I. A Calendar»
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December
1. 9.
In the town of Skalsko (Czech Republic) a new School of Photography, Film and TV was opened. Two classes will accommodate future photographers and filmmakers studying for their high-school graduation exam. The director of the school is the documentary films screenwriter and director Pavel Hiřman. Among the schools’ teachers are many film professionals, such as directors Karel Smyczek and Petr Skala, script editor and screenwriter Alexander Lukeš and experimental filmmaker Ondřej Anděra.
1. 9.
The film by director Jiří Menzel I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, 2006, CR – SR) was nominated for the European Film Awards, in the category of The People’s Choice Award. The European Film Academy (EFA) in Berlin (Germany) enables film fans from all over Europe to choose their favorite film. European film prizes in various categories were awarded in Berlin on 1. 12. No Czech film was award.
1. - 30. 9.
The film haberdashery shop Terry’s Socks (Terryho ponožky), as part of their exhibition programme Golden Era of Czech Film Poster and in cooperation with cinemas Světozor and Aero in Prague (Czech Republic), organized an exhibition of film posters for Czech films. The cinema visitors had a chance to get acquainted with works of Czech artists from the 1960s and 70s and look at posters for films including Loves of a Blonde (Lásky jedné plavovlásky, dir. Miloš Forman, 1965), The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na korze, dir. Ján Kadár, Elmar Klos, 1965), Black Peter (Černý Petr, dir. Miloš Forman, 1963), Who Wants to Kill Jessie? (Kdo chce zabít Jessii?, dir. Václav Vorlíček, 1966), Marketa Lazarová (dir. František Vláčil, 1967), Closely Watched Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky, dir. Jiří Menzel, 1966), We Eat the Fruit of the Trees of Paradise (Ovoce stromů rajských jíme/Nous mangeons les fruits des arbres du paradis, dir. Věra Chytilová, 1969, CSSR – Belgium), The Cremator (Spalovač mrtvol, dir. Juraj Herz, 1968), Lemonade Joe (Limonádový Joe aneb Koňská opera, dir. Oldřich Lipský, 1964), Death of the Beautiful Roebucks (Smrt krásných srnců, dir. Karel Kachyňa, 1986) and Three Veterans (Tři veteráni, dir. Oldřich Lipský, 1983). The posters on display were designed by Czech graphic artists and painters who focused on poster art between the beginning of 1960s and 1989, including Karel Vaca (21. 7. 1919 – 31. 3. 1989), Zdeněk Ziegler, Karel Teissig (19. 4. 1925 – 1. 10. 2000), Eva Švankmajerová (25. 9. 1940 – 20. 10. 2005), Zdeněk Palcr (3. 9. 1927 – 12. 7. 1996), Josef Vyleťal (18. 6. 1940 – 3. 2. 1989), Jaroslav Fišer (10. 10. 1919 – 21. 6. 2003), Karel Saudek, Zdeněk Kaplan, Milan Grygar and Vladimír Bidlo (19. 10. 1926 – 1997).
2. - 6. 9.
Znojmo (Czech Republic) held the 9th year of the Znojmo Grape International Radio and Television Festival of Gastronomy 2007. Besides film competition the festival presented accompanying projections and concerts. Awards in the category of advertisement spots all remained in the Czech Republic – The Golden Grape went to Kofola – Nudist Beach (Kofola – Nuda pláž, dir. Jakub Kohák, 2006) spot of Kofola company, the Silver Grape 2007 was awarded to Plzeňský prazdroj for the film Pilsner Urquell – Bedřich Smetana (dir. Xavier Mairese, 2006), Kofola also won the Bronze Grape 2007 for the advertisement Rajec – Animals (Rajec – Zvířatka, r. Jasmina Blažević, 2006).
4. - 30. 9.
