Refusing the marriage plot 

Director Lenka Wimmerová returns to historical biography with Agnes, a project originally developed as a feature film before expanding into a two-part miniseries. The longer format allows the filmmakers to move beyond Agnes’s refusal of dynastic marriage, tracing the personal and spiritual development through which she found a vocation of her own within the social and religious structures of the 13th century. 

Historical dramas frequently follow aristocratic women resisting arranged unions, but such narratives usually lead toward another partner or a rival throne. Agnes of Bohemia chose a far rarer path. She did not reject one marriage in order to choose another man, but refused the assumption that marriage or male patronage alone should determine her future.  

Instead, she used the position to pursue a different vocation, founding a convent and hospital complex in Prague before joining the religious community she had established. Yet the miniseries makes clear that her decision should not be mistaken for a modern declaration of individualism. Agnes remained part of the social and ecclesiastical structures of her age, gradually discovering how to follow her convictions without surrendering her conscience or freedom of choice. 

Breaking away from conventional bio-pic formulas, writer Tereza Brdečková (Jiří Trnka: A Long Lost Friend, television series Bohéma), working alongside development director Dagmar Knöpfel, approached Agnes not as a saint already shaped by history, but as a young woman whose personal journey gradually transforms her into one of its defining figures. Brdečková outlines the core intent behind the narrative approach: "Legend has it that Agnes was a patron saint, a healer, a founder of religious orders. But our Agnes is much more: a strong and wise woman who refused to be royal merchandise for sale. She went through a difficult life experience and realized what truly matters: self-respect, divine and human love, and solidarity." 

Beyond the sainthood 

Creative producer Tereza Polachová of Czech Television sees the miniseries as balancing intimate character drama with a contemporary reading of the Middle Ages: "The miniseries combines two dimensions: the personal drama of a woman finding her own path, and a modern interpretation of the Middle Ages through a female perspective. It explores themes of the value of human life, justice, gender equality, compassion, and the responsibility of power." 

The story architecture of Agnes was shaped by a deliberate refusal of devotional hagiography. For the creative team, the challenge was to dramatize a life documented only in fragmentary sources, where legend frequently replaces human detail. The miniseries thus explores the personal cost of the choices Agnes makes and the moments when following her conscience appeared incomprehensible, even dangerous, to those around her. The creative team also sought to move beyond the familiar image of the Middle Ages as an age of darkness, the miniseries presents 13th-century Bohemia as a period of cultural flourishing, architectural ambition and growing European significance. 

Far from presenting spirituality as passive contemplation or mystical retreat, the filmmakers have approached faith as a force for action. In the High Middle Ages, compassion was not merely an emotional impulse but a commitment that required practical expression. Founding a convent and hospital meant navigating legal and ecclesiastical realities in order to transform conviction into lasting care for others. Producer Karla Stojáková of Film Kolektiv points to this bridge between medieval action and contemporary resonance: "Agnes’s story is timeless. It showcases values that resonate with today’s audience: family, friendship, and the courage to chart one's own path. Agnes renounced both privilege and personal happiness to help others. Her capacity to transform loss into positive action serves as a profound inspiration for today's world." 

A new perspective on national icon 

Research formed a critical part of the process, drawing on medieval charters, papal correspondence alongside the historical records of the Franciscan movement. The team explored how a young woman in the 1200s developed the authority and determination to pursue her aims in a world governed by royal and ecclesiastical hierarchies, revealing an influence rooted in conviction, empathy and a close understanding of the society she inhabited. 

Following her Czech Lion-winning miniseries Božena (2021), director Lenka Wimmerová returns to a story of woman who left a lasting mark on Czech history. While Božena Němcová and Agnes of Bohemia lived six centuries apart and embodied very different ways of confronting the world, both drew Wimmerová’s attention as personalities who remained true to themselves despite the expectations of their time. Her directorial concept for Agnes was not to portray an icon already shaped by history, but to reveal the unique qualities of a princess whose choices would gradually define an extraordinary life. 

In Czech cultural memory, Agnes of Bohemia occupies a unique position. Canonised by Pope John Paul II in November 1989, just five days before the Velvet Revolution, she became closely associated with the fall of communism and the return of democracy. For international audiences unfamiliar with this local context, the miniseries sets aside these later associations, returning instead to a 20-year-old woman making decisions in the dark, without knowing how she would eventually be remembered. 

Building Medieval Bohemia 

Cinematographer Martin Štrba (Charlatan, A Prominent Patient) focused on architectural weight and spatial restriction. Castles, monasteries, and other historical interiors are presented as living environments that shape the characters' experience, reflecting both the constraints and the possibilities of Agnes's world. Production designer Petr Kunc (Waves, television miniseries Božena) oversaw the construction of the miniseries’ medieval environment across locations, studio sets and post-production. “Our aim was to evoke the world of the 13th century,” producer Karla Stojáková said. “That meant combining medieval locations that existed in Agnes’s lifetime with studio-built interiors, while visual post-production completed the cityscape of medieval Prague.” 

Working alongside historian and theologian Professor Petr Kubín, one of the experts on Agnes of Bohemia, the creative team grounded the story in contemporary sources. Costume designer Katarína Štrbová Bieliková (Alma & Oskar, Charlatan) carried out extensive research into medieval textiles, liturgical vestments and period artefacts to ensure period accuracy. 

Central to this approach is Czech Lion winner Eliška Křenková (We Have Never Been Modern) in the title role. Her performance keeps the narrative firmly anchored in Agnes's emotional experience, combining quiet resilience with moments of doubt. Křenková is supported by a Czech and Slovak ensemble, including Barbora Bočková (Zátopek), Oskar Hes (Brothers), Viktor Zavadil (We Have Never Been Modern), Marián Mitaš (Lover, Not a Fighter), Jan Kolařík (Mistakes), Daniel Fischer (Snake Gas), Václav Jiráček (Medieval), Jaroslav Plesl (Toman), and Darija Pavlovičová (Perinbaba: Two Realms).  

The international co-production is reflected across both financing and creative leadership, bringing together collaborators from participating countries, inclduing Slovak cinematographer Martin Štrba and costume designer Katarína Štrbová Bieliková, the creative team has been joined by German artist Dagmar Knöpfel who served as development director, and Polish editor Milenia Fiedler (Alisa Kovalenko and Marysia Nikitiuk´s Trace). 

Produced by Karla Stojáková and Pavel Berčík of Film Kolektiv alongside Czech Television’s Tereza Polachová and Alena Müllerová, PubRes’s Zuzana Mistríková (Slovakia), 42film’s Eike Goreczka and Christoph Kukula (Germany), and MD4’s Agnieszka Kurzydło (Poland), Agnes was shot across major historic sites in the Czech Republic, including the Convent of St Agnes in Prague, Cheb Castle, the Basilica of St Procopius in Třebíč, Lipnice Castle, and Zvíkov Castle.  

Supported by Creative Europe MEDIA, the Czech Audiovisual Fund incentive programme, the Prague Audiovisual Fund, and regional funds, the completed miniseries is slated for its broadcast premiere and festival debut in late 2026.