Highlights of Prix Bohemia Radio 2023

The competing audio documentaries were not without emotion and covered a variety of topics

The first listening day belonged to the documentary category. During the morning, three documentaries were presented in the theatre hall at Konvikt, which each presented a different point of view from a different location to a common topic: the war in Ukraine. The afternoon was devoted to documentaries focusing on a variety of other topics, for example, violence on social networks or environmentalism. Listeners were also given the opportunity to transport themselves to Berlin and experience the changing face of the city over time. The national jury included Barbora Hovorková, Zdeněk Chaloupka and Filip Titlbach. They were joined by two international jury members: Liam O'Brien from the Irish RTÉ, who has been involved in the production of hundreds of radio documentaries and podcasts, and Vaida Pilibaityté from the Lithuanian LRT, a radio journalist and documentary producer. The listening day was hosted by Jiří Žák.

As for the accompanying programme, visitors could stop by the Chapel of Corpus Christi to see representatives of the Czech Radio station Radiožurnál Sport debate the beauty and woes of sports reporting. Visitors were even able to try out the work of a sports commentator for themselves.

The end of the first day was crowned by the opening ceremony of the festival, during which the prestigious Thalia Radio Award was presented to actor Jan Hájek for his role as Jack in Jack Kerouac's play Big Sur.

In the News Report category, the jury was primarily concerned with the nature of the format itself

During the second day of the festival, it was possible to listen to a total of fourteen news reports from all over Europe. Almost half of them covered the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent war, while the remaining reports addressed a wide range of topics. The jury returned again and again to two fundamental questions related to the definition and possibilities of reportage. The first concerned the time limit, which in many cases prevents some topics from being developed in depth. The second focused on the definition of reportage, with comments on the authenticity of the message or where the line between reportage and documentary actually lies.

In the afternoon, festival goers could stop by Konvikt for a presentation of Czech Radio’s unique project Ověřovna, or the Verifier, which breaks down fake news and disinformation. It was presented by the editors of Czech Radio’s news server iROZHLAS – Jana Magdoňová, Tomáš Pika and Martin Samek.

In the evening, the festival audience could visit the Moravian Theatre in Olomouc, where the ensemble of the Prague theater Divadlo v Dlouhé performed the production The Last of the Soviets.

The competing drama works attracted a considerable number of listeners

Wednesday's Prix Bohemia Radio programme presented the five finalists in the Drama section. The works in this category proved to be varied both in theme and genre. During the day, visitors could listen to an intimate monodrama, a cowboy comedy or a mystical horror. The competition dramas were judged by Marek Kundlák, Eva Blechová, Kevin Brew, David Drábek and Ladislav Železný.

The third evening of the festival was dedicated to a live concert of the music group Viah, which together with musician and multimedia programmer TMA managed to fill the Olomouc Jazz Tibet Club with electronic music and a fun atmosphere.

The podcast category returned for its second year at Prix Bohemia Radio

The last day of the festival belonged to podcasts. Many creators submitted their podcasts to the still relatively new section, but only ten of them made it to the final presentation day. These were podcasts of various types, from news and documentaries to fiction and entertainment. In the end, the winner in the podcast category was decided by a total of six expert judges from the multimedia and artistic spheres.

The final festival day also saw a debate on the topic of podcasts, which took place in the atrium of the newly renovated building of Czech Radio Olomouc. The discussion revolved around current trends, methods of promotion and what podcasts have changed in the world of radio and audio.

In the evening, the festival was brought to a close by the final awards ceremony.