For 25-year-old Ivan Mistrík, this psychological drama directed by Jiří Krejčík in 1960 marked his tenth feature film. A Higher Principle is now considered one of the most acclaimed works of post-war Czech cinema. Based on a short story of the same name from Jan Drda’s collection The Silent Barricade, the film draws inspiration from real events – and Drda himself also co-wrote the screenplay. Breaking free from the ideological clichés of its time, the story centres on the execution of 16-year-old Antonín Stočes, a grammar school student from Příbram who was arrested and killed during the Heydrich terror for expressing anti-Nazi views. While the film’s emotional core lies in the quiet but resolute moral stand of Latin teacher Málek – brilliantly portrayed by František Smolík – it also paints a nuanced portrait of the varied responses of small-town society under occupation.

The film will be introduced by Juraj Čurný, the spokeman of the festival.