The Czech Police Museum in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted an exhibition marking the 10th anniversary of Vlasta Burian Society. The show was compiled by collector and historian Jaromír Farník. Ivan Vápenka, another member of the Society, prepared an exposition on Vlasta Burian Society’s activities. Documentary films showed the unveiling of a memorial plaque on Burian’s villa in Dejvice and at Sparta stadium in Letná, as well as the transfer of the remains of the “king of comedians” Vlasta Burian (9. 4. 1891 – 31. 1. 1962) and his wife Nina (real name: Františka Červenková-Burianová, 1893 – 10. 4. 1962) to Vyšehrad cemetery.
5. 9.
Village Cinemas Anděl multiplex in Prague hosted the opening ceremony of Czech feature film Teddy Bear (Medvídek, dir. Jan Hřebejk, 2007).
6. - 9. 9.
The Association of Czech Cinematographers in cooperation with the National Film Archive and companies AFM Lighting and AXIUS organized a ceremonial evening to mark the 65th birthday of cinematographer Zdeňek Pospíšil (18. 8. 1942) in the National Archive Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt in Prague.
6. - 9. 9.
Toronto (Canada) hosted its 32nd International Film Festival. Among hundreds of films from fifty-five countries Czech cinematography was represented in Contemporary World Cinema section by the film Empties (Vratné lahve dir. Jan Svěrák, 2007, CR – Great Britain – Denmark), in the Discovery section by the film Roming (dir. Jiří Vejdělek, 2007, CR – SR) and the classics’ programme entitled Dialogues: Talking with Pictures featured Closely Watched Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky) by Jiří Menzel from 1966.
8. 9.
Česká Třebová (Czech Republic) held a festival of modern Slovak culture September with Slovak Culture. In the local club Modrý trpaslík (The Blue Dwarf) Slovak cinematography was represented by the documentary film of director Martin Šulík Seven Magic Years (Sedem magických rokov, 2005, SR) and by the three-part TV documentary Unintentional Children (Nechtěné děti, dir. Ivana Křenová, 2003).
8. 9.
The Academy of Arts and Sciences awarded the 59th annual Emmy Awards in Los Angeles (USA). The Czech filmmaker Petr Cikhart was awarded the golden statue in the Creative Arts category. The jury appreciated his camera work in an individual race of the TV series The Amazing Race, which enters its tenth broadcasting season at CBS.
8. - 15. 9.
Mladá Boleslav (Czech Republic) held its 5th Festival of European Film Smiles. Six Czech and nine European films entered the competition. The winner was chosen by the international jury chaired by British film critic Philippe Bergson. Czech cinematography was represented by the films Bitch’s Diary (Bestiář, dir. Irena Pavlásková, 2007), Empties (Vratné lahve, dir. Jan Svěrák, 2007, CR – Great Britain – Denmark), Grandhotel (dir. David Ondříček, 2006), Money Makes the Man (Prachy dělaj člověka, dir. Jiří Chlumský, 2006), Roming (dir. Jiří Vejdělek, 2007, CR – SR) and The Ro(c)k of Pariahs (Ro(c)k podvraťáků, dir. Karel Janák, 2006). International films included Mein Führer: Die wirklich wahrste Wahrheit über Adolf Hitler (dir. Dani Levy, 2007, Germany) and Mr. Bean’s Holiday (dir. Steve Bendelack, 2007, Great Britain – USA – Germany). Jan Kuděla was the festival’s director, and its president was the German cabaret artist, comedian and actor Ottfried Fischer, who played the leading role in the German TV crime series Der Bulle von Tölz, who presented the director’s Special award to Serbian actor Gojko Mitić. The actor is famous for his roles in Red Indian movies. Other foreign guests were the German actors known to audiences as detectives Wolf and Siska; Jürgen Heinrich and Peter Kremer. A festival novelty was the addition of screenings of films from Czech Television archives. The ŠKODA AUTO main prize went to the Czech film Empties (Vratné lahve). Best European Film went to Mein Führer: Die wirklich wahrste Wahrheit über Adolf Hitler. The main prize – Barrandov Studios Prize – for Best Czech Film was awarded to Roming. Best Actress – JCDecaux Prize went to Daniela Kolářová for her convincing and emotionally strong performance in Empties (Vratné lahve). The Festival’s Director Prize went to Zdeněk Svěrák for all film smiles and the Audience Prize – KOVO labor unions prize – went to Bitch's Diary (Bestiář).
