I. A Calendar»
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
1. 2.
On the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the birth of artist, illustrator, screenplay writer and director Jiří Trnka (24. 2. 1912 – 30. 12. 1969) a screening was held of the animated films The Czech Year (Špalíček, 1947) and How the Old Man Changed until He Was Exchanged (Jak stařeček měnil až vyměnil, 1953) at the National Film Archive's Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt in Prague (Czech Republic). Other films from the work of Jiří Trnka were screened including The Old Czech Legends (Staré pověsti české, 1953), The Jolly Circus (Veselý cirkus, 1951), Passion (Vášeň, 1961) and The Hand (Ruka, 1965). 13. 2. A screening was held of the film A Midsummer Night's Dream (Sen noci svatojanské, 1959), which was shown before the opening of the exhibition of photographs from this film with participation of their author, cinematographer and photographer Jiří Vojta.
1. 2. - 15. 3.
The Czech National Library in the Klementinum building in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted an exhibition of posters against racism entitled Tolerance – Intolerance. The authors of the exhibited works were students of the Faculty of Applied Arts and Design of J. E. Purkyně University and students from Germany whose posters were borrowed by the Goethe-Institut in Prague. The exhibition was part of the accompanying programme to the International Festival of Documentary Films on Human Rights One World, organized by Člověk v tísni o. p. s. (People in Need) 28. 2. – 8. 3. One of the festival's themes was nationalism, racism and race-motivated extremism in a European context.
6. 2.
The final farewell to composer Karel Svoboda (19. 12. 1938 – 28. 1. 2007) took place at the Strašnice crematorium in Prague (Czech Republic). He was the author of dozens of songs, hundreds of musical accompaniments to films, theatre plays, musicals and television series. Karel Svoboda wrote, among other things, the music to the film fairytale Three Nuts for Cinderella (Tři oříšky pro Popelku, dir. Václav Vorlíček, 1973, CR – GDR) and to the musical Night at Karlstein Castle (Noc na Karlštejně, dir. Zdeněk Podskalský, 1973).
6. 2.
The National Film Archive in Prague (Czech Republic) organized in its Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt a screening of films by Miloš Forman, which this American director of Czech origin shot before emigrating to the USA. The screening began with the film Talent Competition (Konkurs, 1963) and followed with, among others, Black Peter (Černý Petr, 1963), Loves of a Blond (Lásky jedné plavovlásky, 1965) and Fireman's Ball (Hoří, má panenko/La Fiesta de bomberos, 1967, Czechoslovakia – Italy).
8. 2.
The Czech feature DVD The Golden Eels (Zlatí úhoři, dir. Karel Kachyňa, 1979) was introduced into cinema distribution at a cafe cinema in Ostrov nad Ohří (Czech Republic).
8. - 18. 2.
The 57th Berlin International Film Festival – Berlinale took place in Berlin (Germany). The festival opened with a screening of the film La Môme (dir. Olivier Dahan, 2007, France– Great Britain – CR) with the director and leading actress, French actress Marion Cotillard, in attendance. The Czech Republic and its cinematography was represented by five films chosen to all sections of the official programme. The feature film by director Jiří Menzel I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, 2006, CR – SR) was selected for the competition section and received the Jury's Prize of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI). Since 1989 it was the first time a Czech feature-length film was included in the main competition. The exception was the 40th annual Berlinale in 1990 when Jiří Menzel received the Golden Bear main prize for his vault work Skylarks on the String (Skřivánci na niti, 1969). The competition of short films included two Czech animated films: The Sea, Uncle, Why Is It Salty? (Moře, strýčku, proč je slané?, dir. Jan Balej) and Three Sisters and One Ring (Tři sestry a jeden prsten, dir. Vlasta Pospíšilová) from the film Fimfarum 2 (Fimfárum 2, 2006). The Panorama section included the feature film Grandhotel (dir David Ondříček, 2006) and the forum section featured director Petr Nikolaev's It's Gonna Get Worse (...a bude hůř, 2007). The Czech Film Centre in collaboration with European Film Promotion sent Czech Shooting Star Klára Issová to the festival where she was introduced to representatives of the international film industry, both personally as well as one of the leading actors from the film Grandhotel. Since 2007 was the 10th anniversary of the existence of European Film Promotion, the most successful actor of each member country who was formerly named a shooting star was invited to the festival. Anna Geislerová went for the Czech Republic. The crew of director Juraj Jakubisko organized a few short presentations of his historical epic Bathory (2008). The project of the new feature-length film Tobruk (CR – SR, 2008) by producer and director Václav Marhoul was selected as a European project for the European Film Market. The Czech Film Centre continued on the previous concept of presenting Czech film within the scope of the Central European Cinema stand. Partners of the Czech Film Centre were Barrandov Studio, Czech Television-Telexport, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and the International Festival of Films for Children and Youth in Zlín.
