I. A Calendar»
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2. 4.
The film crew of director Andrew Adamson began shooting at Barrandov Studio in Prague (Czech Republic) the continuation of the film Cronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Great Britain – USA, 2008). Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures collaborated on the film. The leading roles were played by Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley and Anna Popplewell. Barrandov Studio created on its premises a chateau, a castle courtyard and a forest with a lawn. The film was also shot in exteriors around Ústí nad Labem (Czech Republic).
2. 4.
Representatives of the city of Čáslav (Czech Republic) bought from the church the Miloš Forman cinema building and had a study made for its renovation. The cinema was renovated for the last time at the turn of the 1980s and currently does not comply with the requirements for modern facilities. The cinema was named after Čáslav native Miloš Forman in 2002.
4. 4.
Palace Cinemas Nový Smíchov multiplex in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the opening ceremony of the Czech feature film Dolls (Pusinky, dir. Karin Babinská, 2007).
4. 4.
The results of a poll entitled Film Heritage of World and Czechoslovak Cinematography were announced at a press conference held in Prague Czech Republic) regarding the upcoming 33rd annual Summer Film School in Uherské Hradiště (20. – 29. 7.). Fifty-six experts from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland voted and for the entire month of March people also voted on the Czech film website www.csfd.cz. The selection was linked to the so-called Golden Fund polls that took place in 1998 and 2000 as part of the Project 100 travelling festival. The final result created the basis for general film education at secondary schools. Experts and viewers voted on films categorized according to set historical stages. The following films were included in the film heritage (voting of experts is given first; the viewers' choice is given after the dash): the silent era Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (r. Robert Wiene, 1920, Germany) – Metropolis (dir. Fritz Lang, 1927, Germany); 1930s – 1940s Citizen Kane (dir. Orson Welles, 1941, USA) – Casablanca (dir. Michael Curtiz, 1942, USA); 1950s La strada (dir. Federico Felini, 1954, Italy) – Some Like It Hot (dir. Billy Wilder, 1959, USA); 1960s Blowup (dir. Michelangelo Antonioni, 1966, Great Britain) – 2001: A Space Odyssey (dir. Stanley Kubrick, 1968, Great Britain); 1970s Le charme de la bourgeoisie (dir. Luis Buñuel, 1972, France) – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (dir. Miloš Forman, 1975, USA); 1980s Der Himmel über Berlin/Les ailes du désir (dir. Wim Wenders, 1987, Germany – France) – Amadeus (dir. Miloš Forman, 1984, USA); contemporary: Pulp Fiction (dir. Quentin Tarantino, 1994, USA) – Forrest Gump (dir. Robert Zemeckis, 1994, USA); Czecho-Slovak Film Firemen's Ball (Hoří má panenko/La Fiesta de bomberos, dir. Miloš Forman, 1967, Czechoslovakia – Italy) – The Elementary School (Obecná škola, dir. Jan Svěrák, 1991, Czechoslovakia).
4. 4.
The 3rd annual announcement of the DVD Group.cz David annual prizes for best DVD video of 2006 was held. The winner for the various categories were – most popular DVD of the year: Ice Age 2 (dir. Carlos Saldanha, 2006, USA, Bontonfilm); most popular foreign DVD video: The Da Vinci Code (dir. Ron Howard, 2006, USA, Bontonfilm); most popular animated film on DVD video: Ice Age 2; most popular current Czech film on DVD The Rafters (Rafťáci, dir. Karel Janák, 2006, Magic Box); favourite classic foreign film on DVD video (1950 – 1979): You Only Live Twice (dir. Lewis Gilbert, 1967, Great Britain, Bontonfilm); favourite classic Czech film on DVD video (since 1950): The Incredibly Sad Princess (Šíleně smutná princezna, dir. Bořivoj Zeman, 1968, Bontonfilm); favourite pre-1950 archive film: The Hotel Modrá hvězda (Hotel Modrá hvězda, dir. Martin Frič, 1941, Czechoslovakia, Filmexport Home Video); most popular two-disc edition: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (dir. Mike Newell, 2005, USA, Magic Box); most popular collector edition of four or more discs: James Bond agent 007 – Monster Box, Bontonfilm; DVD with the most interesting bonuses: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Magic Box; best attractive DVD menu: Mission Impossible III (J. J. Abrams, 2006, USA – Germany, Magic Box). Special award for DVD with the highest quality picture: The Da Vinci Code, Bontonfilm; DVD with the highest quality sound: V for Vendetta (dir. McTeigue, 2006, Great Britain – USA, Magic Box); editing work of the year: Stalker (dir. Andrei Tarkovski, 1979, USSR, Zóna and Aerofilms); most attractive cover: James Bond agent 007 – Monster Box, Bontonfilm.
