Date: 7.2. – 7.2.2025
Time: 20:30
Title: Pachová stopa | New Release
Location: Kino Lumiere (K3), Špitálska 4, Bratislava
Organizer: Kino Lumiere (K3), K3

Event Description:
Are you missing evidence but still want to shine in statistics for successfully closed cases? There’s a foolproof solution: the dog.

Zuzana Piussi’s film builds upon her investigative work, which explores the problematic construction of reality and the blind alleys in Central European justice systems. The idea that there is an impartial method that generates “truth” at the level of facts and evidence can be reassuring. The use of scent trails—an invisible collection of traces from a person’s presence at a specific location, detectable only by an “impartial” dog—seems to offer this hope at first. This method relies on the unquestionable sensitivity and ability of dogs to distinguish specific substances in trace amounts, which has relevance in many cases. However, problems arise when Czech justice and police uncritically integrated this method into the practice of justice after 1989, elevating it to a key piece of evidence. In other words, if a suspect’s scent trail is marked as positive, it’s enough for a conviction—without further evidence or even in spite of contradicting evidence.

The film follows the stories of judicial errors and people serving long sentences while seeking to reopen their cases. Why are there no cases for reopening dubious verdicts, even though scientific experts legitimately question the reliability of scent trail evidence? How is it that the Czech Republic is a global leader in solving murders, surpassing even developed Western countries?

This documentary delves deep into the ethical and legal challenges associated with using scent trails as a crucial form of evidence, questioning the reliability and fairness of the system.