I. A Calendar»
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
1. - 5. 10.
Nitra (Slovak Republic) hosted the 24th International Festival AGROFILM 2007. The festival awarded two Czech films. First Prize in the category of Information and Prestigious Films went to the film Nature’s Come Back (Návrat přírody, dir. Jasoň Šilhan, 2007) and the Prize of the Union of Farm Cooperatives and Commercial Companies went to A Bizarre World (Prapodivný svět, dir. Steve Lichtag, 2006).
1. - 7. 10.
The city of Chemnitz in Saxony (Germany) hosted the 12th International Film Festival for Children and Young Audiences. The Czech film Crash Road (2007) by director Kryštof Hanzlík was awarded the Special Jury Prize in competition of 32 other films. The jury, made up of young viewers aged 14 and older, appreciated especially the presentation of the theme, which speaks to today’s young generation.
3. - 4. 10.
Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic) hosted the 40th International Festival of Films and Videospots on Tourism TOURFILM 2007. From the Czech colection, the film Becherovka 200 Years (Becherovka 200 let, dir. Michal Caban, 2007) was awarded the Jury Prize in the Category of videos and films from commercial tourism (travel agencies, hotels, services) under 30 minutes. First Prize in the Category of documentary and publicity films produced for TV broadcasting up to 60 minutes went to VORGA – A Path of Two Banks (VORGA – cesta mezi břehy, dir. Zdeněk N. Bričkovský, 2006) and in the Multimedia category (CD ROM or web site on tourism or travel) one of the projects awarded the Prix Jury was the film Industrial Paths through West Central Bohemia (Industriální cesty Českým Středozápadem, dir. Petr Prchal, 2007), sent to the competition by the Statutory City of Kladno. The Prize of the Hetman of the Karlovy Vary region went to Karlovy Vary Pictures (Karlovarské obrazy, dir. Pavel P. Ries, 2007). At the same time as TOURFILM, the national competition TOUR REGION FILM 2007 was held, which included two competition categories – Films and Multimedia – for films and videos on regional tourism. First prize in Films category went to Ostrava – City in Motion (dir. Petr Panáč, 2006). The jury awards went to Becherovka 200 Years (Becherovka 200 let), The Giant Mountains (Krkonoše/Karkonosze, dir. Petr Dvořáček, 2006). Bohemian Paradise – Land of Magic and Dreams (Český ráj – krajina kouzel a snů, dir. Jan Eisner, 2007), Telč and Its Surroundings (Telč a okolí, dir. Jan Lengyel, 2006), The Olomouc Region – Choose an Experience (Olomoucký kraj – Vyberte si zážitky!, dir. Ivan Marek, 2007), South Bohemian Rambling on Horseback (Jihočeské vandrování v sedle, dir. Luděk Švejcar, 2006), Welcome to Osek (Vítejte v Oseku, dir. Vlastimil Šafránek, 2007), New Buildings in Old Prague (Nové stavby ve staré Praze, dir. Mojmír Hošt, 2006) and the prize for best camera direction was awarded to Richard Špůr for The Land of Mystery (Krajina tajemství, dir. Martin Suchánek, 2006). The winning video in the category of Multimedia was Czech UNESCO Heritage (České dědictví UNESCO, Czech Tourism production, 2006). Besides the TOURFILM festival, Karlovy Vary also hosted the Karlovy Vary Spa Festival and a conference of Czech Association of Spas. In the Spa Festival the main prize was awarded to the spa company Miramare Luhačovice. Czech Tourism organized these events under the common heading Karlovy Vary Week.
3. 10. 2007 - 1. 2. 2008
At the Europalia 2008 festival in Brussels (Belgium), the Czech Republic was represented by concerts by the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK, an exhibition from National Gallery collections, literary presentations and theatre performances, and also by Czech films. The main part of the event was an art exhibition held under the title The Grand Atelier – Paths of the European Arts from the 5th to the 18th century which opened on 5. 10. in the Brussels Centre for Fine Arts. Unlike two previous editions, this year’s Europalia festival was not focused on one specific country, but it focused on all 27 member states of the European Union. This was to mark the 50th anniversary of the Treatie of Rome, which was the founding act of today’s European Union. The exhibition was accompanied by a screening of the film 27 x 27 x 27. Cinematographer Luc Vrijdaghs and photographers Michiel Hendryckx and Johan Jacobs traveled across Europe’s 27 countries to meet 27 personalities to ask them which work of art they thought was the most representative of Europe. In the Czech Republic they interviewed director Jiří Menzel.
4. 10.
Dolores Ljiljana Bata Arambasic received the honorary prize in the Czech Senate awarded to outstanding women of Czech origin 2007. The prize is awarded by the International Coordination Committee for Czechs Abroad in cooperation with the Senate’s committee for Czechs living abroad. The granddaughter of the entrepreneur Jan Antonín Bata lives in Brazil where she was born. She speaks Czech well and consistently presents Czech culture to Brazilian audience. Bata Armabasic has translated more than twenty Czech films and TV productions into Portuguese for Brazilian TV, including the TV series Circus Humberto (dir. František Filip, 1988) as well as several film adaptations of Milan Kundera’s novels.
4. - 11. 10.
Cinemas Světozor and Aero in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the 2nd Festival of German Language Films Der Film, accompanied with a travelling exhibition of films entitled Central Europe. The festival opened with the screening of the film by director Fatih Akin Auf anderen Seite (2007) which was selected as Germany’s entry to contest for the Oscar, the award given by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In total, 28 feature as well as documentary films made in 2006 – 2007 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland were presented. The programme also featured a retrospective of films by German director Wim Wenders. Before the start of the festival, Světozor cinema opened an exhibition of posters by the distinguished German graphic artist Hans Hillmann from the 1950s to the 1960s. Hillman is the author of 130 film posters and he is known for his book illustrations and cooperation with the F.A.Z. magazine. Between 10. – 12. 10. the festival also took place at Art cinema in Brno (Czech Republic).
5. - 7. 10.
Kroměříž (Czech Republic) hosted the 35th International Selective Competition of Non-Professional Non-Commercial Film and Videos on Art, Animated Films, Video Art and Experimentation –ARSfilm Amateurs Kroměříž. The Grand Prize of the Town of Kroměříž – the Gold Kroměříž Taler went to Episode VIII (Epizoda VIII, dir. Martin Láník, 2006). The Prize of the Jury – the Silver Kroměříž Taler – was awarded to amateur filmmaker from Kroměříž Vladislav Františ for TAKAHE (2006). The international jury selected films in the category of films about art, in which the winners were Bohumil Kheil with the film The Oner and May (Machr a Máj, 2001) and Petr Baran and his film Jan Hanuš – Stacking (Jan Hanuš – Vrstvení, 2007). Both filmmakers received the Silver Kroměříž Taler ex aequo in the category of animated films. The 2nd prize went to Strip-teasing (Striptýzky, dir. Petr Nedjalkov, 2007). Petr Baran won also in the category of videoart and experimental film, in which he was awarded the Bronze Kroměříž Taler for No Regrets, Near a Bone (Bez lítosti, blízko kosti, 2007). Director Ladislav Františ was awarded the Czech Union for Film and Video Prize and the Audience Prize (Kroměříž Cultural Centre Prize) for Honour for Singing (Pocta zpěvu, 2007).