5. 4.
The Czech fairytale DVD film Malvína (dir. Miroslav Balajka, 2003) was introduced into cinema distribution at the Květen cinema in Jirkov (Czech Republic).
5. 4.
The Hudební divadlo Karlín (Music Theatre in Karlín) in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the premiere of the musical Lemonade Joe. The staging was studied by director Antonín Procházka, who chose Lumír Olšovský to alternate with Aleš Háma. Karel Fiala, the actor who played the starring role in the original film Lemonade Joe (Limonádový Joe aneb Koňská opera, dir. Oldřich Lipský, 1964), based on the book and theatre play by Jiří Brdečka, returned to the stage in the role of the father Kolaloka.
5. - 9. 4.
At the Pardubice (Czech Republic) part of the 14th annual International Festival of Film, Television and Video FEBIOFEST 2007 a special presentation was once again held. Following the successful screening of The Cremator (Spalovač mrtvol, dir. Juraj Herz, 1968) in 2006 at the Pardubice crematorium where the film was shot, the organizers prepared a screening of Jiří Menzel's Closely Watched Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky, 1966) at the train station there. České dráhy (Czech Railways) dispatched a train on which Václav Neckář, who played the role of Miloš Hrma, was brought to the evening screening.
5. - 22. 4.
An exhibition of photography by German director Wim Wenders and his wife Donata was held at the Main Station in Prague (Czech Republic). The Leica Gallery Prague train stopped at 16 Czech towns and cities. Three wagons provided the venue for two exhibitions. The first of these was named after a song by U2’s Bono Vox and Wender's film of the same name The Million Dollar Hotel (1999, Germany). The colour enlarged photographs were accompanied by texts by Bono Vox and supplemented by black-and-white photographs by Donata Wenders, which illustrated work on the film with leading actors Milla Jovovich and Jeremy Davies. For the second part of the exhibition the director and his wife lent photographs taken during the shooting of Wenders’ documentary film Buena Vista Social Club (1998, Germany). The photographs were accompanied by texts by Wim Wenders and the texts of the most popular songs from the film.
5. 4. - 13. 5.
The Gallery of city Plzeň (Czech Republic) hosted an exhibition upon the occasion of the 50th birthday of academician sculptor Jaroslav Róna (27. 4. 1957). The painter, graphic artist, sculptor, illustrator, screenplay writer for Sklep theatre and the author for the set designs for the Czech film America (Amerika, dir. Vladimír Michálek, 1994), entitled the exhibition Fifty, Fifty.
6. 4.
Director Miloš Forman was awarded for his contribution to Czech film's classic fund. The award was granted by the Masaryk Academy of Art, a non-governmental organization that arose in 1990 on the impulse of Anna Masaryková, the granddaughter of the first Czechoslovak president. The academy also awarded actress Vlasta Chramostová for lifelong achievement in Czech theatre. The Masaryk Academy awards ceremony is generally connected with a voluntary one-time donation by the award winner which is designated for the development of the academy's cultural activities.
10. 4.
The National Film Archive presented at its Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt in Prague (Czech Republic) to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the inception of the worldwide scouts movement the feature film On the Right Track (Na dobré stopě, dir. Josef Mach, 1948) and the feature documentary The Camp of the Black Dolphin (Tábor Černého delfína, dir. Hynek Bočan, 1966).
12. - 13. 4.
The National Film Archive in collaboration with the Austrian Culture Forum and Prague's Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts presented at its Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt in Prague (Czech Republic) Martina Kudlaček, Austrian filmmaker and graduate of the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague a programme entitled Muses of the Month – Maya/Marie/Martina. Two feature-length portraits were presented with the director's participation: In the Mirror of Maya Deren (V zrcadle Mayi Derenové/Im Spiegel Maya Deren, 2002, Austria – CR – Switzerland – Germany) and Notes on Marie Menken (2006, Austria – USA).
13. - 14. 4.