11. 9.
The Institute of Documentary Film in cooperation with Czech Film Centre and Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival organized a presentation of documentary projects at the Krásný ztráty (Nice Lost) TV bar, a programme of Czech Television (Czech Republic). Helena Třeštíková presented a trailer from her feature-length time-lapse documentary entitled René – Czech Villon (René – český Villon, 2008). The programme further featured film clips from Home (Domov, dir. Margareta Hruza, 2007), Medela, Latin for Help (Medela, latinsky pomoc, dir. Olga Sommerová, 2007), Birth Plan (Porodní plán, dir. Kateřina Kačerovská, Gabriela Kontra, 2007) and from films in the making Roses for Rome (Růže pro Řím, dir. Marián Polák, 2008), Murders in Live Transmission (Vraždy v přímém přenosu, dir. Radim Špaček, 2008), The Report on Lódź (Zpráva o Lodži, dir. Pavel Štingl, 2008) and For the Love of Prague (dir. Janek Růžička, 2006).
11. - 27. 9.
The Goethe-Institut in Prague (Czech Republic) in cooperation with the National Film Archive organized an exhibition of film posters commemorating the 25th anniversary of the death of German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder (31. 5. 1945 – 10. 6. 1982) – Fassbinder in Today’s Perspective. A Tribute to R. W. Fassbinder. On the occasion of the exhibition, the National Film Archive organized screenings of six Fassbinder’s films at its Ponrepo screening hall in Bio Konvikt. The programme opened with the Die Ehe der Maria Braun (1979, Germany).
12. - 16. 9.
Mariánské Lázně hosted the second part of the 8th International Festival of Czech-German Jewish Culture Nine Gates (the first part of festival was held in Prague on 11. – 17. 6.). The festival was organized by the agencies Monte Christo and its president was Czech writer Arnošt Lustig. For the first time the autumn part of the festival took place outside of Prague as it connected with the first film festival held in Mariánské Lázně in 1945 in what was then Czechoslovakia. The festival programme included over forty feature and documentary films with Jewish themes. In some of the films the authors dealt with the coexistence of national or ethnic minorities with the majority population. The festival opened in the Municipal theatre with the screening of The Power of Humanity – Nicolas Winton (Síla lidskosti – Nicholas Winton, dir. Matej Mináč, 2001, CR – SR) and a concert by the West Bohemian Philharmonic Orchestra. The festival also included screenings of films by TV Nova reporter Stanislav Motl The Boy and the Stars (Chlapec a hvězdy, 2003), Content Murderers (Spokojení vrazi, 2005) and The Experiment (Experiment, 2006). Crystal Menorah prizes – were awarded at the end of the festival. The Crystal Menorah for contribution to Jewish culture was awarded in memoriam to the makers of the film Jakob der Lügner (1974, East Germany) – the German director Frank Beyer (26. 5. 1932 – 1. 10. 2006) and the Czech actor Vlastimil Brodský (15. 12. 1920 – 20. 4. 2002), who played the leading role in the film. Vlastimil Brodský’s award was received by his son Marek Brodský. A Crystal Menorah in the category of feature film went to the Czech film Divided We Fall (Musíme si pomáhat, 2000) by Jan Hřebejk. The prize for documentary film went to director Helena Třeštíková for Unspeakable (Nesdělitelné, 2007) from the cycle Memory of the 20th Century (Paměť 20. století). The third part of festival was held in Prague on 19. – 21. 10.
12. 9. - 15. 10.
