Tsunami Blues

Based on the novel by Markéta Pilátová  

Karla lost both her parents in the Tsunami wave that hit the coast of Thailand in 2004 and, together with her parents, she lost her ability to compose music and play the trumpet. A year later, together with her Spanish teacher Jenůfa Topinková from University of Palacký in Olomouc, she travels to Cuba with the goal to deliver medicine and financial help to Cuban dissidents. But after the Cuban secret service becomes interested in the journey, their exotic vacation turns into a fight for survival.   

The thrilling story follows Karla and her teacher on their trip across half of the world, and especially Karla´s journey from her world full of emptiness and despair back to life. While following the tracks of Czech dissidents from Cuba to the Czech Republic and back, we discover the burden of guilt and strength necessary to accept it.    

Tsunami Blues was published in 2014, it is the third novel of Czech author and journalist Markéta Pilátová (1973). The author contributes to the weekly magazine Respekt, she lives partly in Brazil and Argentina, where she teaches Czech and where most of her novels take place. Her previous works Zlaté oči vedou domů and Má nejmilejší kniha were nominated for the Magnesia Litera prize, as well as the prize of Josef Škvorecký. She also works as a translator and writes books for children.  

“The notion that Cuba is one big Buena Vista Social Club with mesmerizing old jazz musicians and poor but joyful people is completely inaccurate. For me, the feeling was more of an ever present darkness, grief, emanating from the moldy, dilapidated houses, malnourished people, and young prostitutes. For me, it´s blues rather than salsa that characterizes Cuba for me.” (Markéta Pilátová, Salon Právo)       

Starring: Tereza Dočkalová, Eva Salzmannová, Tomáš Dianiška, Richard Němec, Lenka Zahradnická

Screenplay: Jana Pithartová
Directed by: Ewa Zembok
Set design and costumes: Jana Hauskrechtová
Dramaturgy: Matěj Samec 

In Czech with English subtitles.