Eda is a rather timid young boy growing up in the city of Prague during World War II. When the Germans arrive, Eda's father resists their authority. This rebellion forces Eda and his family to flee Prague and retreat to the country. Eda's grandparents have a farm there, and a completely unfamiliar and scary new life begins for him. A group of tough friends show him the ropes of country life, while Eda's hapless father tries valiantly to adapt and find ways of providing for the family. BAREFOOT is the story of Eda's discovery of himself and his puzzling world, told from the innocent and imaginative perspective of a child. But it is still, above all, a world at war and with harsh realities. Encountering bullies, soldiers, and some strange secrets about his own family, BAREFOOT tells of Eda's adventures with storybook sense of wonder, darkened from time to time by the inevitable shadows that fall in periods of conflict. (In Czech with subtitles) —C.R.
Jan Sverak was born in 1965 in Zatec, Czechoslovakia. He graduated from FAMU in Prague in 1988. He has had huge success as a filmmaker and has been the recipient of numerous nominations and awards. In 1997 his film "Kolya" won the Golden Globe and the Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language Film.