5. - 7. 10.
Film club in Rychnov nad Kněžnou (Czech Republic) hosted the 24th Nationwide Thematic Seminar of Instructors and Members of Film Clubs CR and SR entitled Film Laughter of Marián Labuda. During three days the viewers in Rychnov nad Kněžnou cinema were offered ten Czech and Slovak films starring the Slovak actor Marián Labuda: My Sweet Little Village (Vesničko má středisková, dir. Jiří Menzel, 1985), The Bulldogs and the Cherries (Buldoci a třešně, dir. Juraj Herz, 1981), Pacho the Outlaw (Pacho, hybský zbojník, dir. Martin Ťapák, 1975), The Beggar’s Opera (Žebrácká opera, dir. Jiří Menzel, 1991), Before Tonight Is Over (Kým sa skončí táto noc, dir. Peter Solan, 1965), The Crime of Bacilpýška (Zločin slečny Bacilpýšky, dir. Jozef Režucha, 1970), Zima kúzelníkov (dir. Dušan Trančík, 2006), Watch Out! (Dávajte si pozor!, dir. Jozef Heriban, Jozef Slovák, 1990), King Ubu (Král Ubu, dir. F. A. Brabec, 1996), Roming (dir. Jiří Vejdělek, 2007, CR – SR), I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, dir. Jiří Menzel, 2006, CR – SR) and The End of Old Times (Konec starých časů, dir. Jiří Menzel, 1989). On 6. 10. there was a discussion with Marián Labuda followed by autograph signing.
5. - 14. 10.
Bucharest (Romania) hosted the 2nd International Animation Film Festival ANIM’EST. The feature-length film One Night, One City (Jedné noci v jednom městě, 2007) by director Jan Balej who is also the author of the script and of animation, won another trophy there: First prize in the category of feature-length films. The film was presented at the ANIM'EST festival in cooperation with the Czech Cultural Centre in Bucharest, which also showed a selection of films from Prague’s film school FAMU.
5. - 16. 10.
Brno (Czech Republic) hosted the non-competition travelling festival of Czech and international films Drugs and Myths, organized by the Outstretched Hands Association. The festival opened in Art cinema by the new documentary Drugs and Myths (Drogy a mýty, dir. Petr Baran 2007, CR), followed by a discussion with filmmakers. The discussion was joined by a former client of the Outstretched Hands association, TV presenter Tereza Pergnerová. The programme included the Czech feature film Rules of Lies (Pravidla lži, dir. Robert Sedláček, 2006, CR) and documentaries Family (Rodina, 2003,), Gates of Paradise (Brány ráje, 2004) and the twenty-minute film Afghanistan (Afghánistán Hamidullah – jeden malý příběh, 2007) by Petr Baran. The film Afghanistan reports on a country which produces 87 percent of the world’s opium, where drug consumption is widespread and opium production is the main source of income. The material was filmed during the implementation of the Breaking the Circle project, in which Czech specialists help to develop services for and raise awareness among Afghan drug addicts as well as among local medical doctors, who are learning to deal with drug-related problems. The festival was held also in Olomouc, Prostějov, Uherské Hradiště and Znojmo.
6. 10.
Valencia (Spain) hosted a part of the extensive project Spanish Autumn with Czech Film started at the 8th International Animated Film Festival AniMadrid in Pozuelo de Alarcón near Madrid. The complete Czech animated films selection from AniMadrid was screened during three weeks. Czech animated films were presented in Seville, Alcalá de Henares and in Segovia. The Andalusian Centre of Contemporary Art in Seville featured three programmes dedicated to the Czech Republic: Czech animation 1947 – 1982, Czech animation of the 1990s, and Contemporary Czech animation – Echoes of Anifest. Besides animated film Spanish viewers were also offered feature films and documentaries. As part of the annual silent film exhibition Sombras Recobradas (15. 10.), lovers of old movies were treated in Madrid to a cycle of seven Czech silent films. The selection included film Eroticon (Erotikon, 1929) by Gustav Machatý.
8. 10.
Jindřich Goetz was named the new rector of the Film Academy of Miroslav Ondříček in Písek (Czech Republic). The new rector, who has worked as a set designer in about 120 Czech films, graduated from Applied Architecture at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. In 1996 he was awarded the Czech Lion for Best Design Achievement for his collaboration on the film by director and cinematographer F. A. Brabec King Ubu (Král Ubu, 1996).
8. - 11. 10.
Ústí nad Labem (Czech Republic) hosted the 24th International Festival of Film, Television and Video by Women Artists (3rd re-newed year). The featured films should present the world from women’s perspective, but this year for the first time the festival also included a “male” section. The Femina Grande award went to director Alice Nellis and her film Little Girl Blue (Tajnosti, 2007, CR – SR). The festival’s main prize went to the documentary by David Čálek Berkat and Marsho/Happiness and Freedom (Berkat a Maršo/Štěstí a svoboda, 2007) about the Chechen children’s dance group Marsho and about the Civic Association Berkat. The Special prize for a feature film went to filmu Dolls (Pusinky, dir. Karin Babinská, 2007), the Prize for documentary film was awarded by the jury to Industrial Elegy (Industriální elegie, dir. Daniela Gébová, 2006), the Prize for animated film went to director Ludmila Lou Poláková for her film Noggin (Kebule, 2007) and Barber Votress (Holička volička, 2006) by director Kateřina Vrbová won the Student film prize. The film contest was accompanied by a programme of autograph signings, author readings, Jan Burian show, theatre production of The Vagina Monologues at the Činoherní Studio Theatre, and an author exhibition The Secret of Life of Photographer Líba Taylor. Among the festival’s guests were the festival’s patron Iva Ritchelová – president of the University of Jan Evangelista Purkyně in Ústí nad Labem, the production crew of the films Dolls (Pusinky) and Little Girl Blue (Tajnosti), Jiřina Šiklová and Petra Procházková. The programme included an informative retrospective of films by the controversial German director and filmmaker Leni Reifenstahl, and a showcase of films by this year’s Femina Grande winner – Alice Nellis.
8. - 14. 10.
Two South Bohemian cities, České Budějovice and Český Krumlov (Czech Republic), hosted the 33rd International Film Festival on the Environment, Natural and Cultural Heritage EKOFILM 2007. The contest presented 142 films from 33 countries, 54 of which were selected into competition. The awarded Czech films were Experimental Animals (Pokusná zvířata, dir. Zdenek Plachý, 2006) – Award in the Category of Journalism, Reporting, Farmers (Sedláci, dir. Alena Činčerová, 2007) – Award of the Czech Ministry of the Environment, A Touch from the Other Side (Dotek z druhého břehu, dir. Viliam Poltikovič, 2006) – Award of the City of Český Krumlov and The Living Heart of Europe (Živé srdce Evropy, dir. Robert Sedláček, Marián Polák, 2007) – Award of the South Bohemia Region.
9. - 10. 10.
The 7th Year Awards Ceremony of the Association of Cinema Operators Nový Bor Academy of United Cinematography in the Czech Republic took place in Nový Bor (Czech Republic). The event, where the jury were directors of Czech cinemas, was organized by the town cinema of Nový Bor. The film Empties (Vratné lahve, 2007, CR – Great Britain – Denmark) was the clear winner of the vote. It was voted the best and most successful film in distribution, the director Jan Svěrák won the prize for best director, Zdeněk Svěrák took the prize for best actor and Daniela Kolářová won the prize for best actress. The Academy Chairman Prize and Ajeto Glass prize went to another Empties (Vratné lahve) actress Nela Boudová.
9. - 12. 10.
The 39th Ota Hofman Children’s Film and Television Festival took place in Ostrov (Czech Republic). The festival has a tradition of three juries: jury of experts, juniors jury and viewers jury. The jury of experts awarded the Ota Hofman Prize for best film in the category for children younger than twelve to the television film by author and director Monika Elšíková A Christmas Story (Vánoční příběh, 2007), the Ota Hofman Prize in the category between 13 and 18 years of age went to Karin Babinská’s film Dolls (Pusinky, 2007) and the Special Prize of the expert jury awarded to a film with the most pronounced moral message was given to the television film by director Pavel Jandourek The Chimney Sweeper’s Apprentice and the Confectioner’s Daughter (O kominickém učni a dceři cukráře, 2006). The jury further awarded honourable mentions to: Jaromír Kačer, the cinematographer of A Christmas Story (Vánoční příběh), to Marie Doležalová for her performance as Iška in Dolls (Pusinky) and to Karel Roden for his performance as Karel in A Christmas Story (Vánoční příběh). The junior jury awarded the Cristal Ball Prize in the category for children under 12 to Code Name Maharal (Maharal – Tajemství talismanu, 2007) by Pavel Jandourek, the Crystal Ball in the category between 13 and 18 years old went to director Karel Janák for his The Ro(c)k of Pariahs (Ro(c)k podvraťáků, 2006), the Golden Hoopoe Prize for best young actor was awarded to Matyáš Valenta for his performance as Ondra in Code Name Maharal (Maharal – Tajemství talismanu) and the Golden Hoopoe for best young supporting actress went to Petra Šimberová for her performance as Veronika in Code Name Maharal (Maharal – Tajemství talismanu). Based on the voting, the children’s viewers’ choice award went to the television film 100 +1 Princess (100 + 1 princezna, 2006) directed by Jaroslav Hanuš. The staff presented the Golden Bowler Hat Prize to director Zdeněk Zelenka for contribution to television production for juniors and children. The director of DK Ostrov and Ota Hofman Festival Marek Poledníček awarded the Golden Little Hoopoe Prize (based on internet poll) to Arthur, Merlin and the Prchlíks (Artuš, Merlin a Prchlíci, 1995) by directors Věra Šimková-Plívová and Drahuše Králová.
9. - 10. 10.
Smečky Gallery in Prague (Czech Republic) opened an exhibition of works by some of the members of Prague’s Jára Cimrman Theatre entitled Jára Cimrman Theatre and its Talents. The exhibition displayed graphics by Jaroslav Weigel, wood-cuts by Jan Hraběta and portrait photos by Petr Brukner. The only professional artist in the group is Jaroslav Weigel, who used to work as a graphic artist in the Mladý svět magazine and also cooperated on the graphic design of festival newsletters at the IFF Karlovy Vary. The exhibition was supplemented by stage decorations, costumes and designs for the play Blaník, as well as by some of Cimrman’s inventions and gadgets.
10. 10.
Palace Cinemas Slovanský dům multiplex in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the opening ceremony of the Czech-German co-production film The Last Train (Poslední vlak/Der Letzte Zug, 2007), directed by husband and wife Joseph Vilsmaier and Dana Vávrová.
11. 10.
Lucerna cinema in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the premiere of the Czech documentary Lost Holiday (Ztracená dovolená, dir. Lucie Králová, 2007).
11. - 13. 10.
Písek (Czech Republic) hosted the 7th International Student Film Festival. The festival was organized by the Private Film College in Písek and by the Film Academy of Miroslav Ondříček. The competition presented 40 films and the accompanying programme commemorated the 55th anniversary of the death of a native of Písek, the poet and writer Fráňa Šrámek. From the Czech films in the competition the following were successful: Office Hours (Úřední hodiny, dir. Jan Peml, Eugen Liška, 2006) – the Kodak Vision Prize, Accident (Nehoda, dir. Kryštof Binder, 2006) – the Universal Production Partners Prize, The Two of Us (My dvě, dir. Jana Bušková, 2007) – the Best documentary prize, the animated film by Zuzana Hlávková entitled Vilma (2006) – Prize for best animated film, and the author of Projection (Projekce, 2006) Vít Kratochvíle was awarded at the Písek film contest the Prize of the Prague Science and Technology Society for best technical quality.
11. - 14. 10.
Světozor cinema in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the 5th Festival of Bollywood Films headed by the motto Independent India – Addicted to Bollywood. Among the 14 featured films of various genres was Lage Raho Munnabhai (dir. Raykumar Hirani, 2006). As part of the festival there was an exhibition of Bollywood film posters and samples of Indian cuisine. On 15. 8. Prague residents were reminded of the anniversary of India’s Independence Day by the programme of Indian dances and the several-hours-long film Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (dir. Ashutosh Goawariker, 2001, India) at the Open Air Cinema Střelecký Island. The evening was organized as part of the festival and in cooperation with the Indian Embassy in Prague.
12. 10.
The 5th International Travelling Festival of Outdoor Films opened in Ostrava (Czech Republic). The festival, which focuses on films on various attractive extreme and adventure adrenaline sports as well as on travel documentaries and nature films from all parts of the world, was held by turns in 19 Czech cities. There were four film categories: A. adventure and extreme sports film – outdoor sports (with the exception of climbing), skiing, extreme skiing, mountain biking, paragliding etc.; B. mountain climbing and mountains film – climbing sports, expedition climbing, ice climbing, polar expeditions, mountain landscape, men and mountains; C. adventure water sports films – rafting, waterman’s sports, kayaking and canoeing, yachting, diving, surfing, long-distance swimming etc.; D. travel documentary (films on travelling only, not included in the categories A, B or C). Festival fallows in next Czech towns: Plzeň, České Budějovice, Frenštát pod Radhoštěm, Brno, Opava, Police nad Metují, Hradec Králové, Olomouc, Jeseník, Hranice, Frýdek-Místek, Spálené Poříčí, Liberec, Nový Bor, Sušice, Kadaň, Sokolov, Praha (Czech Republic). The awards ceremony was held on 10. 11.
12. - 14. 10.
The Civil Association Démonický koník (Demonic Pony) organized the 7th Sokolov Film Seminar 2007 (Czech Republic), this time on the theme Dirty Trick, accompanied by a number of cultural events. The programme featured Czech and foreign films dealing with dirty tricks or involving film tricks. The screenings presented films by Věra Chytilová Wolf’s Hole (Vlčí bouda, 1986), Takashi Miike, Michael Haneke, Steven Soderbergh, John Boorman, Stanley Donen and Robert Lepage.
12. - 21. 10.
Warsaw (Poland) hosted its 23rd International Film Festival. 200 films from all over the world included the documentary by the Czech director Olga Špátová I Go Where I Want (Půjdu, kam chci, 2007), a film portrait of the distinctive singer and multi-instrumentalist Radůza, who greeted the audience on stage together with her four-year-old son. On 18. 10. Czech actor Jiří Macháček together with his Slovak colleague Zuzana Fialová and other filmmakers introduced at the Warsaw festival the Polish film Wino truskawkowe (2007). In this tragicomedy Macháček plays a policeman who is transferred from Warsaw to a remote village near Polish-Slovak-Ukrainian border. The film is the feature film debut of Polish producer and director Dariusz Jabloński.
13. - 20. 10.
The Prix Europa 2007 festival took place in Berlin and Potsdam (Germany). The competition was set up by the Council of Europe and the European Cultural Foundation and aims to promote radio, television and now also internet productions in Europe and to boost their distribution and use. At this year’s Prix Europa, radio programmes competed in two categories – radio drama and radio documentary. In addition, there were four categories for television productions and two for internet programmes. The Best TV documentary winner was Rain in My Heart (dir. Paul Watson, 2006, Great Britain). In the competition, which presented 671 productions (255 in the competition) from 36 countries, the Czech radio documentary The Other Side of Reality (Druhá tvář reality) by director Helmut Kopetzký took part as well as the radio play Bawdy-houses (Vykřičené domy) by Aleš Vrzák, nominated by the Czech Radio. Ghetto No.1 (2007) by director Ivan Pokorný competed in the category of television documentaries.
15. 10.
Madrid (Spain) hosted the showcase of Czech silent films Sombras Recobradas (Recovered Shadows), which featured, in cooperation with the National Film Archive in Prague the films Eroticon (Erotikon, dir. Gustav Machatý, 1929), The End of Loving (Konec milování, dir. Otakar Štáfl, Max Urban, 1913), Night Terror (Noční děs, dir. Jan A. Palouš, 1914), Father Vojtěch (Páter Vojtěch, dir. Martin Frič, 1928,) A May Tale (Pohádka máje, dir. Karel Anton, 1926), The Prague Adamites (Pražští adamité, 1917) and The Gold Heart (Zlaté srdéčko, 1916) by director Antonín Fencl.
15. - 21. 10.
The Magistrate Office of the city of Prague (Czech Republic) organized in cooperation with Moscow Prague Days in Moscow (Russia). The opening ceremony was attended by a delegation led by Prague’s Mayor Pavel Bém, while the film section of the cultural programme started a day earlier, on 14. 10. Each night there was a screening of a film related to Prague. Feature films as well as documentaries and animated films were presented. The showcase opened with director Alice Nellis’s Little Girl Blue (Tajnosti, 2007, CR – SR), followed by Anděl Exit by Vladimír Michálek from 2000, further the Czech-French-Dutch co-production Praha očima…/Prague vu par…/Prague Stories (1999) film series by directors Michaela Pavlátová, Vladimír Michálek, Martin Šulík and Artemio Benki and the film series Prague Nights (Pražské noci) by Evald Schorm, Miloš Makovec and Jiří Brdečka from 1968. The event was closed by the television family adventure movie Code Name Maharal (Maharal – Tajemství talismanu, 2007), directed by Pavel Jandourek. Based on a reciprocal contract, Days of Moscow in Prague will be organized in 2008.
15. 10. - 10. 12.
Palace Cinema Slovanský dům multiplex in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the annual 7th Prague Film Academy. Prominent Czech filmmakers and actors shared their joys and sorrows in making films and with the problems of creating a film character with the academy’s attendees, among whom were students of universities and high schools as well as older people with an interest in film as an art form. Nine evenings introduced, among others, Czech directors Jiří Vejdělek, Tomáš Vorel and documentary filmmakers Radim Procházka and Robert Sedláček. Screenwriter Marek Epstein, actor Ivan Trojan and singer, actress and moderator Lucie Vondráčková also took stage in front of the academy’s attendees. Each evening had a regular format: a lecture, discussion, screening of parts of films and in some cases a screening of a feature film.
17. 10.
The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that films from 63 countries will be competing for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, including new entrants Ireland and Azerbaijan. The Czech Republic entry for the Hollywood award was I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, 2006, CR – SR) by screenwriter and director Jiří Menzel; the film is an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Bohumil Hrabal.
17. - 21. 10.
Brno (Czech Republic) hosted the 48th International Competitive Festival of Short Fiction Films, the Brno Sixteen 2007. The festival featured short films that have not been produced commercially or for commercial use. The participants of the competition were amateurs and independent film professionals as well as students. The event included an accompanying cultural programme: seminars, exhibitions, study screening of films outside the movie genre and collections of films representing the works of film schools. There were three competition categories: amateur, student (film schools productions) and independent film professional (film school graduates or people with extensive professional experience in filmmaking). The Czech films that were awarded the Bronze Medal were Mud (Bláto, dir. Václav Hrzina, 2006) and Episode VIII (Epizoda VIII, dir. Martin Lánik, 2006), both in the amateur category. The film Mud (Bláto) was additionally awarded an honourable mention of the student jury. Special Prize for humour went to Jakub Kořínek for his AN.A., Dream of Modern Person (AN.A., Sen moderního člověka, 2004). The Brno Sixteen civic association which awards the Petr Hvižd Prize for young promising artists, awarded an honourable mention to the film E III (dir. Eva Klocová, Zuzana Nesrstová, 2007).
17. - 23. 10.
The 8th edition of the Film Festival against Exclusion and for Tolerance in Paris (France) presented in cooperation with the National Film Archive in Prague Czech films The Long Journey (Daleká cesta, dir. Alfréd Radok, 1949) and The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na korze, dir. Ján Kadár, Elmar Klos, 1965).
17. 10. - 1. 11.
A non-competition film festival The Times BFI took place in London (Great Britain). Czech cinematography was represented by the feature film by Jan Svěrák Empties (Vratné lahve, 2007, CR – Great Britain – Denmark), by the documentary Marcela (2007) by director Helena Třeštíková and by coproduction Czech-New Zealand film Cargo (dir. Leo Woodhead, 2007).
18. 10.
Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the awards ceremony of the 13th creative contest METRO – Golden Stone 2007. The contest was organized by the Association of Czech Advertising Agencies and Marketing Communication. Prizes were awarded to creative achievements in advertising and marketing communication. Among the awarded were the Czech television spots The Rainforest (Prales, 2007) and The Helicopter (Vrtulník, 2007) by director Karel Janák, both submitted by Sazka, a. s., television spots Stop (dir. Dragan Vekić, 2007) and The National Museum – Mammoth Hunters (Národní muzeum – Lovci mamutů, dir. Michal Dvořák, 2006, CR), both entered by EURO RSCG, a. s., Opera (dir. Miroslav Ponikal, Alex McReynolds, 2007, CR), submitted by Young & Rubicam, Praha, s. r. o, a series of TV spots: ATLAS TV – Newservis 2/Fat, Vlasta, Shanghai, I Won’t Make It, I Just Wanted to Ask (ATLAS TV – Newservis 2 /Tlustý, Vlasta, Šanghaj, Nestíhám, Chtěl jsem se jen zeptat/, 2007, CR) all by Petr Čtvrtníček, (submitted by Wunderman, s. r. o.) and TV spot McDonald’s – Chicken Novel 1 (McDonald’s – Kuřecí román 1, dir. Jan Kalvoda, 2007, CR), from DDB, a. s.
18. 10.
Bio Oko cinema in Letná district in Prague (Czech Republic) held a festive opening after renovation. The functionalist building of the cinema now has a new interior after almost seventy years of the cinema’s operation. Bio Oko cinema also has a new exhibitor, the civic association Jihlavský spolek amatérských filmařů (JSAF), which wants to offer viewers not only ordinary film productions but also quality documentaries. The cinema’s first film event was the premiere, held on 31. 10., of the new Czech documentary Peace with Seals (Mír s tuleni, dir. Miloslav Novák, 2007, CR – Italy), an ecological fable about the relationship between humans and animals.
18. 10.
The Portuguese Cinematheque (Cinemateca Portuguesa) in Lisbon (Portugal) organized a retrospective of films by the American director and actor Henry King (24. 1. 1886 – 29. 6. 1982). In cooperation with the National Film Archive in Prague The Seventh Day (1922, USA) was among the presented films.
18. 10.
Anne Golon, the author of Angélique Marquise des Anges (first published in France, 1957) christened at Broadway theatre in Prague (Czech Republic) the Czech translation of the first part. This took place before the evening production of the musical Angelika. Together with the author they christened the translation also the main musical’s protagonists Monika Absolonová and Josef Vojtek. The Czech Republic is the first country in which the translation of the reworked Angélique novel was published. The historical novel of adventure about the stormy life of a young noblewoman against the backdrop of dramatic events in 17th century France was also made into a film – five parts of the saga, a French-German co-production, were directed by Bernard Borderie starring Michèle Mercier between 1964 – 1968.
18. - 21. 10.
The 10th Festival Contemporary Film Works – Central Europe took place in Prague (Czech Republic). The festival was organized by the Hungarian Cultural Centre, the Polish Institute, the Slovak Institute and the Association of Czech Film Clubs and it was held in the building of the Hungarian Cultural Centre. Among the guests of the festival were the Czech film directors Lucie Králová, Martin Řezníček, Ivo Trajkov and the artist and director Petr Nikl. Czech films were represented by Movie (dir. Ivo Trajkov, 2007, CR – Macedonia), Mozart's Requiem (Mozartovo rekviem, dir. Petr Nikl, 2007), Lost Holiday (Ztracená dovolená, dir. Lucie Králová, 2007) and Life in Feathers (Život v peří, dir. Martin Řezníček, 2007).
18. - 22. 10.
The Prague (Czech Republic) cinemas Světozor, Evald and Lucerna hosted the 4th Non-Competitive International Festival of Music Films (MOFFOM). The festival introduced 120 audiovisual works and there were more than thirty international guests working in film and music. New documentary films, short films on music, the latest music-videos from all over the world and gems of the genre were presented. Apart from films, the festival offered live musical accompaniment to films and a programme of concerts and performances in music clubs. The singer Hana Hegerová was awarded the Prize for lifelong contribution to music and film. The viewers’ choice award went to Nömadak TX (dir. Raúl de la Fuente, 2006). The festival featured a concert of Fred Frith, the British guitarist and author of film musician and composer of film music. During the festival the Czech premiere of the Irish film Once (dir. John Carney, 2006, Ireland – USA) was held, together with a concert of the film’s two main protagonists, Glen Hansard, front-man of the Irish band The Frames and the Czech singer and pianist Markéta Irglová.
19. - 21. 10.
The 8th International Festival of Czech-German-Jewish Culture Nine Gates continued in Prague (Czech Republic) by its third part. Six screenings of documentaries were held at Řehoř Samsa bookstore, including a film by Helena Třeštíková Unspeakable (Nesdělitelné, 2007) from the Memory of the 20th Century (Paměť 20. století) series, which won the main prize, the Crystal Menora, awarded at the autumn part of the festival held in Mariánské Lázně. The spring part of the festival was dedicated to music and theatre, focusing on the American composer of Jewish origin George Gershwin (26. 9 1899 – 11. 7 1937), who died 70 years ago. The autumn sequel, which was held from September 12 to 16 in Mariánské Lázně, offered a large selection of films including 35 Czech and foreign feature films and documentaries. Apart from the Crystal Menora for the documentary by Helena Třeštíková, Crystal Menoras were awarded to German director Frank Beyer (26. 5. 1932 – 1. 10. 2006) in memoriam for his direction of Jakob der Lügner (1974, Germany) and to Vlastimil Brodský (15. 12. 1920 – 20. 4. 2002) in memoriam for his performance as Jakob, received by his son Marek Brodský, and to producer Ondřej Trojan for Divided We Fall (Musíme si pomáhat, dir. Jan Hřebejk, 2000). During November, other festival events took place in other Czech cities: Trutnov, Třebíč, Teplice, Stránčice and at the beginning of December also in Varnsdorf, Děčín (Czech Republic) and Bratislava (Slovak Republic). The Nine Gates festival was established in 2000 with the aim to revive Czech-German-Jewish culture in Prague. It takes its name from the identically titled book by Jiří Mordechaj Langer. The writer Arnošt Lustig was the festival’s president.
19. - 31. 10.
Beijing and Chengdu in the Sichuan province (China) held the reciprocal Czech Films Festival. In cooperation with the National Film Archive in Prague the following films were screened: Three Hazel Nuts for Cinderella (Tři oříšky pro Popelku/Drei Haselnüse für Aschenbrödel, dir. Václav Vorlíček, 1973, Czechoslovakia – GDR) and With You the World Thrills Me (S tebou mě baví svět, dir. Marie Poledňáková, 1982). The audience could also see more recent films such as Divided We Fall (Musíme si pomáhat, dir. Jan Hřebejk, 2000), An Angel of the Lord (Anděl Páně, dir. Jiří Strach, 2005) and the animated film Fimfarum 2. (Fimfárum 2, dir. Jan Balej, Vlasta Pospíšilová, Aurel Klimt, Břetislav Pojar, 2006).
21. 10.
A press conference accompanying the Central European Modernism event was held in New York (USA). The showcase featured a large selection of works of Czech avant-garde art between the two world wars. The Guggenheim Museum presented an exhibition of central European modernistic photographs entitled Photo: Modernity in Central Europe, 1918 – 1945, which included works by Josef Sudek, Karel Teige, František Drtikol, Karel Plicka, Jaromír Funke and Jaroslav Rössler, and also by some less known photographers such as the surrealist Karel Kašpařík from Olomouc (Czech Republic) and the group Linie from České Budějovice. The Czech Center in New York in cooperation with Matthew Witkovsky enriched the overview of Central European modernism with an exhibition of 25 works by Jaroslav Sutnar (1892 – 1976), a series of lectures on graphic design of the modernist period and a screening of a film by director Gustav Machatý The Kreutzer Sonata (Kreutzerova sonata, 1926).
