Fair Play (film)

Plot

Set in Czechoslovakia in 1983, the film tells the story of Anna, a sprinter who is hoping to compete in the Olympics, and is selected into the national team. She is placed in a special state-run medical treatment where she is given anabolic steroids ("Stromba") by her trainer. Her performance increases but later discovers the negative effect of taking the steroids, causing her to stop using them.

Anna's father escaped Chechoslovakia for the West which takes a toll of her mother's career, as she is unable to find any decent job. Additionally, she is under frequent surveillance of the secret service. She sees her daughter's participation in the Olympic Games as the opportunity for Anna to emigrate, so she secretly continues to give her the injections of steroids. She also has contacts with her former love Marek, a political dissident for whom she types the essays which are considered hostile to the government, causing her more trouble with the secret service agents. Meanwhile Anna falls in love and is more and more reluctant to emigrate.

Production

The film was shot in Prague, Bratislava, and Vysoké Tatry; there were also plans to shoot in Germany.

Judit Bárdos and Eva Josefíková went through athletic training for six months prior to filming, in order to be able to perform the running scenes realistically. Nonetheless, doubles replaced the main actors in certain scenes.

The title song was recorded by Miro Žbirka in the London Abbey Road Studios.

Cast

Accolades

Fair Play was submitted by the Czech Film and Television Academy as an Oscar candidate, but did not get nominated.

The film received four nominations for the Czech Film Critics Award, but won none. It also received the largest number of nominations (15) for the 2014 Czech Lion Awards, but did not win any; however, it did receive the Film Fans Award and the non-statutory award for Best Film Poster.