Bohemia – A Year in the Wetlands

"Bohemia - A Year in the Wetlands is a beautiful and gentle film which shows that even today in the heart of modern Europe there can still be space for wildlife. And also that the pond engineers of the Middle Ages were able to construct a system of irrigation for aquaculture that has not only worked for centuries, but shows that it is possible for humans and wildlife to live side by side, not only in the past but into the future as well.

Bohemia has a long and ancient history; the name was first recorded as Boi-Heim around the first century. Then it was the home of a Celtic tribe - the Boii. Today Bohemia is a part of the Czech Republic and seldom visited by outsiders. It is a hidden jewel in the heart of Europe, where an ancient and virtually unchanged world is surrounded by the 21st Century.

"Bohemia - A Year in the Wetlands" took more than one hundred days to film, through all of the seasons. Michael Schlamberger of ScienceVision worked closely with his long-time friend Jiri Petr who was born and still lives in Bohemia. Between them they were able to get remarkable access to the area and their beautiful cinematography brings both the region and the wild animals vividly to life for the audience.

Camera: Jiri Petr
Written & directed by: Jiri Petr, Michael Schlamberger
Production: ScienceVision

Technical details: 2009 I 52min I HD I 5.1 & stereo I German & English

A ScienceVision production for ORF UNIVERSUM, in association with BR.

Excerpt main festival awards:

  • Sichuan TV Festival, China, July 2010, "Grand Prize for Nature"
  • Tourfilm Festival, Czech Republic, September 2010, "Prize of Czech Tourism" (For the best foreign film about the Czech Republic)
  • Techfilm Festival, Czech Republic, September 2010, "Price for the Best Work of Art"
  • Matsalu Festival, Estonia, September 2010, winner category "Nature"
  • Document Art Internationales Filmfestival, Romania, September 2010, "Best Camera"
  • Ekofilmfestival, Czech Republic, Oktober 2010, winner category "Best Camera"
  • Sondrio Festival, Italy, October 2010, "Lombardy Region" Award
  • JWFF - Japan Wildlife Filmfestival, Japan, August 2011, "Special Jury Award"