Table of Contents
Five years in the making, Filip Nerold's Wild Eye pub is a fifteen-minute burst of stop-motion nonsense with a metaphysical hero: Death himself, who wanders into a taproom and promptly falls in love, blunders, and misbehaves. Nerold — a director, cinematographer, and cutscene artist working across games and film — calls it his true debut, the film he could only make once every earlier project had taught him something.
His pitch is refreshingly free of loftier claims. Wild Eye pub won't cure your depression or save your marriage. It exists to make you laugh, and to celebrate the toy-like silliness that Nerold thinks adult comedy needs more of.
Key Takeaways
- A stop-motion comedy where Death himself falls for a barmaid — roughly fifteen minutes of animation that took a full year to shoot.
- Nerold sees the introverted, mischievous Death as a self-portrait, describing the character as who he becomes among friends.
- Built over five years, the film is a love letter to Czech pub culture, aimed squarely at young audiences who like a beer with friends.
Nerold spoke about absurd humor, the joy of collaborators surprising him, and finding his signature.
Interview
What drew you to make this film, and why this story, why now?
I love crazy and absurd nonsense humor in films. And I was lacking this in films I have seen, so I decided to show the world how it is done. I have made many short films before, and Wild Eye pub was my "debut" film, because I had learned so much during my previous films and studying cinematography. Only after gaining those experiences was I able to make this film with all my potential. Now I am making a new film, which is much more difficult than the last one.
The story in Wild Eye pub is just crazy content, nothing serious. People do not need to watch it to cure their depressions, save marriages, or learn the truth about life. But if they want to laugh their asses off, then this film is for them.
What surprised you most about the filmmaking process, creatively or logistically?
All my collaborators brought their talent into it, so only thanks to that was my "vision" enhanced. I was surprised when the costume designer brought her ideas, when the music composer was composing music before my ears, when the audio designer was creating sounds of the environment that I did not even know existed. And of course the animator gave excellent life to the puppets. That was a total blast of joy. Fifteen minutes of animation took one year to animate.
What moment in the film feels most like you, or like something only you could have made?
The main protagonist, Death himself, is me. Not that I kill people, but because I am an introvert and shy in those situations. But at the same time I like to behave like Carl, but only for entertaining myself and the people around me when I am drunk.
What was the hardest creative decision you made while making the film?
To replace one of the actresses who was the voice for the Blanka character. That actress is very old and very popular in the Czech Republic. But when we were recording her voice, it did not work at all. So I had to replace her with a much more suitable actress — very old and famous as well.
How has this film shaped or shifted the kinds of stories you want to tell next?
I have evolved creatively with this film. For me, telling a story is not only a script but everything you have at your disposal to achieve it: color, light, composition, movement, audio details, costume texture, and so on. There are so many decisions you have to make, and in the end all those shaped you. I really did find my voice and my "signature." With my new film, which is much more complex, all those experiences will shape it to the next level.
What tool, technique, resource, collaborator, or mindset shift helped most during production?
My script supervisor and my producer. Those two people really opened my eyes. They are much more experienced than I am, so their help was essential.
What does it mean to have your film selected for Not Film Fest, and where do you see the film going next?
I feel joy. Because this film took five years to make. And when it was done and this good festival, Not Film Fest, was interested in selecting it — what more should I need? People will see it, and that is the only purpose of this film.
It has screened at many festivals worldwide. I would like to finish with it on some Czech streaming platform. But that is still not happening by now.
Main Cast & Crew
- Director — Filip Nerold
- Producer — Libor Nemeškal - A Czech editor, creative producer, and educator who studied Film History and Aesthetics at Charles University in Prague and Editing at the Faculty of Multimedia Communications at Tomas Bata University in Zlín. Since 2003 he has worked in commissioned editing and the production of audiovisual works across a wide range of genres and formats, earning numerous prestigious international awards.
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