The world’s first interactive movie whose plot and story are determined by the audience.
The hit of EXPO ’67 MONTREAL
Moderated in English by Alena Činčerová
While Kinoautomat was created in Czechoslovakia by a talented team in 1966-67, it is generally considered to be the brainchild of Radúz Činčera. It was a performance, which combined a projected film with interventions from two stage moderators, which was shown for the first time at the Czechoslovak Pavilion at Expo '67 Montreal, where it ran for six months as a one-hour show.
The film, One Man and his House, centers around Mr. Novák (played by Miroslav Horníček, a very well-known Czech personality) who finds himself caught up in various situations which represent moral dilemmas.
Using a specially constructed voting system, the audience members can change the trajectory of the film at several key moments by pressing red or green buttons. The direction voted by the majority would then be followed by the projection team.
The film itself is a good example of "Czech New Wave" cinema, but its setting in a theatrical format takes its inspiration from the "Laterna Magika" movement, which developed in Prague in the late 1950's.
After Montreal, the system was set up again at HemisFair '68 in San Antonio, and had a run in Prague at Kino Svetozor in 1971. After the addition of some new scenes, it was performed for the last time at Expo '74 in Spokane. Now, after more than 40 years, Kinoautomat returns to Svetozor...
The prestigious American weekly, The New Yorker wrote: “The Kinoautomat in the Czechoslovak Pavilion is a guaranteed hit of the World Exposition, and the Czechs should build a monument to the man who conceived the idea, Raduz Cincera.”
Now, forty years later, the fully functional multimedia Kinoautomat project of film director and technological visionary Cincera has returned. In February 2006, it was successfully presented to the public in the prestigious National Film Theatre in London. Since then was presented in 15 countries all over the world and has been garnering attention in Prague since May 29, 2007.
The movie is also dubbed into English, and can be shown in Czech or English, French, Itaiian and German (with subtitles). Our mobile performance allows us to come to you. We have a wireless voting system and a PC and video projector to screen the film.
The film’s main character, Mr. Novak (portrayed by Miroslav Hornicek), is interrupted by a nearly naked neighbour ringing his doorbell. Clad in a towel, she has locked herself out of her own apartment and asks Mr. Novak to let her into his home. So what does one do when a charming young lady in a difficult situation is asking for help? On the other hand, Mrs. Novak will return any minute. And on top of that, today is his wife’s birthday...
STOP! yells the moderator. As he appears on stage, the film comes to a halt.
The solution to this tricky situation is now up to the viewers...
Let her in or not? The green button means let her in, the red means refuse… How the story continues is completely up to how a majority of the audience votes. Viewer voting changes the story eight times during each performance.
The movie was written and directed by members of the Czechoslovak new wave in film in the 1960s:
Raduz Cincera, Pavel Juracek, Jan Rohac, Vladimír Svitacek and Miroslav Hornicek.
The film features Miroslav Hornicek, Miroslav Machacek, Josef Somr, Karla Chadimová, Libuse Svormova, Jan Libicek, Jiří Schmitzer and others.
The project was restored and directed in 2006–2007 by Alena Cincerova, daughter of Kinoautomat inventor Raduz Cincera.
The film’s main character, Mr. Novak (portrayed by Miroslav Hornicek), is interrupted by a nearly naked neighbour ringing his doorbell. Clad in a towel, she has locked herself out of her own apartment and asks Mr. Novak to let her into his home. So what to do? A charming young lady in a difficult situation is asking for help. On the other hand, Mrs. Novak will return any minute. And on top of that, today is his wife’s birthday...
STOP! yells the moderator. As he appears on stage, the film comes to a halt.
The solution to this tricky situation is now up to the viewers...
Let her in or not? The green button means let her in, the red means refuse… How the story continues is completely up to how a majority of the audience votes. Viewer voting changes the story eight times during each performance.
The movie was written and directed by members of the Czechoslovak new wave in film in the 1960s:
Raduz Cincera, Pavel Juracek, Jan Rohac, Vladimír Svitacek and Miroslav Hornicek.
The film features Miroslav Hornicek, Miroslav Machacek, Josef Somr, Karla Chadimová, Libuse Svormova, Jan Libicek, Jiří Schmitzer and others.
The project was restored and directed in 2006–2007 by Alena Cincerova, daughter of Kinoautomat inventor Raduz Cincera.
Contact: alena@kinoautomat.cz
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