10. 2.
Under the auspice of the National Gallery in Prague (Czech Republic) there was held a memorial ceremony commemorating the 45th anniversary of the death of Czech actor Vlasta Burian (9. 4. 1891 – 31. 1. 1962) at his tomb in Vyšehrad. On this occasion a sculpture by academician sculptor Tomáš Vejdovský entitled the Hand of a Comedian was installed, replaced the actor's bust that was stolen years ago. The memorial ceremony was preceded by an assembly at the St. Peter and Paul Basilica in Vyšehrad.
10. 2.
Lucerna cinema in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the 14th nomination ceremony for the Czech Lion film prizes. Along with the nominations the winner of the second and third prize of the screenplay competition for unmade films for the Sazka Prize 2006 were announced. 2nd prize went to Marek Epstein's Signal (Signál) and 3rd prize went to screenplay writer Iva Hlaváčková's It Doesn't Get Any Worse Than This (Horší už to nebude). First place was announced at the Czech Lion’s Award Evening on 3. 3. The Magnesie prize – The Czech Lion for best foreign Film was awarded to the film Volver (dir. Pedro Almodóvar, 2005, Spain) which was accepted by representatives of the Hollywood Classic Entertainment distribution company. The Czech Film and Television Academy awarded the film I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, dir. Jiří Menzel, 2006, CR – SR) with a plaque for best film poster, a collectively created poster by the company AQS. Premiere magazine's Readers' Choice award for most popular film went to Holiday Makers (Účastníci zájezdu, dir Jiří Vejdělek, 2006). The Film Critics’ Award went to Rules of Lies (Pravidla lži, dir Robert Sedláček, 2006). Apparently for the last time the "anti-award", the Stuffed Lion, decide by film critics, was awarded. The critics decided that the worst Czech film was director Marcel Bystroň's By Way of the Head to the Butt (Po hlavě do prdele, 2006). The director of the Czech Film and Television Academy's director Petr Vachler plans to submit a proposal to the academy to remove this award, although he himself was the one who originally proposed it. The evening's moderator was actor Jan Budař.
12. - 16. 2.
The Art cinema in Brno (Czech Republic) hosted the festival Perspective of Spanish Film, which presented the development of Spanish film from the 1920s to present. The event was prepared by the Brno Culture Centre together with the Spanish Embassy. Among the classic and new feature-length films shown were Un chien andalou (1928, France), El angel exterminador (1962, Mexico) and Tristana (1970, Spain – France – Italy) by Luis Buñuel. Contemporary works were represented by the films of Alejandro Amenábar and Juan Carlos Fresnadillo.
13. 2.
The Roxy club in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted a performance of the Finnish band the Leningrad Cowboys with music from their album Zombie's Paradise. The band has been the protagonist in several films shot by Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki.
14. 2.
The opening ceremony took place in Prague’s (Czech Republic) Village Cinemas Anděl multiplex cinema for the premier of the feature film Code Name Maharal (Maharal – Tajemství talismanu, dir. Pavel Jandourek, 2007). The television series of the same name was produced parallel with film.
15. 2.
