Czech film Brácha delivers a warning through the true story of a boy who died because he was bullied
On 25 March 2025, the grand preview of the film "Brácha" (Brother) took place at the Atlas cinema in Prague, Czech Republic. Director Filip Špinka, actors Tomáš Brenton and Radim Fiala, singer Bobby Blaze and other creators personally presented the powerful film inspired by the true story of a 14-year-old boy who committed suicide after being bullied for a long time.
The project, which is being created with the support of the Romodrom organization, has the ambition not just to move viewers, but above all to warn them of the dangers of bullying and to create an opportunity for dialogue on this issue. The film will be shown at festivals and primarily in schools throughout the Czech Republic.
Špinka said “Brother” was created out of a need to draw attention to an overlooked social problem. “I wanted to create an educational, short film that would open the public discussion about bullying. I have never been indifferent to my surroundings, so I felt the need to publicize this topic. This is not a work of recollection, but a call – a call for sensitivity, empathy, and change,” the director explained to ROMEA TV.
The story was close to Špinka personally, as it is based on the experience of the girlfriend of his colleague Štěpán Hartl, with whom he founded the organization Alpateam, which has been dedicated to preventing bullying, cyberbullying, and suicide among young people for seven years. Playing the main role of 14-year-old Janek was not easy for actor Tomáš Brenton.
“The hardest thing for me was that this was about something that really happened. Most of the projects I’ve worked on so far were fictional, but here I knew that it had really happened to somebody. I asked Filip Špinka a lot about what the guy was like – what he enjoyed, what his personality was like… I also met his family, and they all said that it was terrible to watch the film because it was about someone close to them. It’s a big topic,” Brenton confided.
The film’s title track, “Nikdo (Stop šikaně)” [Nobody (Stop Bullying)], was sung by rapper Bobby Blaze. He composed it literally overnight after director Špinka sent him the story.
“It was a powerful story that my friend Filip wrote for me. The topic got to me. It’s not normal these days for rappers to sing about bullying, they see it as something embarrassing, but I do want to talk about it,” Bobby Blaze, who also participated in making the film, told ROMEA TV.
The song went viral instantly, with over 800,000 views on Czech-language YouTube. Radim Fiala, who is also the patron of the entire project, also stars in the film.
“These guys are great. They have an idea, they have perseverance. I’m glad they approached Bobby Blaze to do the main song. I was there when it was being created, and I have to say I think Bobby is a future star,” said Fiala about collaborating with director Filip Špinka and Štěpán Hartl.
The film deeply affected singer Bára Basiková, who attended the preview. “It affected me very deeply because the script was written by life itself. All the actors gave great performances. The film is completely believable, raw, and painful. That’s good, because this is happening and it’s necessary to talk about it. I think it should be shown in all schools immediately,” she told ROMEA TV.
Špinka said that the film is ready for distribution not just to Czech festivals, but also to dozens of schools, where it will serve as teaching material. “The entire crew did a tremendous job. I told them – if you don’t want to do it, don’t do it. This is such a sensitive topic that it must be approached with respect. Every loss is too great a loss,” he told ROMEA TV.
