Thirteen-year-old singer Karolína joins her sister in an elite girls choir, where a demanding choirmaster's influence shapes her dreams. As she strives for recognition, dark undercurrents emerge in this competitive musical world.
Katerina Falbrová is 15 now, probably 13 or 14 during filming. She has sensitive scenes in the film, but, according to her interview below, a body double was used. https://www.respekt.cz/kultura/pred-alk ... -sbormistr
Browser-translated interview excerpts, with occasional pronoun trouble in the translation. It is not clear from the translated interview when exactly the body double was actually used. Maybe NOT in the sex scene where we see naked feet and the man's naked butt. The body double might have been used in the scene where her naked butt is visible when she is running down the hall from the shower room, after her towel and clothes are stolen.
Spoiler:
How did it work when the parents were on set?
They were very supportive. When there was a very difficult scene, I was always there with me either dad or mom. When such normalcies were filmed, for example singing at a cottage in the Giant Mountains, there was no need for them to be there directly, but to be in the room. After filming, he and Andrew went to the pub. I didn't want to be in the sex scene at first, but I had a double.
There was also an intimacy coordinator on the film. How did she work with you, did it help you?
She was with me throughout the filming. Every time there was a difficult scene, like a sexual one, we went somewhere to shout. Because the shooting day was quite challenging and we were physically relaxing, knocking out. Or when she saw that it was too much for me, she told the crew that now I needed to rest, have a moment's peace. She coordinated for me to manage the filming somehow.
Did you build your trust before filming?
We did acting workshops. Various moves to get closer with Juraj and other actresses. Which wasn't that hard, because it was girls my age or a little older. It was a little more challenging with Juraj. That's where the coordinator helped me. Not that Juraj wasn't sympathetic, he's great, but at first I had a terrible respect for him, as well as my real choirmaster. I treated him as a real choirmaster. We gradually created a beautiful relationship and all the scenes were shooting great, it was not unpleasant or anything. And the sex scene was at the very end when I already had a good relationship with him.
Did you have a psychologist on set?
The coordinator also worked as a psychologist. I went to a school psychologist at the time, I had some problems that were not related to filming, and that helped me a lot. Maybe even cope with the fact that the filming will end.
What were you worried about?
There was quite a hell of a lot around the sex scene and the more it was dealt with, the more nervous I was. I didn't want to film her. Even the parents were the decision that on the day the scene was filmed, I would not be on set at all. That someone else would do it. But that wouldn't work. And in the end, it worked out and it went well. I was afraid it would be cruel, because it comes out of the script a little differently than it is in the end in the film.
What was the biggest challenge for you?
The sauna. He's pretty intimate, even if nothing happens there. It was really uncomfortable. I had a lot worse vibes from that scene than I did from the sexual one. Filming in a sheet at minus seventeen was also challenging.
citronleaf wrote: Sun Oct 19, 2025 6:34 pm
Browser-translated interview excerpts, with occasional pronoun trouble in the translation. It is not clear from the translated interview when exactly the body double was actually used. Maybe NOT in the sex scene where we see naked feet and the man's naked butt. The body double might have been used in the scene where her naked butt is visible when she is running down the hall from the shower room, after her towel and clothes are stolen.
Spoiler:
How did it work when the parents were on set?
They were very supportive. When there was a very difficult scene, I was always there with me either dad or mom. When such normalcies were filmed, for example singing at a cottage in the Giant Mountains, there was no need for them to be there directly, but to be in the room. After filming, he and Andrew went to the pub. I didn't want to be in the sex scene at first, but I had a double.
There was also an intimacy coordinator on the film. How did she work with you, did it help you?
She was with me throughout the filming. Every time there was a difficult scene, like a sexual one, we went somewhere to shout. Because the shooting day was quite challenging and we were physically relaxing, knocking out. Or when she saw that it was too much for me, she told the crew that now I needed to rest, have a moment's peace. She coordinated for me to manage the filming somehow.
Did you build your trust before filming?
We did acting workshops. Various moves to get closer with Juraj and other actresses. Which wasn't that hard, because it was girls my age or a little older. It was a little more challenging with Juraj. That's where the coordinator helped me. Not that Juraj wasn't sympathetic, he's great, but at first I had a terrible respect for him, as well as my real choirmaster. I treated him as a real choirmaster. We gradually created a beautiful relationship and all the scenes were shooting great, it was not unpleasant or anything. And the sex scene was at the very end when I already had a good relationship with him.
Did you have a psychologist on set?
The coordinator also worked as a psychologist. I went to a school psychologist at the time, I had some problems that were not related to filming, and that helped me a lot. Maybe even cope with the fact that the filming will end.
What were you worried about?
There was quite a hell of a lot around the sex scene and the more it was dealt with, the more nervous I was. I didn't want to film her. Even the parents were the decision that on the day the scene was filmed, I would not be on set at all. That someone else would do it. But that wouldn't work. And in the end, it worked out and it went well. I was afraid it would be cruel, because it comes out of the script a little differently than it is in the end in the film.
What was the biggest challenge for you?
The sauna. He's pretty intimate, even if nothing happens there. It was really uncomfortable. I had a lot worse vibes from that scene than I did from the sexual one. Filming in a sheet at minus seventeen was also challenging.
Kateřina had a body double. "In the scene where I run naked down the hallway in the cottage because the girls took my pajamas in the showers, it's obviously not me. At thirteen, it wouldn't have been possible to film something like that. I wouldn't have even stepped in there naked, and my parents wouldn't have allowed it," she said.
The body double also replaced her in the most sensitive scene with Juraj Loj. "At the beginning, when the choirmaster starts groping me, that's me. But then the camera goes around the corner, and I crawl into the closet, where the body double is already waiting, and we switch places. After the act, Juraj leaves, the stunt double hides in the closet, I come out, lie down on the bed, and then the camera comes back," Kateřina revealed the trick used by the filmmakers, who shot the scene so that only her legs and a vague reflection on the TV opposite the bed were visible. The rest is left to the imagination of the viewer, who is shocked, disgusted, horrified, outraged, sad...