Australian institutions (The National Film and Sound Archive Canberra, Chauvel Cinema Sidney, Melbourne Cinematheque and Mercury Cinema Adelaide) organized a film event entitled Czech Cinema Phantasy 60’s and 70’s Years. In cooperation with the National Film Archive in Prague the programme included The Ear (Ucho, dir. Karel Kachyňa, 1970), Daisies (Sedmikrásky, dir. Věra Chytilová, 1966), The End of August at the Ozone Hotel (Konec srpna v hotelu Ozon, dir. Jan Schmidt, 1966), The Cremator (Spalovač mrtvol, dir. Juraj Herz, 1968), Valery’s Week of Wonders (Valerie a týden divů, dir. Jaromil Jireš, 1970) and animated films The Castle of Otranto (Otrantský zámek, 1977) and The Pendulum, the Pit and Hope (Kyvadlo, jáma a naděje, 1983) by Jan Švankmajer.
13. 9.
FILMEXPORT HOME VIDEO company in cooperation with the National Film Archive organized at the NFA Ponrepo screening hall in Bio Konvikt in Prague (Czech Republic)a press conference on the occasion of a new DVD release from the Golden Fund of Czech Film edition, the silent film The Loves of Kačenka Strnadová (Lásky Kačenky Strnadové, dir. Svatopluk Innemann, 1926). Vlasta Burian and Zdena Kavková played the leading roles in the film. Among those who attended the press conference were the film historian PhDr. Pavel Taussig, the author and performer of the musical accompaniment Miroslav Kořínek, Jiří Ströminger, relative of the film and theatre photographer Willy (Vilém) Ströminger (4. 10. 1902 – 17. 11. 1985), and film historians of the National Film Archive Eva Urbanová and Blažena Urgošíková.
13. - 16. 9.
Třinec (Czech Republic) hosted its 15th festival of Czech, Slovak and Polish films, the Třinec Film Summer, which presented 33 film screenings in several sections. An important part of the programme was seven Polish, Czech and Slovak directorial debuts in competition for the main prize of ministries of culture of Polish, Czech and Slovak republics. The winner was chosen by an international jury, whose members included also Ondrej Šulaj and Jerzy Wozniak. The second section in the festival programme were returns to great filmmakers – from the Polish Machulski family and the Czech Svěrák family. The film by Juliusz Machulski Vabank (1981) opened the festival. The cooperation of screenwriter and actor Zdeněk Svěrák and his son director Jan Svěrák was represented by the films Empties (Vratné lahve, 2007, CR – Great Britain – Denmark), The Elementary School (Obecná škola, 1991), Kolya (Kolja, 1996, CR – Great Britain – France) and Dark Blue World (Tmavomodrý svět, 2001). Among the most recent films featured in the programme were I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, dir. Jiří Menzel, 2006, CR – SR), Roming (dir. Jiří Vejdělek, 2007, CR – SR), Testosteron (dir. Tomasz Konecki, Andrzej Saramonowicz, 2007, Poland) and Little Girl Blue (Tajnosti, dir. Alice Nellis, 2007, CR – SR). The winner in the debuts competition was Czech director Robert Sedláček for his feature film debut Rules of Lies (Pravidla lži, 2006). The Viewers’ Choice prize went to Pavel Jandourek and his film Code Name Maharal (Maharal – Tajemství talismanu, 2007, CR).
13. - 16. 9.
Evald cinema in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted a festival of films by Czech director and screenwriter Evald Schorm (15. 12. 1931 – 14. 12. 1988). The distribution company Cinemart organized the programme to mark ten years of the operation of the small cinema named after the director, and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Czech cinemas. The festival opened with the screening of Courage for Every Day (Každý den odvahu, 1964). The programme further featured The Return of the Prodigal Son (Návrat ztraceného syna, 1966), The End of a Priest (Farářův konec, 1968) and The Seventh Day, the Eighth Night (Den sedmý – osmá noc, 1969).
15. 9.
Lucerna Palace in Prague (Czech Republic) celebrated 100 years since the opening of the first Czech permanent cinema. The programme opened with projections of Czech silent films from that era including footage of a ceremonial bow of Mr Ponrepo, who founded the Czech first “stone” cinema. Viktor Ponrepo, real name Dismas Šlambor (6. 6. 1858 – 4. 12. 1926), opened his cinema on 15. 9. 1907 in the Blue Pike house in Karlova street in Prague. Ponrepo’s cinema space was a reconstruction of a former cabaret with 200 seats capacity. The event was organized by Cinemart distribution company in cooperation with Lucerna Palace, Association of Cinema Operators and with the support of the State Fund of the Czech Republic for the Support and Development of Czech Cinematography.