The Department of Theatre, Film and Media Studies of Palacký University's Philosophy Faculty in Olomouc (Czech Republic) offered secondary-school lecturers semester courses, educational materials and a database of primary film and theatre works. Thanks to the support of the European Social Fund a project was prepared in which received CZK 6.5 million and whose aim is to improve the quality of education of artistic fields at secondary schools in the Czech Republic. The department prepared a collection of 100 studies with analyses of primary works of world literature and film. Participants will have at their disposal manuals, including legal manuals, to know under which circumstances they can play and screen films and therefore do not have to worry about violating copyrights laws.
16. 2.
A joint exhibition of audio and video installations entitled AION by Danish artist Jacob Kirkegaard was opened in Prague (Czech Republic) at the Communication Centre on Školská street. American artist John Grzinich also presented his work with the installation Location Sound Films. Both artists worked with synthesis; i.e. the perception of one sense through another, e.g. hearing colours or the visual perception in colour of a sound. Both artists organized at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (10. 2.) a workshop on specific models of research, documentation and interpretation of the landscape via audio and video technology.
16. - 17. 2.
Zábřeh (Czech Republic) hosted the 3rd Competition Festival of Traveller Films Welzl’s Filmobile 2007, organized by the Club of Film Amateurs and Travellers of Zábřeh. First and third places went to the Czech films A Letter from India (Dopis z Indie, dir. Leoš Ryška, 2006) and Antarctica 2005 (Antarktida 2005, dir. Vlastimil Žán, 2005). Honourable mention went to the films Travels in Nepal (Nepálem, dir. Tomáš Kubák, 2007) and Friends (Kamarádi, dir. Bohuslav Cihla, 2007).
16. 2. - 10. 3.
The Mon@rchia festival was held in Moscow (Russia). The organizers focused on the question of whether there exists a shared cultural context of Central Europe, what the artists from this region have in common and what sets them apart and whether there exists a cultural-intellectual community in Central Europe. Six Central European countries including the Czech Republic took part. The event was accompanied by a number of exhibitions of young artists, film screenings, concerts and socio-political discussions. The name Mon@rchia was not intended politically, but as a certain type of community. In addition to exhibitions in Moscow's Central House of Artists, the Czech Republic was also represented in film, among others by David Jařab's Vaterland – A Hunting Logbook (Vaterland – lovecký deník, 2004). Slovak film was represented by the Juraj Jakubisko's film The Millenial Bee (Tisícročná včela, 1983). At the round-table discussion, which took place at Moscow University of Humanitarian Science on the theme of the Cultural Context of Central Europe, literary historian Martin Putna represented the Czech Republic.
19. 2.
The National Film Archive's Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt in Prague (Czech Republic) presented the DVD Remembering and Forgetting (Vzpomínky a zapomínání), which was issued by the National Film Archive together with the film company Dvanáct opic, s. r.o. (Twelve Monkeys). The Remembering and Forgetting project became one of the most extensive cultural events commemorating in 2005 the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II and presented viewers in five Central European countries during 2004 – 2005 with nearly 100 animated, documentary and feature films. The second part of the project became a travelling triptych consisting of the animated film The Revolt of the Toys (Vzpoura hraček, dir. Hermína Týrlová, František Sádek, 1947, Czechoslovakia), the feature film Pasażerka (dir. Andrzej Munk, Witold Lesiewicz, 1963, Poland) and the documentary The Ill-Fated Child (Zlopověstné dítě, dir. Lucie Králová, Miloslav Novák, 2003, CR), which was screened in Czech and Slovak film clubs. The project also consisted of the release of an educational DVD, containing the mentioned three films, each with a translation in the five language variations. The presentation of the DVD included a screening of the films The Revolt of the Toys (Vzpoura hraček), The Ill-fated Child (Zlopověstné dítě) and The Springer and the SS (Pérák a SS, dir. Jiří Trnka, 1946), the documentary film The Nameless Cemetery (Cintorín bez mena, dir. Juraj Šajmovič, 1963) and an exhibition of posters and photographs related to the given theme.
19. 2.
Moscow (Russia) hosted the 6th Golden Dolphin International Film Festival at which Czech director Steve Lichtag and his film A Bizarre World (Prapodivný svět, 2006) won the Grand Prix and Best U/W Animal Film award.
