Director Ivan Ostrochovský just dropped a heavy, unflinching piece of cinema at the 60th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. His latest project, Only Beautiful Things to Look At (original title: Prameň), premiered on July 5 and immediately pulled the audience into one of the darkest historical chapters of 1980s communist Czechoslovakia. The film tackles the state’s systemic forced sterilization of Romani women. The Czech theatrical release is slated for July 16.
The narrative centers on Ingrid, played by Aňa Geislerová. She is a successful doctor who routinely performs these unethical reproductive procedures. The state actively manipulated marginalized women into the surgeries using false promises of financial compensation. Ingrid executes her orders without asking questions. But that changes when she forms a friendship with Agáta, a young orderly played by Simona Boledovičová.
The production leans hard into a cold, clinical atmosphere. Critics highlighted the project’s reliance on striking camera compositions to build an unsettling mood. Cinematographer Juraj Chlpík framed the cruelty with visual precision rather than heavy dialogue.
The film is currently competing for the prestigious Crystal Globe Grand Prix in Karlovy Vary’s main competition. It faces 11 other world premieres in the category. One of its primary challengers for the top prize is Hijamat, produced by Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi.