I. A Calendar»
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
1. 3.
Czech singer Marta Kubišová opened at the Café-Café cafe in Prague (Czech Republic) an exhibition of photographs by winners of the Kristián award for contribution to world cinematography, presented as part of the Febiofest festival and posters from the festival's 12 years.
1. 3.
Ladislav Štastný, who for the previous 15 years held the post of CEO of the Czech branch of Warner Bros., became the new director of the Council for Advertising. The Council for Advertising is a non-state and non-profit organization which was founded in 1994 by advertising agencies, entities commissioning advertisements and the media. A self-regulating advertising system was thus implemented. The council's main objective is to "achieve honest, legal decent and true advertisements in the Czech Republic". For this purpose an arbitration commission of the Council was created which is to resolve cases of unethical and false advertising and for which the code of ethics, issued by the Council and recognized by council members, is utilised.
1. 3.
American dramatist and screenplay writer John Patrick Shanley arrived in Prague. He took part in the premiere of his play Doubts, which is to be made into a film, at the Kolowrat theatre. The performance of his work at the National Theatre in Prague (Czech Republic) was the first of his works shown in the Czech Republic. David Czesany directed the staging. John Patrick Shanley won an Oscar from the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the screenplay to the film Moonstruck (dir. Jewison Norman, 1987, USA).
1. - 31. 3.
The lobby of the Světozor cinema in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted an exhibition of film posters by graphic artist, pedagogue and former rector of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague Zdeněk Ziegler. In an attempt to commemorate a distinct chapter in Czech fine arts the Světozor cinema and Terry's Socks Film Gallery continued in the series of exhibitions entitled the Golden Age of Czech Film Posters. Posters created by Zdeněk Ziegler from 1962 – 1989 were exhibited.
2. 3.
The Elko club in Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic) hosted the ceremonial opening of the Czech film by Petr Nikolaev It's Gonna Get Worse (...a bude hůř, 2007). The reason for the unusual distribution film, mainly in clubs and pubs, was that the filmmakers assumption that viewers would not go to see this kind of film in a multiplex cinema.
2. - 3. 3.
The 33rd International Festival of Films by Young Filmmakers – Young Camera – took place in the municipal cinema in Uničov (Czech Republic). The festival's organizer was the Uničov Association for Film and Video. A competition was held in three categories in which amateur filmmakers, students and graduates of film schools vied. The festival opened with the short film Jakub and Veronika (Jakub and Veronika, dir. Karin Babinská, 1996). In the category of non-amateur filmmaker up to 30 years in age, First prize went to the feature film Harold and Vincent (Harold a Vincent, 2006) directed by Jan Chramosta. The festival's Main prize went to the film Kašja (dir. Ondřej Hudeček, 2006) and the Viewers' Choice award went to Kitty Stories 1 – The Dog (Kočičí příběhy 1 – Pes (2006) by director Radoslav Horák. The competition part was followed by a seminar in which the jury members, filmmakers and viewers assessed and analysed the screened films.
3. 3.
Lucerna cinema hosted the 14th annual awards ceremony of the Czech Film and Television Academy, the Czech Lion 2006. The awards were presented to films and individuals in the following categories – best film and best director: I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, 2006, CR – SR) directed by Jiří Menzel; best screenplay Robert Sedláček for his film Rules of Lies (Pravidla lži, 2006); best leading actor and actress performance: Jiří Schmitzer and Anna Geislerová in the film Beauty in Trouble (Kráska v nesnázích, dir. Jan Hřebejk, 2006); best supporting actor and actress: Martin Huba in the film I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále) and Jana Brejchová in the film Beauty in Trouble (Kráska v nesnázích); best camera: Jaromír Šofr in the film I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále); best music: Jan P. Muchow in the film Grandhotel (dir. David Ondříček, 2006); best editing: Jiří Brožek in the film Pleasant Moments (Hezké chvilky bez záruky, dir. Věra Chytilová 2006); best work in visual effects: Jan Balej, Pavel Koutský, Petr Poš and Martin Velíšek in the film Fimfarum 2 (Fimfárum 2, 2006); best sound: Pavel Rejholec and Jakub Čech in the film Grandhotel. The Viewers' Choice award went to the film The Rafters (Rafťáci, dir. Karel Janák, 2006). Premiere magazine's Readers' Choice award went to Holiday Makers (Účastníci zájezdu, dir. Jiří Vejdělek, 2006). The Czech Lion for long artistic contribution to Czech film went to director and screenplay writer Ivan Passer. 1st place in the Sazka Prize – the competition of screenplays not yet made into feature films – went to Tereza Boučková for her screenplay Heaven on Earth at a Glance (Zemský ráj to napohled). The evening was moderated by actor Igor Chmela.
3. 3.