The Brno Cultural Centre in collaboration with experts from the Institute of Film and Audiovisual Culture of the Philosophy Faculty of Masaryk University prepared in the Art and Scala cinemas in Brno (Czech Republic) a screening of Czechoslovak “normalisation films” that have not been shown in cinemas since 1989. The screening opened with the film The Hippo (Hroch, dir. Karel Steklý, 1973), followed by Man Is Not Alone (Člověk není sám, dir. Josef Mach, 1971), The Victorious People (Vítězný lid, 1977) and No Death Bell for You (Tobě hrana zvonit nebude, 1976) by Vojtěch Trapl, The Twenty-Ninth (Dvacátý devátý, 1974) and A Risk Formula Driver (Jezdec formule risk, 1973) by Antonín Kachlík and Crazy Can-Can (Šílený kankán, 1982) by Jaroslav Balík. The films were accompanied by comments by film experts.
13. - 15. 4.
The 14th Šlitr Spring took place in Rychnov nad Kněžnou (Czech Republic). Co-founder of the Prague theatre Semafor, musical composer, artist and actor Jiří Šlitr (15. 2. 1924 – 26. 12. 1969) spent his student years at the secondary school in Rychnov nad Kněžnou and graduated from there. Šlitr's Spring began with a performance of It Began with a Chord in which Jiří Suchý, Jitka Molavcová and members of the Semafor theatre performed. In addition to musical performances and films, the festival featured an exhibition of nudes drawings by Jiří Šlitr. The films included The Glenn Miller Story (r. Anthony Mann, 1953, USA) and a film made from the footage of older musical films of Czech production The Singing Film (Zpívající film, dir. Vladimír Sís, 1972).
16. 4.
The Kotelna music club in Litomyšl (Czech Republic) hosted the screening of Inspired by AniFest, which featured winning films from the International Festival of Animated Films AniFest Třeboň 2006. Viewers could take in, among others, the Czech short film PSI-CHO (dir. Libor Pixa, 2005), which won the Prize of the Czech Ministry of Culture, the British film City Paradise (dir. Denis Gaëlle, 2004), awarded for best short film and director Michaela Pavlátová's The Carnival of the Animals (Karneval zvířat/Le carneval des animaux, 2006), which won the AniFest Grand Prix.
16. - 18. 4.
The Festival with an Environmental Theme – Film EkoBiograf 2007 took place in Brno (Czech Republic), which presented over three dozen films devoted to the environment and its protection. Documentary films were organized into blocks that presented individual problems related to the environment. The event opened with the screening of An Inconvenient Truth (dir. Davis Guggenheim, 2006, USA). Among the Czech films screened was A Bizarre World (Prapodivný svět, dir. Steve Lichtag, 2006), which won the screenplay for the Ekofilm 2006 festival.
17. - 22. 4.
Olomouc (Czech Republic) hosted The 42nd International Festival of Popular-Scientific and Documentary Films – Academia Film Olomouc 2007. Petr Bilík was the festival director. Winning filmmakers in the five categories received a new award – glass kaleidoscopes by artist Martin Hlubuček, graduate of the Fine Arts Faculty in Brno. The new concept of the festival programme featured a main thematic section Seeing the Body – a Czech and international competition of popular-science films, retrospectives of filmmakers, discussions with filmmakers and scientists, concerts, theatre performances, workshops and the market of popular-science films DOC.Port. The winner of the Czech part was the film Searching of a Good Death (Hledání dobré smrti, dir. Tomáš Škrdlant, 2006). In the festival's international competition the jury awarded the film Žižek! (dir. Astra Taylor, 2005, USA). Winning Czech films included Animal Testing (Pokusná zvířata, dir. Zdeněk Plachý, 2006) with the Prize of Vesmír magazine for best Czech documentary film in natural sciences, Name of the Crime (Zločin jménem Katyň, dir. Petra Všelichová, 2007) with the Prize of Dějiny a současnost magazine for best Czech documentary in the humanitarian and social sciences. The festival's Prize went to Czech director and actor Otakáro Maria Schmidt, whose film We Are not Angels, Just Doing Our Job (Nejsme andělé, jen děláme jejich práci, 2006) was awarded by the student jury. The prize for best V.Ř.E.D. went to the film The Shop (Obchod, dir. Miloš Kameník, 2006). The festival's main guest was French producer, screenplay writer and director Albert Barillé, author of the animated series Il était une fois …la vie (1986). He accepted at the festival the Award for lifelong contribution to world popular-scientific film. Other guests included Italian documentary filmmaker Virgilio Tosi, American media analyst Lisa Cartwright and film theoretician William Boddy. An accompany event was an exhibition of Images from Science at the Art Centre of Palacký University.
