The Defender

Origin and Year: Česká republika, 2021	Director: Tereza Kopáčová & Tomáš Mašín
Runnning time: 2 x 65 min

Q&A after the screening.

Aleš Pelán is a Teacher of the Year who never imagined he would do anything else but teach. But when another teacher at his school suffers a mental breakdown after being incessantly bullied by her students, he starts an investigation into what happened. This catches the attention of an ambitious education minister who uses the opportunity to appoint Pelán as the Schools Ombudsman tasked with inquiring into cases of bullying in Czech schools. Lukáš Vaculík plays the role of a literature teacher who becomes a part detective, part diplomat and part therapist travelling around the country. The series is inspired by 10 real cases that occurred in Czech schools and offers an in-depth look into the problems plaguing Czech education. Czech Television produced the series, alongside the accompanying materials and follow-up debates, as part of an outreach programme for Czech teachers.