CzechMate - in Search of Jiri Menzel directed by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, is an in-depth exploration of the work of renowned Czech director Jiri Menzel and the Czech New Wave.

CzechMate: In Search of Jirí Menzel

The story of the extraordinary friendship of three great Slovak modernist poets who formed the legendary literary group "The Lonely Runners" in 1963. The group’s existence was announced in the manifesto “The Merits of Three-legged Nightingales” and their motto posited that “the good angels of humanity return to our minds and feelings – frankness of speech, nobility of intentions and righteousness of deeds”. Physically, they parted ways: Peter Repka moved to Germany in the 1970s, Ivan Laučík lived most of his life in the peaceful Liptovsky Mikulas and Ivan Štrpka in Bratislava. Even though their meetings were rare, their friendship held strong despite all obstacles. Their work is still considered one of the most important in modern Slovak poetry. The film follows a meeting of these three giants of poetry and their journey together, during which they meet with friends and visit places important to them. A story of an inspirational friendship.