Meet Magdalena Drahovska, the winner of the “Book-To-Screen” Adaptation Category

The winner of the category: Adaptation of Original Czech Literary Work is MAGDALENA DRAHOVSKA with her idea for an adaptation of the book by Marie Rejfová, Tales from Smíchov.

Magdalena came up with a project to adapt this successful book into a six-part TV series called SMÍCHOVSKÁ DÍVKA (The Smíchov Girl). The miniseries follows Růžena Horká through the 20th century as she struggles to protect her home, which becomes the key to revealing forgotten crimes, secret love stories, and invisible bonds that connect the fates of Prague’s Smíchov district.
Magdalena Drahovská’s goal is to create an atmospheric story that emotionally connects the viewer with the narrative of history. It is an ambitious adaptation that connects the original texts into a coherent whole and adds another dimension to them through a strong central character and the connection of the Smíchov environment with the history of 20th-century Europe. The miniseries is a meditation on human memory, generational trauma, and the invisible scars that remain on people and places. A key addition is the transformation of Růženka Horká into the main heroine and guardian of the secrets of Smíchov. While in the original book she is often just an observer, in “The Smíchov Girl” she becomes an active mover of the plot, its emotional core and a bond between different layers of time.