This week’s guide to English-friendly Czech cinema and streaming

The life, work, and continued relevance of 1984 author George Orwell is explored in Orwell: 2+2=5, a new documentary from filmmaker Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro). Come see the film alongside the Expats.cz editorial staff at Edison Filmhub on Monday, Dec. 1 and stay afterwards for a Q&A focused on the documentary’s themes.

The Prague Reporter calls Orwell: 2+2=5 a “meticulously crafted portrait of George Orwell’s life and work, grounded in rich archival material and empathetic narration” that “excels in illuminating Orwell’s personal journey, his moral reckoning, and the development of his worldview.”

The directors behind I, Olga Hepnarová return with Nobody Likes Me (Nikdo mě nemá rád), a Czech drama exploring societal pressure, alienation, and the struggles of being different. The film follows Sára (Rebeka Poláková), an attractive army assistant in Prague, as she navigates love, family expectations, and the challenges of breaking social norms.

Shot on 16mm film and co-starring Barbora Bobuľová, Mantas Zemleckas, and Hana Vagnerová, the movie combines intimate performances with a visually rich style. Nobody Likes Me is now streaming with English subtitles on HBO Max in the Czech Republic after debuting in local cinemas earlier this year.

Czech-born playwright Tom Stoppard, born in Zlín as Tomáš Straussler in 1937, passed away this weekend at the age of 88. Famed for plays like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and Arcadia, Stoppard also worked as a screenwriter, and collaborated with Steven Spielberg on the scripts for Empire of the Sun and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Stoppard won an Oscar for his screenplay for Shakespeare in Love, which beat out Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan at the 1998 Academy Awards. In Czechia, you can rent or buy Shakespeare in Love through Apple TV or Rakuten TV.