15. 9.
Přelouč (Czech Republic) hosted the 13th František Filipovský Awards for best artistic and acting performances in dubbing audiovisual works. The František Filipovský Prize for best actress and actor performance in dubbing was awarded to Eliška Balzerová for her dubbing of the character Rosemary Boxer (played by actress Felicity Kendal) in Enter Two Gardeners (2005), part of the third season of British TV series Rosemary and Thyme (dir. Tom Clleg, Brian Farnham, 2005), Czech version directed by Zuzana Zemanová, made by S. Pro Alfa for FTV Prima s. r. o., and Alois Švehlík for the character Bombolini (played by Anthony Quinn) in The Secret of Santa Vittoria (dir. Stanley Kramer, 1969), Czech version directed by Zdeněk Štěpán for Czech Television, taking into account his performance dubbing the Richard Esser character (played by Götz Georg) in television film Mein Vater (dir. Andrea Kleinert, 2003, Germany), Czech version directed by Mikuláš Pánek and made by Czech Television. The FITES and ARBOmedia Prize for outstanding dubbing of an audiovisual work of merit went to the film A Good Woman (dir. Mike Barker, 2004, Great Britain – Italy – Spain, translated by Vladimír Fuksa, sound by Antonín Němec, dialogue and director of Czech version by Jan Pecha, for Blue Sky Film made by AW studio Praha). The Prize of the Union of Interpreters and Translators for outstanding quality of translation and dialogue adaptation of the audiovisual work The Secret of Santa Vittoria was awarded to Michaela Ebrová for translation and Helena Čechová for dialogue adaptation. The British American Tobacco Prize for lifelong outstanding achievement in dubbing went to the dubbing director of Czech Television Zdeněk Hruška. The Sennheiser and the Association of Sound Professionals Prize for best sound in a dubbed audiovisual work was awarded to Jan Neskusil for the film Poseidon (dir. Wolfgang Petersen, 2006, USA, Czech version directed by Jan Pecha, produced by Warner Home Video and made by AW studio Praha). The Special František Filipovský prize for outstanding dubbing of TV or film works of all genres including animated, children’s and TV series went to parts 10 – 12 of the TV series Rome (2005 – 2007, Great Britain – USA) translated by Daniela Margoliusová (sound by Petr Mandák, dialogue and director of Czech version Jiří Kvasnička, made by SDI Media). The Prize for lifelong outstanding achievement in dubbing went to Jan Teplý (30. 7. 1931 – 25. 2. 2007) in memoriam, Eva Klepáčová and Rudolf Krátký.
15. - 30. 9.
The programme of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Film Archive in Budapest (Hungary) featured a screening of the Czech film The Long Journey (Daleká cesta, dir. Alfréd Radok, 1949) in cooperation with the National Film Archive in Prague.
19. 9.
The programme directors in Aero cinema in Prague (Czech Republic) prepared a project entitled Naslepo (Blindfold). The viewers didn’t know what film they were going to see and the entrance fee was up to them to decide depending on their appreciation of the film. The films featured in the evenings were not available in general distribution, but were selected especially by the programme directors of the cinema.
19. 9.
The National Film Archive’s Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted a film evening entitled Interwar Czechoslovakia in Amateur Films. The programme featured Chod Region Celebration of Baar (Chodské oslavy Baarovy, 1933), Velká Pardubická Steeplechase – 1933 (Velká pardubická – 1933, 1933), Across Prague in the Spring (Napříč Prahou na jaře, 1934), Masaryk Racing Circuit 1934 (Masarykův okruh 1934, 1934), From the Last Days of Holiday (Z posledních dnů prázdnin, 1935) and Prague Yesterday and Today (Praha včera a dnes, 1938). The films were screened with piano accompaniment.
20. 9. - 2. 12.