21. 10.
In the National Theatre in Prague (Czech Republic) director Miloš Forman received the Sazka and Divadelní noviny (The Theatre News) Prize for his direction of jazz buffoopera by Jiří Šlitr and Jiří Suchý A Walk Worthwhile (Dobře placená procházka) staged in the National Theatre (premiered in April 2007). The production by the Forman trio, with the participation of the father and both his sons – Petr as the co-director and Matěj as the stage designer – won the competition and became the best production of the season in musical theatre. The two brothers accepted the prize already on 26. 9. in the Husa na provázku Theatre in Brno (Czech Republic), during the official awards ceremony. Miloš Forman greeted the audience through a video. The Sazka and Divadelní noviny (The Theatre News) Prize, which selected from forty nominations of projects and figures in four categories is, together with the Thalie Prize and the Alfréd Radok Prize, among the three most important theatre awards in the Czech Republic. They were awarded for the 7th time.
21. - 27. 10.
Neratovice (Czech Republic) hosted its Film Fair for the third time, this year dedicated to science fiction films. The film showcase was framed by the opening screening of the Czech film Icarus XB 1 (Ikarie XB 1) by director Jindřich Polák from 1963 and it was closed by the screening of Stalker (1979, U.S.S.R. – Germany) by Andrei Tarkovsky. The programme featured the films Stardust (dir. Matthew Vaughn, 2007, Great Britain), Transformers (dir. Michael Bay, 2007, USA), Next (dir. Lee Tamahori, 2007), The Man from the First Century (Muž z prvního století, dir. Oldřich Lipský, 1961, CR), Modern Times (1936, USA) by Charlie Chaplin and others. The Czech sci-fi writer Ondřej Neff attended a discussion with the viewers.
22. 10.
The choreographer Pavel Šmok (22. 10. 1927), the founder of the Prague Chamber Ballet which is now incorporated in the Prague State Opera, celebrated his 80th birthday. Pavel Šmok is an important figure of modern Czech dance. He has created over a hundred productions staged home and abroad and has cooperated in choreography for operas, operettas, musicals and revues, theatre dramas, cooperated with television, worked as a director and trained a number of first-class dancers. He first worked in the film industry as an actor, for instance in The Great Opportunity (Veliká příležitost, dir. K. M. Walló, 1949), Motorbike (Pětistovka, dir. Martin Frič, 1949), Tomorrow, People Will Be Dancing Everywhere (Zítra se bude tančit všude, dir. Vladimír Vlček, 1952), This Will All Be Over Tonight (Dnes večer všechno skončí, dir. Vojtěch Jasný, Karel Kachyňa, 1954), Against Everybody (Proti všem, dir. Otakar Vávra, 1956), If a Thousand Clarinets (Kdyby tisíc klarinetů, dir. Ján Roháč, Vladimír Svitáček, 1964), The Figure Skater and Fidelity (Strašná žena, dir. Jindřich Polák, 1965, ČSSR – GDR); later he worked as choreographer for the films Dominika’s Name Day (Když má svátek Dominika, dir. Jan Valášek, 1967), The Body of Diana (Tělo Diany/Le Corps de Diane, dir. Jean-Louis Richard, 1969, Czechoslovakia – France), Between a Quarter and Half (Bylo čtvrt a bude půl, dir. Vladimír Čech, 1968), The Limping Devil (Kulhavý ďábel, dir. Juraj Herz, 1968), The Blockbuster (Trhák, dir. Zdeněk Podskalský, 1980), The Dark Sun (Temné slunce, dir. Otakar Vávra, 1980), The Hour of Life (Hodina života, dir. Václav Matějka, 1981).
22. 10.
The Nakladatelství Malá Skála publishong house organized at the MAT cinema the christening of the monograph Jan Špáta by director, publisher and teacher Martin Štoll. The work was dedicated to one of the great Czech documentary filmmakers, Jan Špáta (25. 10. 1932 – 18. 8. 2006). The christening’s “godparents” were Václav Táborský and Olga Sommerová, and those present were treated to a screening of Špáta’s films A Moment of Joy (Okamžik radosti, 1965) and Live for Joy! (Žijte pro radost!, 1988). All were then served Hronov pudding. The celebration was attended mostly by documentary filmmakers – the cinema was mainly filled with his friends and colleagues.
22. - 26. 10.
The Student union of Palacký University of Olomouc (Czech Republic) organized the NášUP festival, an unconventional event combining sports competitions, concerts, games, theatre, film screenings including student films which were supplied by various university centers and student clubs and organizations. As part of the NášUP festival there was a retrospective of the Student Film Festival V.Ř.E.D. The festival, which took place for the third time, has emerged in the Department of Theatre, Film and Media Studies of the Palacký Univerzity to provide an opportunity for amateur filmmakers from the department’s staff to present their works to audiences from the rest of the university. The event takes place under the patronage of the rector of Palacký Univerzity professor RNDr. Lubomír Dvořák, CSc.
22. - 26. 10.
Bratislava (Slovak Republic) hosted the 34th International Festival of Professional Films, Television and Video Programmes on sustainable development, EKOTOPFILM 2007, where two Czech films were awarded. The Main prize Tristan Ltd. in the category F – video clips, feature, music and advertisement film went to the animated film The Fridge (Lednice, dir. Lucie Štamfestová, 2007) and the Prize of the Association of Towns and Communities of Slovakia was awarded to Mikulov – The Landscape of Our Forebears (Mikulov – krajina našich předků, dir. Martin Hanzlíček, 2007).
22. - 28. 10.
Uppsala (Sweden) hosted the 26th International Short Films Festival, which featured in cooperation with the National Film Archive in Prague the short Czech film Darkness, Light, Darkness (Tma, světlo, tma, dir. Jan Švankmajer, 1989).
22. - 28. 10.
The 4th Days of Czech Film in Košice (Slovak Republic) presented in cooperation with the National Film Archive in Prague the films Ecstasy (Extase, dir. Gustav Machatý, 1932) and The Magic of the River (Řeka čaruje, dir. Václav Krška, 1945).
23. - 28. 10.