19. - 25. 2.
The anti-totalitarian festival Mene Tekel, whose objective was to objectively present new-age history, took place in Prague (Czech Republic). In addition to lectures given by experts, the programme also featured the screening of period films, supplemented by interpretations by historians and discussions with those who witnessed or directly took part in the third resistance. The event included a screening of documentary material capturing the show trial of the 1950s with politician Milada Horáková (25. 12. 1902 – 27. 6. 1950) at the Municipal Library. The National Film Archive showed in its Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt in Prague the feature films The Seventh Day, the Eight Night (Den sedmý – osmá noc, dir. Evald Schorm, 1969), The Party and the Guests (O slavnosti a hostech, dir. Jan Němec, 1966) and Kidnapped (Únos, dir. Ján Kadár, Elmar Klos, 1952) among other films and an exhibition of posters. The event was organized by the civic association Art without Barriers in collaboration with the Confederation of Political Prisoners of the Czech Republic and the Prague City Council.
19. 2. - 14. 3.
Ostrava (Czech Republic) hosted a festival commemorating the 20th anniversary of the death of the founder of pop-art, artist, director, writer and photographer and one of the major figures of modern art, Andy Warhol (6. 8. 1928 – 22. 2. 1987), whose parents came from Slovakia. The festival featured an exhibition of pictures and other exhibits in the Fiducia club. The exhibits were on loan from the Slovak Museum of Modern Art of Andy Warhol in Medzilaborce (Slovakia). The curator of the exhibition was Herbert Miroslav Procházka. The festival also featured the exhibition of Pavel Albert's IdeoLab in Gallery 7 and an exhibition of Slovak photography and post pop-artist Daniel Brogyányi in the Ostrava Museum entitled Andy Warhol and Post Pop-Art in Slovakia. The Minikino cinema screened in its new spaces the documentary film Absolut Warhola (dir. Stanislav Mucha, 2001, Germany).
20. 2.
The British Film Club was opened at the Regional Library in Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic). The library began operating the club in collaboration with the British Council.
21. 2.
Palace Cinemas Slovanský dům multiplex in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the opening ceremony of the Czech film musical The Wonder (Kvaska, dir. Mirjam Landa, 2006).
22. 2.
Palace Cinemas Slovanský dům multiplex in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the opening ceremony of the British-Czech-Italian-French feature film Hannibal Rising (dir. Peter Webber, 2007).
22. 2.
The Czech feature DVD Aren't Swords for Ladies? (Dámě kord nesluší?, dir. Drahomíra Králová, 1999) was introduced into cinema distribution at a cafe cinema in Ostrov nad Ohří (Czech Republic).
22. 2.
The MOVIE & TV STUDIO MAT cinema hosted in Prague (Czech Republic) a premiere of the series of short animated films Inspiration for Equal Opportunity (Inspirace pro rovné šance, 2006). The films arose as part of a project conducted by the association Civic Inspiration with support from the European Social Fund and state budget of the Czech Republic.
22. 2.
A screening of Josef Císařovský's film essay Four Moments of Silence (Čtyři okamžiky ticha, 1995) was held in Prague (Czech Republic) at the parish club of the church Our Lady of the Snow together with a discussion with the film's creator on internal and external landscapes.
23. - 25. 2.
The Czech Centre in Bucharest (Romania) and Cinemateca Romana organized a screening of the films of Czech artist, director and writer Jiří Trnka (24. 2. 1912 – 30. 12. 1969) to commemorate the 95th anniversary of his birth. In collaboration with the National Film Archive the following films were among those screened: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Sen noci svatojanské, 1959), Old Czech Legends (Staré pověsti české, 1953), Bayaya (Bajaja, 1950), Grandpa Planted a Beet (Zasadil dědek řepu, 1945) and The Hand (Ruka, 1965).
25. 2.
