Czech series "Kamarád" tells the story of a pedophile teacher — and exposes a gap in the law

At the Serial Killer TV series festival in Prague on Saturday, the first two episodes of the new Czech series "Kamarád" (Buddy) were screened — the story of a teacher who manipulates a child for years while those around him fail to notice the danger. The nine-part project is competing in both the Czech and international sections of the festival.

A teacher everyone trusts

The series opens with a conversation in the school principal's office, where teacher Marek (Matouš Ruml) has just started working. Management is pleased with him, and even the children praise him, so after his probationary period the principal offers him a permanent contract and, as before, leadership of after-school clubs. But when Marek leaves her office, an unpleasant surprise awaits him — the word "pedophile" scrawled across his car in red paint.

The action then jumps back four years. The actor plays a friendly, charming teacher so convincingly that many parents would be glad to have such a teacher for their child. But beneath the mask of a calm, fair mentor lurks a predator: once he spots a potential victim, he begins to carry out his plan slowly, but deliberately and methodically — and at first neither the victim nor those around him notice anything.

Who will notice something's wrong

The boy Daniel, who arrives as a newcomer in Marek's class and becomes the object of his interest, is played by Jakub Jenčík. His character is perhaps written a bit too simply and fragile — the creators might have shown that an outwardly more confident child could become a victim just as easily.

Young teacher Sára, the first to notice that the relationship between Marek and Daniel doesn't look like an ordinary teacher-student bond, is played by Denisa Barešová — she offers hope that such evil won't go unnoticed. She is contrasted with an older colleague, played by Barbora Kodetová, who embodies the part of society that just wants "a quiet life." The police officer who initially doesn't believe the teacher is played by Kristýna Leichtová, and Daniel's father, who also fails to notice much around him, is played by Tomáš Bambušek.

Each part of the series is made up of episodes named after the characters in the story, including Marek and Daniel themselves — so viewers see how the same behaviour is perceived differently by its participants and observers.

A real problem beyond the plot

The series was written and directed by 29-year-old Petr Pylypchuk. He was nominated for a Czech Lion award for his student short film "The Eighth Day," which had its world premiere in 2023 in the La Cinef competition section of the Cannes Film Festival. That film also dealt with a toxic environment — in that case, a cult with an authoritarian leader.

Kamarád is based on real case files and testimonies, though the story is presented anonymously. Its aim is to show why it's so hard for a young person to recognise the boundaries of friendship, and why the people around them — school, parents, police and the courts — struggle to react to such situations. The series is intended for viewers aged 12 and up, and will be accompanied by video materials for schools designed to support education, prevention and discussion of relationships, trust and responsibility.

The plot raises exactly this issue: people previously convicted of sexually abusing minors still cannot be banned from working with children once their conviction is expunged. An amendment to the criminal code is meant to change this by introducing a new instrument — the so-called Child Certificate. It would gather information on people convicted of crimes that could endanger children's safety.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz