Empty Places
Fifteen-year-old Johana has been missing for months, and the police investigation is at a dead end. Desperate and unwilling to accept this hopeless situation, Johana’s mother, Pavlína, turns to a psychic named Schwarz. Together, they embark on their own search, determined to follow every lead. Pavlína clings to hope, refusing to let it fade.
- Czech Republic
- 2026, 25 min
- Director: Vojtěch Novotný
- Director of photography: Matěj Pecka
- Editor: Ondřej Nuslauer, Alan Sýs
- Screenplay: Vojtěch Novotný, Ráchel Absolonová
- Music: Patrik Herman, Darja Kukal Moiseeva
- Sound: Matěj Lindner
- Cast: Petra Špalková, Ondřej Malý, Tomáš Dastlík
- Art Director: Pavlína Chroňáková
- Coproduction: FAMU - Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts
- Producer: Tomáš Pertold
- Production: Perfilm
Vojtěch Novotný
Vojtěch Novotný was born in Prague, where he studied at FAMU’s Department of Directing. His film Parole (2020) won the Ecumenical Jury Award for best student film at the Molodist International Film Festival in Kyiv. His bachelor film Paradise on Earth to See (2022) was selected for several international festivals, including Tallinn Black Nights, Premiers Plans d’Angers, and the Trieste Film Festival.