Breaking all box office records in the Czech Republic, “Caught in the Net” by Barbora Chalupová and Vít Klusák is the first documentary to sell more tickets than all other feature-length productions in 2020 – from American blockbusters to domestic Romcoms.
When the hunters become the hunted
This investigative documentary is described as a “psychosocial experience”, bringing to light the terrifying reality of child abuse made possible by the Internet. The two directors created three fictional identities of 12-year-old girls, played by 19-year-old women.
Three bedroom sets were created for the ten days filming, littered with stuffed toys but above all with hidden microphones and cameras. During those ten days, 2,458 sexual predators approached the 3 fictitious profiles of the girls posted on social networks. The directors admitted that they had not expected a problem of this magnitude.
“When the hunters become the hunted,” one of the key phrases from the trailer sets the tone; the team’s work has led to the arrests of several suspected sexual predators. In an interview for Dok Revue, film critic Jan Kršňák underlines the film’s unique quality: “unlike a typical documentary, its aim is not to change the perception of a problem previously invisible in society, but rather, if possible, to end it completely.”
Two other versions of the same film, “Caught in the Net 18+” (the uncensored version) and “Caught in the Net: Behind the School” (a school version), were respectively ranked 23rd and 32nd in the Czech box office takings for 2020.
A triple-award winning documentary
The film received the CPH: DOX Award at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival in 2020, the Czech Republic’s Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival Award in 2019, and the Grand Prix at the One World International Human Rights Film Festival.
Released in Czechia on February 27th 2020, the film sold nearly 115,000 tickets on its opening weekend.
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Sources: cineuropa.org, variety.com, film-documentaire.fr, screendaily.com, dokrevue.com