The grand hall of the Museum of Southeastern Moravia in Zlín (Czech Republic) held an exhibition of large format black and white photographs of the countryside of the Moravian-Slovak borderland by photographer, filmmaker, ethnographer and folklorist Karel Plicka (14. 10. 1894 – 6. 5. 1987). One of his most well known films is Land of Song (Zem spieva, 1933), he also wrote many popular publications about folklore. The curator of the exhibition was Alena Prudká.
21. 9.
The Czech Film and Television Academy has chosen the film I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, dir. Jiří Menzel, 2006, CR – SR) as the country’s entry for the best foreign-language film category in the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards (Oscars).
22. 9.
The Czech organization People in Need celebrated 15 years of existence, during which it had grown to be one of the largest humanitarian organizations in the new member states of the European Union. The celebration took place on Prague’s Střelecký Island (Czech Republic) and the programme included the representatives of the organization speaking about the growth of the organization starting with humanitarian aid that dealt with emergencies, later development aid and the present. Another of their activities is organizing the One World film festival, which focuses on human rights issues.
22. 9.
On the occasion of the 100 years of Czech cinemas 1907 – 2007 celebrations Světozor cinema in Prague (Czech Republic) featured in its programme films which occupy the first five positions in the chart of Film Heritage of Czech-Slovak Cinematography – The Cremator (Spalovač mrtvol, dir. Juraj Herz, 1968), Closely Watched Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky, dir. Jiří Menzel, 1966), The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na korze, dir. Ján Kadár, Elmar Klos, 1965), Marketa Lazarová (dir. František Vláčil, 1967) and Firemen’s Ball (Hoří, má panenko/La Fiesta de bomberos, dir. Miloš Forman, 1967, Czechoslovakia – Italy).
22. - 29. 9.
Nové Město nad Metují (Czech Republic) hosted the 29th Nové Město Pot of Laughter Festival of Czech Film and Television Comedy. The festival organizer was the local City Council and City Club. The film screenings opened with Empties (Vratné lahve, dir. Jan Svěrák, 2007, CR – Great Britain – Denmark), the programme for the days that followed included: I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, dir. Jiří Menzel, 2006, CR – SR), Roming (dir. Jiří Vejdělek, 2007, CR – SR), High School (Gympl, dir. Tomáš Vorel, 2007, CR) and Bitch’s Diary (Bestiář, dir. Irena Pavlásková, 2007, CR). Empties (Vratné lahve) by the screenwriter Zdeněk Svěrák and director Jan Svěrák received five awards: the festival’s main prize Golden First for the best comedy, Prize for best directing, FITES Prize for screenplay and Daniela Kolářová was awarded by the Prize for best female performance for her portrayal of the character Eliška. The audience prize the Nové Město Pot of Laughter, which is traditionally determined by the longest-lasting audience laugh during the screenings also went to father and son Svěrák’s film. The award for achievement in visual style went to Jaromír Šofr for I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále), the Prize for best male performance was awarded to Boleslav Polívka for his portrayal of Stano in the film Roming. The Zdeněk Podskalský award for the most distinctive performance of a young artist went to Tomáš Vorel Jr. for his performance as Petr Kocourek in High School (Gympl). The festival’s president Pavel Zedníček presented Dagmar Havlová with an award for her contribution to Czech comedy. The Prize of the Actors’ Association for outstanding performance in TV films, made-for-TV plays and acted documentaries went to Jitka Čvančarová.
23. 9.
Archa Theatre in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the ceremonial premiere of the artist Petr Nikl’s film entitled Mozart’s Requiem (Mozartovo Requiem, 2007). The film and musical evening featured a concert by an improvised FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague conducted by Petr Nikl with the Lakomá Barka chorus.
23. - 30. 9.
At the Carrousel International Youth Film Festival in Rimouski (Canada) the Czech feature film Code Name Maharal (Maharal – Tajemství talismanu, dir. Pavel Jandourek, 2007) won the Audience Prize.
24. 9.
