The law of love - Amarena Film

The law of love

If anybody has anything against the holy matrimony, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.

Directed by: Barbora Chalupová

Country: Czech Republic

Year: 2021

Duration: 89 min

Category: Social Documentary

Language: Czech/English

On the surface it looks like the whole Society in the Czech Republic is open minded and LGBTQ+ friendly. But when it comes to the question of law and marriage of same sex couples, the hidden ignorance and hatred appears. One man, Czeslaw and a group of his companions run a campaign to prove to the politicians and common society that the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in Europe is far from over. Will he succeed? Will the Czech Republic be the first country in Eastern Europe where gays and lesbians will be able to marry? Or will all the effort get stuck in the political populistic maze?

Director's biography

Barbora Chalupová is a director of the new young generation who is not afraid of experimenting in her films. Her filmography starts with the student film TRANSITION (2014) shortlisted for the best student film at Magnesia Awards. The following film ARMS READY (2016) looked into the enormous increase in the number of applicants for a firearms license in the Czech Republic. This film was nominated for the Pavel Koutecký Award and appeared in the competition sections of the One World festival or IDFF Ji.hlava. Right now, Barbora also directed docublocbuster CAUGHT IN THE NET (2020), a film co-directed with documentary filmmaker Vít Klusák that looks into the issue of child abuse on the Internet and THE LAW OF LOVE (2021) which deals with the legalisation of marriage for same-sex couples.

Director's note

The director chose a pure observational method of filming, thanks to which the viewer has the opportunity to look in great detail into the entire backstage of the human rights campaign without the feeling of staging or reconstruction. The shooting has been going on for four year in a row, which has had a very positive effect on the nature of all the main characters in front of the camera. The viewer therefore has the opportunity to see the protagonists in situations that are very intimate and often very tense, when the observational style helps them to connect fully emotionally with the characters. However, it is not just about capturing the situation, the camera is artistic and shows the protagonists in the whole context of the situation. Some crowd scenes require more DOPs, while others require a completely minimalist crew due to their sensitivity. It might seem that the whole film will take place in the Chamber of Deputies and its lobby, but the opposite is true. Thanks to the need to communicate with the public and volunteers for both campaigns, the camera must work with constantly new environments throughout the Czech Republic.”