They Can Hear Your Smile
The eponymous debt collection call center takes its marketing slogan to its extreme as depersonalized operators are roused from their lethargy by unbridled laughter. Not mockery, but pure, contagious laughter at the tragicomedy of trapped debtors, its echo tearing apart the operator’s apathy and the walls of the claustrophobic open-plan office.
- Czech Republic
- 2024, 12 min
- Director: Michael Jiřinec
- Director of photography: Patrik Balonek
- Editor: Rosalinda Hálová
- Screenplay: Michael Jiřinec, Alice Krajčírová
- Music: Naran Ratan
- Sound: Matěj Lindner
- Cast: Daniela Voráčková, Veronika Švábová, Josef Bobeš Havelka, Jan Dörner, Tomáš Motal, Medard Zeman
- Art Director: Kristína Hudečková
- Coproduction: FAMU
- Producer: Jan Strejcovský
- Production: GPO Platfrom s.r.o.
Michael Jiřinec
Michael Jiřinec was born in Brno and, after putting in much effort, eventually made Prague his base. In his studies, he dabbled in film theory and production before finding his niche in documentary filmmaking. He specializes in auteur filmmaking and is interested in exploring social themes, the outsider perspective, open-mindedness, and the destruction of his ego.