VOLKLORE, AN EXPERIMENTAL FILM BY A FAMU STUDENT, WON A STUDENT OSCAR. THE GOLD, SILVER, AND BRONZE MEDALS WILL BE DECIDED IN TORONTO.

The experimental video essay *Volklore* by director Viktorie Štěpánová, a graduation film from FAMU’s Center for Audiovisual Studies (CAS), has won a Student Academy Award—a prestigious award presented by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to the best student films from around the world. The film succeeded in the Alternative/Experimental category, in which the Academy annually awards Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals. Which medal the filmmakers will take home from Toronto will be decided during a gala ceremony on September 14, 2026, as part of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Winning a Student Academy Award also means that Volklore has qualified for the 99th Academy Awards in the short film category. This is an extraordinary achievement for Czech cinema. Volklore is the very first Czech film to be honored in the Alternative/Experimental category of the Student Academy Awards.

Volklore had its world premiere this past July at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Imagina section. In just a few weeks, it will reach another significant milestone—it will have its international premiere at one of North America’s leading film festivals in Canada. The film thus continues its exceptionally successful international festival run.

"Volklore is like a year in a digital village. Viktorie Štěpánová has created an extravagant fair of ideas, a playful blend of aesthetics ranging from paganism to fashion influencing—a work that organically combines FAMU’s new-wave traditions with contemporary influences. Through its unique language, the film reflects on the new spirituality of consumerism and the consumerism of new spirituality. “We are delighted that a graduation film from one of our newer departments, the Center for Audiovisual Studies, demonstrates that perspective, inventiveness, originality, and free-thinking are values that resonate internationally,” said Vít Schmarc, Ph.D., Vice-Dean for Public Relations and Development at FAMU.

For the Film and Television Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU), this is already the third Student Oscar, following Jan Svěrák’s Ropáci (Oil Gobblers) and Daria Kashcheeva’s Dcera (Daughter), and the very first award of this significance for the Center for Audiovisual Studies —the second-youngest department at FAMU, which strives for an innovative approach to audiovisual creation and is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. With this award, FAMU reaffirms its unique position not only among domestic film schools but also as a successful producer of short films.

The film’s production was supported by the Film and Television Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU), the State Audiovisual Fund, and the PPF Foundation, which has long supported the development of young Czech filmmakers and their international presentation.

About the Film
Volklore is an experimental video essay and a meticulously crafted mockumentary set in a perfectly simulated digital world. It explores how Czech folklore is transforming in the age of social media, where traditions become content, a marketing tool, and a commodity intended for consumption.

The film follows a fictional influencer named Vivi, who guides viewers through seasonal folk customs over the course of a year—but in a world where rituals are transformed into fashion trends, advertising campaigns, and viral content. It draws inspiration from the anarchic poetics of Věra Chytilová’s film *Daisies*, combined with the aesthetics of the world of *Vogue* and Anna Wintour.

Through fake chats, advertisements, an e-shop, and social media, *Volklore* creates a convincing online ecosystem in which authenticity is not only feigned but also sold.

Can folk traditions survive in the age of platforms and influencers without becoming a brand themselves?

Crew
Director: Viktorie Štěpánová
Screenplay: Hermína Perič & Viktorie Štěpánová
Cinematography: Františka Bakošová, Adam Kácha, Eva Gabrižová
Editing: Viktorie Štěpánová
Music: Martin Kožucharov, Tomáš Jiřička
Sound: Jan Licek
Art Director: Viktorie Štěpánová
Cast: Monina Nevrlá
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Producer: Studio FAMU, Tomáš Šimon, Tereza Medková
Co-producer: Viktorie Štěpánová
Distribution: CINEFILA

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1137852240