News
Progresus becomes partner to the film Děti Nagana
Links between the Progresus Group and Czech cinema date back to the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Now we continue in our support of this film about ice hockey dreams come true. Děti Nagana will hit cinema screens in February 2023 and we will be there too as general partner. We are extremely pleased to be able to support this extraordinary picture by the talented director, Dan Pánek, at the same time motivating young people towards sport. A good screenplay must not remain as just words written on paper.
Family film, Děti Nagana, which will remind viewers of the atmosphere of the nineties, premieres on 23 February of the coming year. This date is precisely the day following the 25th anniversary of the famous victory by the Czech ice hockey team at the Winter Olympics in Nagano. The film, which is about children’s dreams coming true and about support that begins within the family, also features ice hockey icon, goal-tender from Nagano, Dominik Hašek. Director and author of the screenplay, Dan Pánek, says this about the purpose of the film: “This film doesn’t tell the story of the Czech ice hockey team that played at Nagano, but it is a tribute to their success and celebrates legends such as Dominik Hašek and the legendary trainer, Ivan Hlinka. It is dedicated to all heroes, with a message saying that children’s dreams must be encouraged.”
Why did we decide to support Děti Nagana?
“Over the past thirty years, the Czech Republic has reached a whole range of milestones and one of these was February 1998, when our hockey team achieved the impossible, winning the gold medal for ice hockey at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. And so when the opportunity arose to become partner of the new film Children of Nagano, we didn’t hesitate for an instant,” says Lukáš Zrůst, one of our co-founders, adding: “In our investment group we have a saying that “a good scenarios shouldn’t stay on paper” and we are delighted that we were able to make sure that this one didn’t. And it is directed by the young and talented Dan Pánek, who grasped the task very professionally. We first met Dan in the spring, when he filmed our spot for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and he convinced us then that he is massively talented, and we are sure that filmgoers will agree with us. Děti Nagana is about children’s sporting dreams coming true. This concept is close to our hearts and all of us at Progresus have long been supporting children on their journey towards successfully living out their lifetime screenplay.”
The film’s cast includes such illustrious names as Hynek Čermák, Klára Issová, Pavel Batěk, Otakar Brousek Jr., Taťjana Medvecká, Simona Babčáková, Štěpánka Fingerhutová, with Tom Brenton, Johanka Racková and Fabian Šetlík making their acting debuts in the children’s roles. The film also treats us to a cameo appearance by renowned member of the Nagano Olympic team, goal-tender Dominik Hašek
Not only the cast, but also the locations where the story unfolds are inimitable. Each viewer is nostalgically borne away into the atmosphere of the nineteen nineties. “Not one shot that the viewer sees was filmed in a studio – everything was filmed in real locations. Over three hundred people were involved in making this film and 17 hockey sticks were broken,” adds co-producer from Visual Riders, Martin Beinhauer, revealing some details from the filming process.
We greatly look forward to the premiere in February. We are confident that this screenplay we have again helped to bring from paper to the screen will thrill the Czech public.