NOVA television broadcast from midnight to 6 am works of students of the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, the Film Academy of Miroslav Ondříček in Písek, the Private Film College Písek Ltd., the Faculty of Multimedia Communications of Tomáš Baťa University in Zlín and the Prague School of Telecommunications and Broadcasting Technology. The project entitled Night of Film Hopes featured grotesques, animated films, comedies, fairytales, dramas, documentaries, sci-fi films and video clips. NOVA made accessible all the works on its web pages and viewers could vote for the best film. The sci-fi thriller Toxymoron (2005) by Jakub Hussar from the Miroslav Ondříček Film Academy won first place. Second prize went to the animated fairytale About a Cock and a Hen (O kohoutkovi a slepičce, 2005) by Dominik Krutský and Lukáš Šreš from the School of Telecommunications and Broadcasting Technology. Third prize went to the feature film The Bean (Fazolka, 2004), shot by Jiří Staniševský from the same school.
3. 3. - 15. 4.
The West Bohemian Museum in Plzeň (Czech Republic) held an exhibition of Buddhist art – The Legacy of Tibet. Part of the accompanying programme was a screening of the feature debut of Indian documentary filmmaker Pan Nalin entitled Samsara (2001, Germany – France – Italy). Czech film was represented by the documentary film Tibet: To the Sacred Mountain Kailás (Tibet: K posvátné hoře Kailás, 2006) by Czech director and screenplay writer Martin Kratochvíl, who also took part in the ensuing discussion on filming in Tibet.
5. - 9. 3.
The Masaryk dormitory of the Czech Technical University (ČVUT) in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the 44th International Festival of Films on Science, Technology and Art TECHFILM 2007, at which 87 films from 18 countries and 24 Czech films were presented. The festival was linked with the 2nd International Conference EMTECH. Both events were part of the celebration of the 300th year since the founding of the Czech Technical University and on this occasion a new tradition for the festival’s place was begun (it was formerly held in Hradec Králové). Czech works were represented by a collection from Czech Television, including works form the series Diagnosis (Diagnóza), Czech Heads (České hlavy), Private Museums (Soukromá muzea) and the documentary film In the Light of Humanity (Ve světle humanity, dir. Josef Císařovský, 2007), in which the director captured a meeting with architects, builders and engineers who influenced and influence life on our planet, communication and the environment. The festival's promoter was the Czech Technical University in Prague – Computer and information centre. The festival's honorary president was the rector of the Czech Technical University Václav Havlíček. Czech works awarded were the following works: Heart Valve Plastics (Plastika srdeční chlopně, 2006) and Cardio Resynchronisation Treatement (Srdeční resynchronizační léčba, 2006) directed by Vladimír Kunz from the series Diagnosis with the Award in the area of prestige films, The Pilgrimage Along Ancient Roads (Putování starými cestami, dir. Ljuba Václavová, 2005) with the Award for artistically beneficial film, In the Light of Humanity (Ve světle humanity) with the Award of the mayor of Prague 6; the Laureate MF Techfilm award went to the film Tereza Is Friendly (Tereza je přístupná, 2006) by Wanda Gonzúrová, Radek Seifert and Martin Draxler, Czech Technical University in Prague.
6. - 30. 3.
The Gallery & Cafe Carpe Diem in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted an exhibition of the work of artist Miroslav Pechánek entitled Poster & Logo, which featured film posters. The exhibition was opened by Jan Kříž.
7. 3.
An exhibition of pictures entitled Retrospection 1987 – 2007. Jasoň Šilhan and his pictures by cameraman and director Jasoň Šilhan took place in the exhibition hall of the Institute for Nuclear Safety in Prague (Czech Republic).
7. 3.
The Husa na provázku theatre in Brno (Czech Republic) obtained permission from Czech director Miloš Forman, living in the USA, to perform a theatre adaptation of his film Loves of a Blond (Lásky jedné plavovlásky, 1965).
7. 3.
Palace Cinemas Slovanský dům multiplex in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the opening ceremony of the Czech-British-Danish feature film The Empties (Vratné lahve, dir. Jan Svěrák, 2007).
