JOSEF NOVAK

When Charlie breaks his spine and checks into a Prague hospital he meets an unlikely friend.

“A Kafkaesque Comedy”

Set in Prague in 1997, this short film includes Flashbacks to Sydney, Australia and Bangkok, Thailand. The Protagonists are an Australian male CHARLIE (32) and a Czech JOSEPH NOVAK (56). Secondary characters are Charlie’s GRANDMOTHER (80) and UNCLE (20’s). The story’s Raison D’etre is mostly conceptual. Charlie is forced to acknowledge to himself that compared to Josef Novak he hasn’t suffered so badly; things might be much worse.

Charlie spends his first night in Prague revelling with travelling companions at a nightclub. Early the next morning, they leave the nightclub and find themselves walking over The Charles Bridge. Charlie is in awe of the medieval scenery and spontaneously decides to jump off the bridge and go for an early morning swim. He hits the rock bottom of the Vlatava River below, feels excruciating pain, returns with his companions to their hostel, feels he’s going to die and checks himself into a Prague hospital where he discovers his spine is fractured.

While in the hospital Charlie meets another patient Josef Novak who keeps him awake with his terrible snoring but also relates to him the Kafkaesque tale of why he’s been in the hospital for more than two months. Charlie realises that compared to Josef he has nothing to complain about and ultimately forgives Josef his loud snoring.