Prague’s Rudolfinum Concert Hall hosted as part of the 17th Prague Autumn International Music Festival a concert of the most famous Hollywood film music. The Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra performed music from the films E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (dir. Steven Spielberg, 1982, USA), Schindler’s List (dir. Steven Spielberg, 1993, USA) and Star Wars (dir. George Lucas, 1977, USA) composed by John Williams, Mutiny on the Bounty (dir. Lewis Milestone, 1962, music: Bronislau Kasper, USA) and Dances with Wolves (dir. Kevin Costner, music: John Barry, Peter Buffett, 1990, USA).
26. 9.
The multiplex Village Cinemas Anděl in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the opening ceremony of the feature film High School (Gympl, dir. Tomáš Vorel, 2007).
26. 9.
Theatre and film actor Michal Pavlata, playwright Milan Uhde together with director Miloš Forman and his sons Petr and Matěj were awarded the Sazka and Divadelní noviny (The Theatre News) Prize for outstanding theatrical performance in Czech theatres in the past season. The choreographer Hana Litterová and the alternative theatre artist René Levínský, the author and scenarist of the Czech comedy Rail Yard Blue (Ještě žiju s věšákem, plácačkou a čepicí, dir. Pavel Göbl, Roman Švejda, 2006). The awards ceremony was held in the Husa na provázku Theatre in Brno (Czech Republic).
27. 9.
Světozor cinema in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the ceremonial premiere of the Czech-Macedonian coproduction feature film MOVIE – An Introduction to the Philosophy of Auteur Film (MOVIE aneb Úvod do filozofie autorského filmu, dir. Ivo Trajkov, 2007).
27. 9.
Světozor Cinema in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the ceremonial premiere of a feature-length documentary Lost Holiday (Ztracená dovolená, dir. Lucie Králová, 2007).
27. 9.
Czech director Jiří Menzel was presented with a Honorary Award for film mastery at the Haifa International Film Festival (Izrael). Apart from this award, the festival programme featured several of his films, including Closely Watched Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky, 1966) and I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, 2006, CR – SR).
27. 9. - 7. 10.
Reykjavik (Iceland) hosted the 4th International Film Festival. The festival focused on high-quality independent film projects from around the world. The prestigious section Three Times Three featured three films by Czech director and screenwriter David Ondříček The Loners (Samotáři, 2000, CR – Slovenia), One Hand Can’t Clap (Jedna ruka netleská, 2003) and Grandhotel (2006). The director personally introduced his films.
27. 9. - 31. 12.
The Association of Czech Film Clubs organized the first Central Europe 2007, a travelling films project which drew attention to several neglected filmmakers from central European countries, and put the important contemporary films into distribution. The films were presented in cinemas and film clubs throughout the Czech Republic. The programme included the following films: Vier Minuten (dir. Chris Kraus, 2006, Germany), Import Export (dir. Ulrich Seidl, 2007, Austria – France), Konyec (dir. Gábor Rohonyi, 2006, Hungary), Martin Slivka – The Man Who Planted the Trees (Martin Slivka – muž, ktorý sadil stromy, dir. Martin Šulík, 2007, SR), MOVIE – An Introduction to the Philosophy of Auteur Film (MOVIE aneb Úvod do filozofie autorského filmu, dir. Ivo Trajkov, 2007, CR – Macedonia), Plac Zbawiciela (dir. Joanna Kos-Krauze, Krzysztof Krauze, 2006, Poland), Odgrobadogroba (dir. Jan Cvitkovič, 2005, Slovenia) and Lost Holiday (Ztracená dovolená, dir. Lucie Králová, 2007, CR). The project cooperated with the festival Der Film, which took place between 4. – 12. 10. in Prague and 10. – 12. 10. in Brno.
28. 9.
