Two-part flick on Czech bad boy completed

Life on run of gangster fugitive Radovan Krejcir was filmed in Joburg, Cape Town

THE LIFE of notorious Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir reads like a movie script. That is why producer Adam Dvorak had little hesitation in pursuing a film based on the life of the notorious Czech businessman.

Dvorak, a film producer in the Czech Republic, recently completed production for a two-part feature film which looks into the life of a businessman turned gangster.

The first part of the feature film, titled Gangster Ka, documents the life of a character named Radim Kraviec (played by Hynek Cermák) who is a successful businessman in the Czech Republic.

However, Kraviec gets involved in the underworld and becomes a hardened gangster who is wanted by police.

The second part of the film, titled “Gangster Ka-African”, looks at a new phase in Kraviec’s criminal life.

After escaping from the police, Kraviec flees to Africa where his journey to the Seychelles and eventually South Africa is documented.

The movie, which cost around two million Euros (about R28m) to produce, was shot in South Africa as well as in Europe. It was produced by Ceska Televize, distributed by Bioscop and Magic Box.

Speaking to the Saturday Star this week, Dvorak said his latest movie was freely inspired by events around the life of Krejcir, who is facing separate trials in South Africa and is in custody.

“The movie is about a man (Kraviec) who changes from being a businessman to a gangster,” said Dvorak.

“It also looks at the structures of organised crime. While the film is inspired by real events around Radovan Krejcir, all characters are fictional.”

Dvorak added that the storyline for the movie had been based on a book by a famous Czech investigative journalist, Jaroslav Kmenta.

“Jaroslav is the author of a number of books with crime themes. He also investigated Radovan Krejcir and is in regular contact with Paul O’Sullivan from South Africa.”

While some scenes have been shot in Europe, the majority of the movie was shot in South Africa, according to Dvorak.

Filming of the two-part feature film took 57 days.

“We wanted greater authenticity, so we shot a number of scenes in both Johannesburg and Cape Town,” said Dvorak.

“Also, production took place during winter time in Europe so it was important to shoot in South Africa as we needed many summer scenes.

“South Africa has great weather during our European winter.”

While the two-part feature film will debut in the Czech Republic in September, Dvorak said he is still searching for a company in South Africa to distribute the film.

“We are now searching for a South Africa distribution company.

“I am hoping that the audiences in South Africa will get the opportunity to see the film.”

Regarding the test screenings they have done on the movie so far, Dvorak said that the response to the showings had been “great”.