18. 4.
Palace Cinemas Slovanský dům multiplex in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the opening ceremony of the Czech feature film Bitch’s Diary (Bestiář, dir. Irena Pavlásková, 2007).
18. - 29. 4.
The 11th Festival on Travelling and Become Acquainted with Other Cultures Unknown Land was held in Zlín (Czech Republic). Festival was devoted to the 60th anniversary of the departure of adventurers Miroslav Zikmund and Jiří Hanzelka (24. 12. 1920 – 15. 2. 2003) on the first trip around the world. The festival's main programme featured a number of lectures, exhibitions, discussions, screenings and author readings. The festival director was Miroslav Náplava, a documentary filmmaker, who, along with Petr Horký founded the Camera Incognita Association and organized the festival. 22. 4. On the very day on which Hanzelka and Zikmund set out on their trip, the Municipal theatre Zlín held a concert by the Czechgroup Spiritual kvintet and the festival award, the Kantuta, a statuette from cast glass with a bronze crown, named after South American flowers that symbolised immortality in the Inca civilisation, was presented. The award went to director and screenplay writer Steve Lichtag for his film A Bizarre World (Prapodivný svět, 2006). An accompanying festival event was an exhibition of photography by Zdeněk Thom and Michal Thom in the Alternativa cultural institute from their travels through Sri Lanka and India. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first trip of Hanzelka and Zikmund the organizers created a new visual style for the 11th annual festival including posters in the 1950s style that corresponded to the era of the two adventurers' greatest fame.
18. 4. - 1. 7.
The Gallery of the City of Prague at the Old Town Hall hosted an exhibition of the work of Zbyněk Baladrán entitled Dictionary. The exhibition's main subject was the phenomenon of memory. The project created by video projects endeavoured to capture mechanisms of perceiving events and their retention, whether from the individual or collective memory. Since 2002 the artist has devoted himself primarily to video. He soon took to creating short films taken from archived footage. In the films Working Process (2004) and 1985 (2005) he demonstrated his method of working with footage.
19. 4.
The Czech fairytale DVD Vohnice and Kiliján (Vohnice a Kiliján, dir. Drahomíra Králová, Věra Šimková-Plívová, 2001) was introduced into cinema distribution at the Květen cinema in Jirkov (Czech Republic).
19. 4.
American actress Rachel Weisz worked on the shooting in Prague (Czech Republic) of the film The Brothers Bloom (dir. Rian Johnson, 2008, USA). Also acting in the film were French actor Adrien Brody and Japanese actress Rinko Kukuchi.
19. 4.
The National Film Archive in Prague organized at its Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt a friendly meeting upon the occasion of the birthday of a winner of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Oscar Award, academician architect Karel Černý (7. 4. 1922). The film The Most Beautiful Age (Nejkrásnější věk, dir. Jaroslav Papoušek, 1968) was screened and an exhibition of his set designs for Czech films was opened.
19. 4. - 2. 5.
The Czech Centre in Haag (the Netherlands) organized a Screening of the Works of Czech Director Pavel Juráček (2. 8. 1935 – 20. 5. 1989). In collaboration with the National Film Archive in Prague the following films were among those shown: The Dynamite Watcher (Hlídač dynamitu, dir. Zdenek Sirový, screenplay by Pavel Juráček, 1960), A Character in Need of Support (Postava k podpírání, dir. Pavel Juráček, Jan Schmidt, 1963), Every Young Man (Každý mladý muž, dir. Pavel Juráček, 1965) and The End of August at the Ozone Hotel (Konec srpna v hotelu Ozon, dir. Jan Schmidt, story and screenplay by Pavel Juráček, 1966).
20. 4.
The National Film Archive presented the puppet film The Emperor's Nightingale (Císařův slavík, 1949) at its screening hall in Prague (Czech Republic) on the occasion of the anniversary of the birth of artist and director Jiří Trnka (24. 2. 1912 – 31. 12. 1969) and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of music composer Václav Trojan (24. 4. 1907 – 5. 7. 1983).