The Czech animation film programme started at the 8th International Animated Film Festival AniMadrid in Pozuelo de Alarcón near Madrid (Spain). The programme was a part of the project called A Spanish Autumn with Czech Film. The films presented capture the development of Czech animation from the 1930s to the present was screened in Valencia, Seville, Alcalá de Henares and in Segovia. The programme was accompanied by an exhibition of puppets by Czech director and animator Aurel Klimt. The event was organized by the Czech Centre in Madrid in cooperation with the National Film Archive in Prague (Czech Republic). The screenings included the films Jack-of-all-trades’ Adventure (Všudybylova dobrodružství, dir. Karel Dodal, Iréna Dodalová, 1936), The Water Sprite in Love (Zamilovaný vodník, dir. Hermína Týrlová, 1928), Ideas in Search of Light (Myšlenka hledající světlo, dir. Karel Dodal, Iréna Dodalová, 1938), The Gift (Dárek, dir. Jiří Trnka, 1946), The Incorrectly Drawn Hen (Špatně namalovaná slepice, dir. Jiří Brdečka, 1963), The Shooting Gallery (C.K. střelnice, dir. Miroslav Štěpánek, 1969), The Widow from Efez (Vdova z Efezu, dir. Jaroslav Boček, 1971), The Apple Maiden (Jabloňová panna, dir. Břetislav Pojar, 1973), Greedy Barbara (Lakomá Barka, dir. Vlasta Pospíšilová, 1986), The Pied Piper (Krysař, dir. Jiří Barta, 1985) and The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, the Sailor from York (Dobrodružství Robinsona Crusoe, námořníka z Yorku, dir. Stanislav Látal, 1981). The feature films presented included The Ceiling (Strop, dir. Věra Chytilová, 1961) and Diamonds of the Night (Démanty noci, dir. Jan Němec, 1964). 6. 10. The programme of Czech animated films was taken up by a cinematheque in Valencia, which presented also the feature film Eroticon (Erotikon, 1929) by Gustav Machatý, as part of their Sombras Recobradas festival of silent film. Andalusian Centre of Contemporary Art in Seville featured in its programme three cycles – Czech Animation 1947 – 1982, Czech Animation of the 1990’s and Contemporary Czech Animation – Anifest retrospective.
28. 9. - 7. 10.
Prague’s Atlas Cinema organized the 4th Escapades 2007, Czech films for everybody (not only for foreigners). This year’s programme featured several high-quality films of Czech starting from the 1930s to present. The event was the organized by the Meandr Cultural Centre with the support of the city of Prague and the Czech-German Fund for the Future. All films were presented with English subtitles. The programme opened with the pre-premiere of director Ivo Trajkov’s film MOVIE – An Introduction to the Philosophy of Auteur Film (MOVIE aneb Úvod do filozofie autorského filmu, 2007, CR – Macedonia), followed by mini retrospectives of Pavel Juráček (2. 8. 1935 – 20. 5. 1989) which included the film Every Young Man (Každý mladý muž, 1965), František Vláčil (19. 2. 1924 – 27. 1. 1999) – with his The Valley of the Bees (Údolí včel, 1967) and Adelheid (1969), as well as Věra Chytilová’s Daisies (Sedmikrásky, 1966), We Eat the Fruit of the Trees of Paradise (Ovoce stromů rajských jíme/Nous mangeos les fruits des arbres du paradis, 1969, Czechoslovakia – Belgium). World War II was the subject matter of the films Convoy Leaving Paradise (Transport z ráje, dir. Zbyněk Brynych, 1962) and A Carriage Going to Vienna (Kočár do Vídně, dir. Karel Kachyňa, 1966). There was also a screening of Gustav Machatý’s From Saturday to Sunday (Ze soboty na neděli, 1931) with songs by composer and pianist Jaroslav Ježek (25. 9. 1906 – 1. 1. 1942) composed for poems by Vítězslav Nezval (26. 5. 1900 – 6. 4. 1958). The era of Normalization was treated in the films Enemy at the Steering Wheel (Za volantem nepřítel, dir. Karel Steklý, 1974) and The Wonderful Years that Sucked (Báječná léta pod psa, 1997), It’s Gonna Get Worse (...a bude hůř, 2007) by Petr Nikolaev. Directors Petr Nikolaev, Ivo Trajkov, Juraj Herz and Miloš Zábranský personally attended the event.