Lucerna cinema in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the 12th annual awards ceremony of the Association of Czech Cinematographers (AČK) for exceptional cinematography work. The Lifetime Achievement award was presented by AČK and the theatre, literary and audiovisual agency DILIA to cinematographer and teacher Jiří Macák, who collaborated with, among others, Czech directors František Vláčil, Otakar Vávra, Oldřich Lipský, Zdenek Sirový, Evald Schorm and Jiří Menzel. The annual prizes went to Josef Špelda for camera work in the film for television Disguised Voice (Zastřený hlas, dir. Viktor Polesný, 2005) and to Jaromír Šofr for the film I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, dir. Jiří Menzel, 2006, CR – SR). The Jaroslav Kučera Special Recognition for students of the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague went in memorian to Jaromír Páviček (2. 2. 1975 – 24. 10. 2006) for his camera work in the film Where the Lamps Roam (Kde lampy bloudí, dir. Jakub Kohák, 2006).
25. 2. - 14. 3.
The Metro cinema in Vienna (Austria) hosted a retrospective of Czech New Wave films. The festival, which featured 24 feature-length films and 18 short films, was presented by the Austrian Film Museum (Österreichisches Filmmuseum) in collaboration with the National Film Archive in Prague and the Czech Centre in Vienna. Helmut Pflügl was the festival's curator of the festival entitled Kafka's Children – The Film Avantgarde of Prague Spring. Screened films included director Věra Chytilová's We Eat the Fruit of the Trees of Paradise (Ovoce rajských stromů jíme/Nous mangeons les fruits des arbres du paradis, 1969, Czechoslovakia – Belgium), her graduate film The Ceiling (Strop, 1961) and the short film A Bag of Fleas (Pytel blech, 1962). Other films shown included Intimate Lighting (Intimní osvětlení, dir Ivan Passer, 1965), A Character in Need of Support (Postava k podpírání, dir Pavel Juráček, Jan Schmidt, 1963), Closely Watched Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky, 1966) and Capricious Summer (Rozmarné léto, 1967) by Jiří Menzel, The Cremator (Spalovač mrtvol, dir. Juraj Herz, 1968) and the short films Cruelties of Life (Sběrné surovosti, dir. Juraj Herz, 1965) and Mouthful (Sousto, dir. Jan Němec, 1960). The screening was linked to a complete retrospective on 8. – 28. 2. of Czech and American films by director Miloš Forman (18. 2. 1932) in honour of his 75th birthday.
27. 2. - 8. 4.
The House of the Lords of Kunštát in Brno (Czech Republic) hosted the opening of an exhibition Polish artist Katarzyna Kozyrová, representative of so-called critical art. The artist is the holder of the Special award of the Venice Art Biennale. Her video Men's Spa was awarded by the jury. The exhibition also featured 12 film projects grouped under the title In Art Dreams Become Reality. Most of the films shot from 1993 feature the artist as protagonist and director.
28. 2.
The Světozor cinema in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the ceremonial opening of the Czech documentary film Marcela (dir. Helena Třeštíková, 2007), which opened the 9th International Festival of Documentary Films on Human Rights – One World 2007.
28. 2. - 8. 3.
The 9th International Festival of Documentary Films on Human Rights – One World subtitled We’re Looking for Real Stars for You was opened at the Lucerna and Světozor cinemas in Prague (Czech Republic). The festival was organized by Člověk v tísni, o. p. s. (People in Need). The Homo Homini award went to Svetlana Gannushkina who works to fight against the violation of human rights in the former Soviet Union. No Czech film was awarded. Festival director Igor Blaževič commemorated Czech documentary filmmaker Pavel Koutecký (10. 6. 1956 – 14. 4. 2006), who tragically died last year. Koutecký was for many years a member of the jury's festival and helped created its programme. In his memory the AFiS –Association of Film & Sociology announced a new prize – the Pavel Koutecký award (see 7. 6.) The festival featured seminars and discussions, concerts and exhibitions, including the exhibition The Epi Center — Jiří Doležel, photographs from the humanitarian mission in Pakistan, which was opened on 23. 2. in Brno at the Břetislav Bakala hall. The festival continued in another 16 Czech towns and cities.