20. - 30. 4.
The province of British Columbia (Canada) hosted the Czech Film Festival and the exhibition Czech Film Posters organized by the Czech Embassy in Ottawa and the International Film Centre in Vancouver. The following films were among those screened in collaboration with the National Film Archive in Prague: Black Peter (Černý Petr, dir. Miloš Forman, 1963), Ecstasy (Extase, dir. Gustav Machatý, 1932), Lemonade Joe (Limonádový Joe aneb Koňská opera, dir. Oldřich Lipský, 1964), That Cat... (Až přijde kocour, dir. Vojtěch Jasný, 1963) and Diamonds of the Night (Démanty noci, dir. Jan Němec, 1964).
22. 4.
The National Theatre in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the premiere of the jazz opera by Jiří Suchý and Jiří Šlitr (15. 2. 1924 – 26. 12. 1969) A Walk Worthwhile directed by Miloš Forman. The director worked on the staging with his sons Petr as co-director and Matěj as set designer. Conductor Libor Pešek undertook the musical study of the staging, Marko Ivanovič created the instrumentation, artist Andrea Sodomková, costume designer Jan Pištěk and choreographer Veronika Švábová were also members of the creative team. As he did 40 years ago, Jiří Suchý appeared on stage in the role of the postman; Jitka Molavcová played the aunt from Liverpool.
22. 4.
The authors of the screenplay for the Czech feature-length film Marta (dir. Marta Nováková, 2006) Marta Nováková and Jan Coufal received at the 2nd International Film Festival in Lefkosia, Cyprus the award for best screenplay.
23. - 27. 4.
The 4th International Festival of Film on Consistently Maintained Development — TUR Ostrava 2007 was held in Ostrava (Czech Republic). The Prize of the international jury went to the Czech film You Are Petr (Ty jsi Petr…, dir. Zdeněk Přikryl, 2004) and Honourable Mention went to the Czech film Ice Tide (Ledový příliv, dir. Michal Kubát, Petr Slezák, 2006).
23. - 29. 4.
The 20th Festival of Czech Films — FINÁLE Plzeň 2007 was held in Plzeň and Prague (Czech Republic). Ivan Jáchim was the festival director. Some of the screenings took place in the Evald, Světozor and MOVIE & TV STUDIO MAT cinemas in Prague. The Prague part of the FINÁLE was devoted to the history of Czech film and to its comparison with contemporary film. As part of the festival Evald cinema screened several Czech films from contemporary production that awaited comparison with films praised by viewers and critics such as Private Gale (Soukromá vichřice, dir. Hynek Bočan, 1967), Funeral Ceremonies (Smuteční slavnost, dir. Zdenek Sirový, 1969), The Nun's Night (Noc nevěsty, dir. Karel Kachyňa, 1967), Shame (Stud, dir. Ladislav Helge, 1967) and the fairytale film Pearls at the Bottom (Perličky na dně, dir. Jiří Menzel, Jan Němec, Evald Schorm, Věra Chytilová, Jaromil Jireš, 1965). The festival featured a tribute to documentary filmmaker Jan Špáta (25. 10. 1932 – 18. 8. 2006). The winner of the 20th annual festival was the feature-length film Dolls (Pusinky, dir. Karin Babinská, 2007), which received the Golden Kingfisher made by Plzeň artist František Bálek. In the competition for best documentary the jury awarded a Golden Kingfisher to the film Marcela (dir. Helena Třeštíková, 2007). The Viewer's Choice award and Award of the Association of Czech Film Clubs for 2006 went to the film Rules of Lies (Pravidla lži, dir. Robert Sedláček, 2006). The Award for best performance based on the voting of readers of the daily MF Dnes went to Eva Holubová for her role in the film Holiday Makers (Účastníci zájezdu, dir. Jiří Vejdělek, 2006). The Award for significant support of Czech film abroad went to Robert Richter, member of the selection committee of the International Film Festival in San Sebastian (Spain). The international jury for feature-length films headed by actress Iva Janžurová awarded the film It's Gonna Get Worse (...a bude hůř, dir. Petr Nikolaev, 2007) for exceptional work. The programme also featured films under the heading of Central European section, as well as the Czech feature film I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, dir. Jiří Menzel, 2006, CR – SR) and The Empties (Vratné lahve, dir. Jan Svěrák, 2007, CR – Great Britain – Denmark).
