023, Prague.
Prague – The family film Children of Nagana, directed by Dan Pánek, will premiere on Wednesday, February 22. In the Czech Republic, movie theaters usually show new movies on Thursdays, but the creators wanted to have the premiere exactly 25 years after the victory of the Czech hockey players at the Olympic tournament in Nagano. At the festive premiere in Cinema City Slovanský dům, the film will be introduced by sports commentator Robert Záruba, the patron of the film Dominik Hašek will be directly in the delegation of the creators, and other former winners should not be missing among the guests. They presented the film to journalists today in a preview.
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“We have also invited other winners and hockey legends of the time, we will see what the list of the celebratory premiere will be in the end,” said director Pánek. “The author of the golden goal at the time, Petr Svoboda, promised to send us at least a greeting from overseas. I would like to emphasize that representatives of the “grandsons of Nagano”, the parents of Martin Nečas and Mrs. Pastrňáková will also arrive at the premiere,” he added.
In the story of the children who inspired the performances of the Czech hockey players at the winning tournament in Nagano, Japan in 1998, Hynek Čermák, Klára Issová or Pavel Batěk will be introduced, with Tom Brenton in the main child role.
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“I basically have no relation to hockey. I played it when I was little, then we shot the series Last season with Hynk Bočan, where I represented the goalkeeper. So I really got to know what the sport is about. I played against the Jágr Team and Dominik (Hašek) taught me how to catch. I don't watch much hockey, but of course I saw the final in Nagano with my friends, it was a great euphoria, it was worth it. The defeat of the Russians was especially important to me at the time,” said ČTK Čermák, who in in the film he represents a peculiar coach and former hockey player.
Director Pánek tells partly his own story, 25 years ago he was ten years old and, like the group of boys in the film, he lived off the success of Czech hockey players, his dream was the goalkeeper Hašek, whom got him as an ambassador for the film and gave him a minor role. Hašek appreciated that Children of Nagana is a family film that children will go to with their parents. According to him, today's children especially need the support of their loved ones on their way to sports. He shot the scenes from elementary school in Pečky in Kolínsk, where he comes from.
“With the film we started shooting on the day of the famous victory, we want to pay tribute to the hockey players of Nagano and also to the legendary coach Ivan Hlinka,” noted the film's co-producer Martin Beinhauer . The coach of the Olympic champions died in a car accident in 2004.
