Better Go Mad in the Wild blurs fact and fable, wins top prize at Karlovy Vary

Slovak filmmaker Miro Remo's documentary Better Go Mad in the Wild is honored as the winner at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, 2025.

Derived from a book by Aleš Palán, a Czech writer and journalist, which carries the homonym. The documentary looks into the life of a twin-brother duo, Franta and Ondřej Klišík, who live in the Bohemian Forest, a.k.a. the Šumava region of Central Europe.

Better Go Mad in the Wild hits the right notes of the magic a fairy tale entails, as it captures the day-to-day life of the brothers engaging in their work as well as leisurely activities amidst the scenic natural landscape. But it also portrays the mundane and authentic truths of their lives. The author of the original book, Aleš Palán, joins the helmer in its writing. But the documentary has its own essence and its way of storytelling.

Miro Remo elucidates upon the core differences between the original book and the documentary, as he states in an interview with Variety:

“Compared with the film, the book offers more factual content. We needed to explain some things – for example, how Franta lost his hand – but we decided to only include minimal information"

Let us find out more about Better Go Mad in the Wild.

"We spent 60 days with the brothers over the course of five years", reveals the helmer of Better Go Mad in the Wild

The Czech-Slovak documentary, Better Go Mad in the Wild, garners a win at the prestigious 2025 Karlovy Vary Film Festival.

In a conversation with Variety, the helmer of the documentary, Miro Remo, spoke in detail about his process of making the film. It looks into the serene and quiet lives of the Klišík twin brothers, whose lives are wrapped up with the beauty and marvels of nature at its peak.

About the process of making the documentary, Miro Remo talked about his experience whilst he spent time with the twins and the community of animals in the Šumava region, as he shares:

“We spent 60 days with the brothers over the course of five years, and I began to feel their animals were communicating with us as well. The biggest advantage was that anything was possible on that project. We only needed to overcome our fear of conventions.”

The helmer also talks about his vision of making Better Go Mad in the Wild, which focuses on serving as a mirror to the lives of the brothers, most authentically and truthfully as possible. The siblings originally belonged to the lineage of the Slovaks who, in the aftermath of World War II, had migrated from Russia to the Bohemian Forest.

The documentary showcases the relationship and exchanges between the brothers, which can leave us chuckling at times. Even though they are intertwined, they have opposing expectations and desires from life. Also, it does not matter to Miro Remo how his film is bracketed, as he adds:

“It’s not important to me where this film fits formally. What matters is that it faithfully reflects the life of the twins,”

Remo refers to the film as a “fairytale for adults," but it does not necessarily portray a rosy, utopian picture. It is not without the stories of multiple challenges that the twins have experienced in their lives, as he mentions:

“Life wasn’t easy for them, but their parents taught them to value every person. Truth was always held in the highest place in their family,”

Talking about how Miro Remo landed with this story, he recalls when his father suggested to him the book penned by Aleš Palán called 'Better Go Mad in the Wild.' As Remo began reading it, his interest and fascination with the lives of the Slovak community in Šumava grew stronger. As a result, he connected with Palán, and the rest is history.

Remo shares:

“My father recommended a great book by Aleš Palán, also called ‘Better to Go Mad in the Wilderness,’ which includes several powerful stories about the Šumava hermits. One of them was about Franta and Ondra. I contacted Aleš right away, and he brought me into their world.”