2026 Czech Lion Award Nominees Announced: Leading Films and Top Contenders Revealed

The Czech Film and Television Academy (ČFTA) has officially unveiled the nominees for the 33rd annual Czech Lion Awards, the nation's most prestigious cinematic honor. This year’s selection celebrates the finest achievements in Czech audiovisual art produced throughout 2025. Academy members evaluated a diverse pool of 94 entries across 24 distinct categories, showcasing the current vibrancy of the domestic film industry. The iconic bronze lion statuette, which serves as the physical manifestation of this high honor, was designed by the renowned artist Rony Plesl.

Leading the pack for the upcoming ceremony are the films "Franz," "The Choir Master," and "Caravan," which secured the highest number of nominations in major categories such as Best Feature Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. These frontrunners are set to compete against other notable works, including "Summer School 2001" and "Up There Is Sky, Down There Is Me." Director Agnieszka Holland’s "Franz" emerged as a powerhouse with 15 nominations. Notably, Dužan Duong’s "Summer School 2001" arrives with international momentum, having previously secured the Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature Film at the Viet Film Fest during the autumn festival circuit.

The grand gala is scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 14, 2026, marking a significant change as it moves to the Prague Congress Center for the first time. The evening will be hosted by the talented stand-up comedian and screenwriter Bianca Kryštofová. Audiences across the country can watch the ceremony live on Czech Television’s ČT1 channel starting at 20:10. The selection process involved a rigorous voting period for ČFTA members, which began on December 1, 2025, and concluded on January 11, 2026, leading up to the public announcement of the nominees on January 19, 2026.

From the initial 94 submissions, 32 projects—spanning feature films, television series, and short films—successfully advanced to the final round of voting. The acting categories are particularly competitive this year. Anna Geislerová earned two separate nominations for her performances in the film "Caravan" and the series "Ratolesti" (Offspring). Other prominent acting contenders include Ivan Trojan for his role in "Franz," alongside Elizaveta Maximová and Juraj Loj. Beyond the primary categories, several honors have already been determined, such as the Audience Award, which was bestowed upon the comedy "Do the Mæth," and the award for Best Poster, won by Michal Čermín for his work on "Franz."

The 2025 production year reflected a broad spectrum of genres, with the academy considering 49 feature films, 36 documentaries, and 3 animated works that reached theatrical distribution. This period also marked a pivotal institutional shift, as the Czech Film Fund officially transitioned into the Czech Audiovisual Fund in 2025. This reorganization expanded the fund's mandate to include support for television projects and video games, signaling a strategic and systemic evolution within the Czech creative sector.