24. 4.
Czech Minister of the Interior Ivan Langer presented the service medal for archive work, awarded for the second time in history. The eighteen experts included National Film Archive historian Karel Čáslavský, author and moderator of the television series Remembrances of Times Past (Hledání ztraceného času), who was awarded for lifelong service on film archiving and the promotion of Czech film.
26. 4.
The St Anna Church in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted a performance by Czech singer, musician and actress Iva Bittová, who performed works from the project the Mater of Slovak music composer Vladimír Godár. Iva Bittová sang accompanied by violinist Miloš Valenta and the Slovak ensemble Solamente naturali directed by Martin Štryncl. In composing Magnificat, Vladimír Godár was inspired by the oldest Slovak translation of the Bible. In past year the composer received a Czech Lion award for music to the film The Return of the Idiot (Návrat idiota, dir. Saša Gedeon, 1999) and The City of the Sun (Sluneční stát/Slnečný štát, dir. Martin Šulík, 2005, CR – SR). Iva Bittová also worked with Vladimír Godár on the film The Landscape (Krajinka, dir. Martin Šulík, 2000, CR – SR).
26. 4. - 23. 5.
The General Consulate of the Czech Republic in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) organized a screening of Czech children’s films. In collaboration with the National Film Archive in Prague the following films were shown: the animated films Ferda the Ant (Ferda Mravenec, dir. Hermína Týrlová, 1943), The Mole as a Gardner (Krtek zahradníkem, dir. Zdeněk Miler, 1969), The Christmas Dream (Vánoční sen, dir. Karel Zeman, Bořivoj Zeman, 1945), The Incorrectly Drawn Hen (Špatně namalovaná slepice, dir. Jiří Brdečka, 1963), The Vanished World of Gloves (Zaniklý svět rukavic, dir. Jiří Barta, 1982) and the feature films Jumping Over Puddles Again (Už zase skáču přes kaluže, dir. Karel Kachyňa, 1970) and Six Bears and a Clown (Šest medvědů s Cibulkou, dir. Oldřich Lipský, 1972).
27. 4. and 2. 5.
The Filmachři Film Festival, organized as part of the Czech May Day celebrations was held at the Palace Cinemas Slovanský dům in Prague and at the Velký Špalíček in Brno (Czech Republic). Both the Prague (27. 4.) and Brno (2. 5.) screenings presented short films for the viewers. The main objective was to support and present amateur and partially professional short films by students of Czech film schools to the public at large. Films presented included Frothy is the Best (Nejlepší je pěnivá, dir. Jan Prušinovský, 2005), Enlightenment (Osvícení, dir. Helena Rosová, 2005), the documentary On the Other Track (Na druhé koleji, dir. Jan Foukal, 2005) and the animated film Little Fairy Tales (Malé pohádky, dir. Kristina Dufková, 2006).
27. 4. - 3. 5.
Český Těšín (Czech Republic) and Cieszyn (Poland) hosted the 9th Non-Competition Festival of Czech, Slovak and Polish Films – Cinema on the Border 2007. The festival featured all film adaptations of the literary works of Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal (28. 3. 1914 – 3. 2. 1997). In addition to Closely Watched Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky, 1966) and Cutting it Short (Postřižiny, 1980) directed by Jiří Menzel and Too Loud a Solitude (Příliš hlučná samota/Une trop bruyante solitude, 1995, CR – France – Germany) by Věra Caisová, the programme also featured, in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Bohumil Hrabal's death, the film I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, 2006, CR – SR) based on Hrabal's novel. The film's director and screenplay writer Jiří Menzel personally introduced the film. In the thematic section of the festival From the Life of Waiters the festival featured screenings of the co-production Czech-Polish film Behind the Scenes of the Pacific Hotel (Dvojí svět hotelu Pacifik/Zaklęte rewiry, dir. Janusz Majewski, 1975) and the Czech film Run, Waiter, Run! (Vrchní, prchni, dir. Ladislav Smoljak, 1980). New Czech films screened included The Empties (Vratné lahve, dir. Jan Svěrák, 2007, CR – Great Britain – Denmark), Beauty in Trouble (Kráska v nesnázích, dir. Jan Hřebejk, 2006) and Grandhotel (dir. David Ondříček, 2006).