The 11th International Festival of Documentary Films took place in Jihlava (Czech Republic). The programme of the festival included several competition sections: Opus Bonum is a programme section which aims at contemporary international documentary film in all its variations and alterations. A single jury member, Woody Vasulka, was the guarantor for choosing the best international documentary. Between the Seas section, which was established in 2002, aims to map the most significant films from individual countries connected by the spirit of Central Europeanism. Czech Joy is a prestigious part of the festival’s programme, it selects from the best Czech documentary work. The Special Release section presents a heterogeneous mixture of extraordinary films, while Translucent Country section presents contemporary works by authors of one national community. Translucent Being are retrospectives of filmmakers and Workshops offer an opportunity to meet directors and films of their choice. The section Czech Television Presents surveys latest documentary films supported by the Czech Television. In the Opus Bonum section, Woody Vasulka selected 731: Two Versions of Hell (2006, China – USA – Taiwan) by director James T. Hong as the best international documentary. In the section Between the Seas the jury selected the Russian film Artěl (dir. Sergej Loznica) as the best Central European documentary 2006. The Award for the best Czech documentary in the section Czech Joy went to A Town Called Hermitage (Poustevna, das ist Paradies, 2007) by Ondřej Provazník and Martin Dušek. The Audience Prize went to The Tadpole, the Rabbit and the Holy Ghost (Pulec, králík a Duch svatý, dir. Filip Remunda, 2007). Czech native Woody Vasulka personally received the award for lifelong contribution to world cinema and the Respect Magazine Prize (for best TV and video reportage) went to the programme The Most Expensive European Motorway Is in the Czech Republic /I, II/ (Nejdražší evropské dálnice stojí v České republice /I, II/, 2007) from Czech Television series Czech TV Reports, by reporter Filip Černý and directors Milan Hodek and Jan Bělohlavý.
24. 10.
German director Fatih Akin received the LUX Prize in Strasbourg (France) for his German-Turkish co-production film Auf der anderen Seite (2007). The European Parliament has seceded to establish this prize for the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaties of Rome, which was one of the basis for later European integration. For the first edition of the prize, the jury of experts chose the following three final films: Akin’s film, which had been awarded at this year’s IFF Cannes, the Romanian film 4 luni, 3 săptămâni şi 2 zile (dir. Cristian Mungiu, 2007) and Belle toujours (2006), by director Manoela de Oliveira. 1. – 18. 10. the selected films were shown within the European Parliament. The prize was awarded based on a vote by the those members of the European Parliament who saw all three films. The winner received funds to subtitle the film into all 23 EU official languages; the original language version received an adaptation for the deaf and a video-to-film transfer. The European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering handed out the LUX Prize – a small Tower of Babel to Fatih Akin.
24. - 26. 10.
Ostrava (Czech Republic) hosted the 6th International Festival of Films and TV Documentaries on Technical and Industrial Monuments Focusing on Cooperation in Scientific Research and on the Tourist Industry TECHNÉ Ostrava 2007. Fifty filmmakers from the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany participated in this year’s edition. As part of the festival there was an International Colloquium on The Use of Technical and Industrial Monuments in Tourism and a one-day trip to the newly opened Guido Historical Mine in Zabrze and Museum of Brewing Industry in Tychy, Poland. The jury awarded an honourable mention to Czech Television documentary film In the Light of Humanity (Ve světle humanity, 2007) by Josef Císařovský, for a fresh insight into the history and the present state of Czech science and technology. The festival’s Venus of Ostrava Prize – Prize of Ing. Stanislav Vopasek for lifelong personal contribution to the conservation and utilization of technical and industrial monuments – was awarded by the festival’s organizers to Jiří Dřevjaný, the mayor of the suburban community Petřkovice and one of the founders of the Landek Ostrava Foundation. As always, the festival awarded prizes for best diploma projects and bachelor works of university students. The non-competitive programme of the festival features a selection of documentaries from the National Film Archive in Prague: Photographs from the Album (Fotografie z alba, 1925), Surface Mining in the Brown Coal Field of Most Region (Povrchová těžba v hnědouhelné pánvi mostecké, 1925), The Earth’s Treasures (Poklady země, dir. Karel Kohout, 1939), The Earth Opens (Země se otevírá, dir. Jan Libora, 1939), In the Depths of the Earth (V hlubinách země, 1944) and Good Luck, Boys (Zdař Bůh, hoši!, 1944) by Jiří Krejčík, In the Empire of the Dwarves (V říši permonů, dir. Bohumil Krátký, 1941) and Jáchym's (Jáchymov, cca. 1929).
25. 10.
The company CET 21 which holds the broadcasting license for TV NOVA acquired from the Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting (RRTV) broadcasting license for the programme NOVA Cinema for 12 years. The programme is free of charge.
25. 10.
The Czech Museum of Music in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the awards ceremony of the State Awards for Literature and Translation. Writer of Czech origin Milan Kundera received the State Award for Literature, and the State Award for Translation was awarded to Antonín Přidal. Milan Kundera, who considers himself a bilingual writer, could not partake at the ceremony for health reasons, but he sent a voice file with a greeting. He emphasized the deserving work of the exile publishing house 68 Publishers, which published Kundera’s famous novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Several of Kundera’s literary works were made into films: for example the film adaptation of Nobody Gets the Last Laugh (Nikdo se nebude smát, dir. Hynek Bočan, 1965) and The Joke (Žert, dir. Jaromil Jireš, 1968) and in the USA director Philip Kaufman made the The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988). Professor PhDr. Antonín Přidal is known, apart from his translations from English and Spanish, as the author of several collections of poems, theatre plays, and radio and television dramas. He is also a screenplay writer, director and TV talk show host. In 1990 – 1991 he worked as a literary advisor in the Barrandov Studios. Apart from film and television screenplays for Half a House without a Husband (Půl domu bez ženicha, dir. Hynek Bočan, 1980, theme and script), A Magpie in the Hand (Straka v hrsti, dir. Juraj Herz, 1983) he wrote and published several books of poetry and theatre and radio plays. His journalistic texts were published in a book.
25. 10.
On the occasion of the 75th birthday of the Czech costume designer and artist Theodor Pištěk (25. 10. 1932) the Museum Kampa in Prague (Czech Republic) opened an exhibition of his works. The first part of the show presented the artist’s hyperrealist paintings, the second part dealt with paintings from the 1970s in which he focused on the theme of space. The third part, which was opened till 2008 January 20 focussed on Pištěk’s installations. In these the artist reacts to the lifestyle of the second part of the 20th century, marked by haste and excess of information, frivolity and irresponsibility. Theodor Pištěk designed the visual concept for the Man and His World pavilion at the International and Universal Exposition Expo Montreal (1967). He received a number of international awards. His costume designs for Miloš Forman’s Amadeus (1984) won him an Oscar, the prize of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and a nomination for the British Academy Film Awards. He won the European Cézar award for his costumes for another Forman’s film Valmont (1989). He is the costume designer of more than a hundred Czech and international films: among these are Marketa Lazarová (dir. František Vláčil, 1967), Cutting It Short (Postřižiny, dir. Jiří Menzel, 1980), Valley of the Bees (Údolí včel, dir. František Vláčil, 1967). He also designed costumes for the musicals Dracula, Rusalka and Monte Christo, and he also designed the uniforms of the Prague Castle Guard.
26. 10. - 11. 11.
Brno (26. 10. – 3. 11.) and Prague (5. – 11. 11.) (Czech Republic) hosted the 8th Czech Gay and Lesbian Film Festival Mezzanine. The theme of this year’s edition was Rebellion. The programme included retrospective profiles of two filmmakers, who were also the festival’s main guests – the Canadian director John Greyson and the German director Ulrike Ottinger. An Honorable Mention went to the first Czech feature film to be included in the main competition Dolls (Pusinky, dir. Karin Babinská, 2007). After the Mezzanines Festival some of the films were screened in several Czech and Slovak cinemas as part of the echoes of the festival. These screenings were held in Olomouc, Český Těšín (Czech Republic) and in Bratislava (Slovak Republic).
