@jaramoravec

When I wrote the first draft of Bylo Nebylo, there were even more characters - a cat in pyjamas, a naked boy, a random guy with a piece of wood nailed to his forehead and couple more. The idea was to ditch expensive locations and camera rigs and put more attention to what’s in front of the camera. We ended shooting 11 characters with 9 making the final cut. With the benefit of hindsight, I would have picked fewer actors to make the process more manageable, especially when shooting far from Prague. It seemed like these bizarre roles attracted equally unusual actors - the role of a “desperate woman” in violet blouse was played by Monika Foris, a famous child actor. When I explained her character, little did I know that Monika has lived a pretty colourful life herself, we later found out Monika was telling us an actual story of her life on camera. Monika has a good-bye letter from her partner written on her face - a visual play with a Czech saying: “Má neštěstí vepsané ve tváři.” / “Misfortune written in her face.” I want to thank Arwa from Simonsays for all the research and help throughout the casting process. Extra photos taken by @annetx and @vojtechveskrna.