Samoživy

The Czech Republic is a country with highly-developed social policy. According to leading politicians, one of its goals is to support families and increase the birth-rate. The reason for their attitude is the dwindling number of newborn children – an issue which is generally present in contemporary western civilization. However, how does state support work in practice? How can the state help families and what does today's Czech family look like? The documentary film by Olga Sommerová, Single Parents, focuses on the issue of families with single parents, which is often ignored by the Czech media. The viewers will follow several single mothers and even one single father; all of them have to handle bringing up their children on their own due to a range of different reasons. The financial support of children usually comes to mind as a primary obstacle, but what are the everyday hang ups that they must face? Do they even form something that we can call a family? (Academia Film Olomouc)