27. 10.
Open Doors Day was held on the occasion of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage and the 15th anniversary of the operation of the National Film Archive at its Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt in Prague (Czech Republic). The ceremonial event was commenced by National Film Archive Director Vladimír Opěla by mentioning the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. A message by UNESCO Director-General Koïchir Matsuura was read. On 27. 10. 1980 the UNESCO general conference in Belgrade passed the Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Motion Pictures and in 2005 on the initiative of the National Film Institute and the Czech Commission for UNESCO supported by other national commissions the 33rd UNESCO general conference in Paris passed a resolution to declare October 27th the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. Then Vladimir Opěla gave a talk on the activities of the National Film Archive and head workers of the NFA informed the guests present on the activities of the various departments - the work of film historians and technicians, the documents archive division, the information system and catalogues of the library and the publication and research activities. The talks also featured samples of restoration of film materials, a copy of a largely unpreserved film made up of photographs and film captions, digitalization of visual and print documents and the newly published catalogue Czech Feature Film part 5, 1971 – 1980. The programme also featured the screening of short films and rarities, in addition to the presentation of a little Oscar statuette, awarded in 1949 to twelve-year-old Ivan Jandl (24. 1. 1937 – 21. 11. 1987). He won the Special Prize for Best Child Actor for his performance in the lead role in The Search (1948, Switzerland – USA) by director Fred Zinnemann. The meeting's participants were provided the following documents: A message of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), information on the CCAAA (Council of Audiovisual Archive Association) and information on the activities of the NFA in numbers (over the past 15 years).
27. 10.
Filmmuseum Berlin – Deutsche Kinemathek at Arsenal cinema (Germany) in cooperation with the National Film Archive in Prague organized screenings of the German films Die Spinnen, 1. Teil: Der Goldene See (1919) and Die Spinnen, 2. Teil – Das Brillantenschiff (1920) by director Fritz Lang.
28. 10.
Czech President Václav Klaus conferred the State Decorations of the Czech Republic (we list here only those with reference to cinema). Order of T. G. Masaryk was presented to journalist and publicist Vladimír Bystrov, the Medals of Merit for services to the state in culture and the arts were presented to composer, writer, pianist and pedagogue Ilja Hurník and to musician Jiří Stivín.
28. 10.
This day is commemorated as World Animation Day. It was established to commemorate the first public performance of Emile Reynaud’s Théâtre Optique and it was launched by the International Animated Film Association (ASIFA) together with the French Animation Film Association (AFCA). The first performance of “light pantomimes” took place at the Musée Grévin museum in Paris on October 28, 1892. The National Film Archive in Prague commemorated the anniversary during the month of October in its Ponrepo screening-hall Ponrepo in Bio Konvikt with a series of screenings of films by Czech directors Jiří Trnka and Jiří Brdečka as well as Slovak films.
28. 10.
The 4th Czech Film Days showcase was held in Dresden (Germany). In cooperation with the National Film Archive in Prague the following animated films were screened: Grandpa Planted a Beet (Zasadil dědek řepu, 1945), The Little Animals and the Petrovs (Zvířátka a Petrovští, 1946) and The Two Frostmen (Dva mrazíci, 1954) by Jiří Trnka and The Gingerbread House (Perníková chaloupka, dir. Břetislav Pojar, 1951).
28. 10.
The Association of Czech Film Clubs – AČFK decided that Jiří Králík, the long-time director of the Summer Film School and the “guru” of Project 100 will not be named for the new post of creative director of AČFK.
28. 10. - 1. 11.
In the USA (28. 10. Museum of Modern Art in New York, 31. 10. California Film Institute in San Rafael and 1. 11. Castro Theatre in San Francisco) the Valerie Project was organized in cooperation with the National Film Archive in Prague. The event presented a screening of the Czech film by Jaromil Jireš Valerie and her Week of Wonders (Valerie a týden divů, 1970).
28. 10. - 3. 11.
Belgrade (Serbia) hosted the IX. Nitrate Film Festival, which feature in cooperation with the National Film Archive in Prague the Czech films The Wonder-Working Hat (Divotvorný klobouk, dir. Alfréd Radok, 1952) and Happy Journey (Šťastnou cestu, dir. Otakar Vávra, 1943).
29. 10.
The National Film Archive’s Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt presented a series of screenings of films by writer, screenwriter, artist and director Jiří Brdečka. On the occasion of the World Animation Day the viewers were presented the films Sense and Sensibility (Rozum a cit, 1962), Metamorphosis (Metamorfeus, 1969), Looove (Láááska, 1978), Watch Out (Pozor, 1959), Up To the Huntsman’s Watch (Do lesíčka na čekanou, 1966), The Face (Tvář, 1973), The Letter M (Slóvce M, 1964) and The Incorrectly Drawn Hen (Špatně namalovaná slepice, 1963).
29. 10. - 4. 11.
The Intermedia Institute in Prague (Czech Republic) organized a project entitled Opened Archives. The aim of the project is to bridge over the barriers between seemingly disparate technical, artistic and humanistic fields. The week-long programme featured exhibiting and archiving initiatives mapping the arts, experimental film and video. Intermedia Institute is part of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague. It was founded as the result of cooperation of the Czech Technical University and the Academy of Performing Arts. Its aim is to lead students, teachers and scholars to inter-subject cooperation within technical and artistic fields. The use of technology in culture is one of the artistic goals of the eminent international video art pioneer Woody Vasulka, who participated in the organization of the Open Archives, where he displayed his electronic arts archive project he has been developing together with his wife Steina since the 1960s. The Open Archives programme had two parts: Every day, the visitors had a chance to view screenings in the Lab of the Intermedia Institute of experimental films and video art by internationally recognized artists and institutions. At the same time, there was a programme of lectures and presentations on art, culture and cultural heritage.
29. 10. - 4. 11.
The film Archive in Berlin (Germany) hosted the International Short Films Festival Interfilm Berlin, which featured the Czech animated film Alarm (dir. Antonín Horák, 1962).
31. 10.
The 4th annual Palace Film Festival organized by Palace Cinemas company opened at the Palace Cinemas multiplex in Prague (Czech Republic). After a week the festival moved to Palace Cinemas Velký Špalíček in Brno (Czech Republic). The programme focused on promotion of first-rate films in Czech distribution and on introducing new Czech and international films. The festival included a new features section, section of films awarded at festivals, and Quentin Tarantino’s films section, as well as four hour-long screenings of film trailers. There was also a pre-premiere screening of the Czech film by Kryštof Hanzlík Crash Road (2007) starring Agáta Hanychová, personally attended by its makers and actors.
31. 10.
Oko cinema in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the ceremonial premiere of the documentary Peace with Seals (Mír s tuleni, 2007), by director Miloslav Novák in Czech-Italian co-production.