7. 3.
the Baťa skyscraper in Zlín (Czech Republic) hosted the premiere of the Czech documentary film Brazilian Steps of Jan Antonín Baťa (Brazilské stopy Jana Bati, dir Dana Lipovská, 2007). The documentary captured the activities of the co-founder of the shoes manufacturing empire in Zlín, his life and the life of his descendents in South America. The film was shown to commemorate the 109th anniversary of the birth of Jan Antonín Baťa (7. 3. 1898 – 23. 8. 1965). The project's author and director Dan Lipovská together with cinematographer Petr Staroveský and art historian of the Zlín museum Hana Kuslová set out to South America where they shot around 11 hours of footage. Their guide was the oldest granddaughter of Jan Antonín Baťa, Dolores Ljiljana Bata Arambasic. The documentary film became part of the project entitled Jan Antonín Baťa, initiated by the Zlín city council to contribute to educating and purging the perspective on film's protagonist. Jan Antonín Baťa was the half-brother of the founder of the Zlín shoe manufacturing empire, Tomáš Baťa. He was the inheritor following the tragic death of Tomáš (3. 4. 1876 – 12. 7. 1932). In 1941 he left for Brazil and spent the rest of his life abroad. The event, linked to the conference on the theme of Jan Antonín Baťa – Life and work, successor of the work of Tomáš Baťa, culminated with the unveiling of a sculpture of Jan Antonín Baťa in Zlín. The academician sculptor Radim Hanke designed the sculpture.
7. 3. - 16. 6.
The Cinemathè que Française in Paris (France) organized a screening of the films of Czech artist, director and writer Jiří Trnka (24. 2. 1912 – 30. 12. 1969) to commemorate the 95th anniversary of his birth. In collaboration with the National Film Archive in Prague the following films were among those screened: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Sen noci svatojanské, 1959), Old Czech Legends (Staré pověsti české, 1953), Cybernetic Granny (Kybernetická babička, 1962), Puppet – Man's Friend (Loutka – Přítel člověka, dir. Ivan Renč, 1981), The Emperor's Nightingale (Císařův slavík, 1949) and The Czech Year (Špalíček, 1947).
8. 3.
The Czech fairytale DVD Devil, Keep to Your Trade! (Čerte, drž se svého kopyta!, dir. Zdeněk Havlíček, 1998) was introduced into cinema distribution at the Květen cinema in Jirkov (Czech Republic).
8. 3.
Representatives of the Olomouc Region awarded culture-related prizes. The awards ceremony took place at the Moravian theatre in Olomouc (Czech Republic). Singer Pavel Novák was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his lifelong work in the field of culture, for loyalty to this town of Přerov, and for the courage with which he overcame a serious illness in 2000. The award in the category of film, radio and television went to the International Festival of Popular-Science and Documentary Films of the Olomouc Film Academy. Jindřich Štreit was chosen as the Individual of the Year. Laureates obtained a glass sculpture. The evening was emceed by actor and moderator Marek Eben.
8. 3. - 2. 4.
The International Festival of Films for Children and Youth in Zlín organized at the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic in Prague (Czech Republic) an exhibition of film clapboards – Minisalon 2007.
9. - 11. 3.
The Seminar of Mongolian and Japanese Films 2007 was organized in Veselí nad Moravou (Czech Republic) at the local Film Club in collaboration with the embassies of Japan and Mongolia, The Friends of Mongolia Society, the Association of Czech Film Clubs, the Association of Slovak Film Clubs and the Slovak Film Institute. The programme featured a screening of films based on the stories of Japanese author of detective books and critic Edogawa Ranpo (= Hirai Taro, 21. 10. 1894 – 28. 7. 1965) and presented the works of directors Kazuhiko Hasegawa and Sogo Ishii. The Mongolian part was represented by the films Focusing on the Turquoise Mountains (Ve znamení Tyrkysové hory, dir. Ivo Toman, Naydangyn Nyamdava, 1977, Czechoslovakia – Mongolia), Urga (dir. Nikita Michalkov, 1991, France – USSR), Die Geschichte vom weinenden Kamel (dir. Byambasuren Davaa, Luigi Falorni, 2003, Germany – Mongolia) and Mönkh tengerin khüchin dor (dir. Begdzin Baldzhinnyam, 1992, Mongolia). The seminar included a concert by mezzo-soprano Miki Isochi and pianist Kyoko Asaka, featuring European Classical Music and an exhibition of Japanese and Mongolian culture.
13. - 18. 3.
Aero cinema in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the 3rd Cynical Viewer Festival – screening of "(non) aesthetic films" Prague. The festival feature 12 feature-length and 10 short films. The ceremonial opening at Aero cinema was attended by this year's main guest — the director of the associated festival in Paris L’Etrange Festival Frédéric Temps. An installation in a horror-deco style by artist Urban Arsenjuk provided the festival with a unique atmosphere. Before each screening viewers were treated to the horror Cynic 007 – We're going for the neck, in which the roles of perverse bad guys are played by producers and directors Václav Marhoul, Ondřej Trojan, Milan Šteindler and Jakub Kohák. Films screened included E tu vivrai nel terrore – L’aldila (dir. Lucio Fulci, 1981, Italy), from the Japanese television series Masters of Horror the film Imprint (dir. Takashi Miike, 2006) and The Hills Have Eyes (dir. Alexandre Aja, 2006, USA)
15. 3.
The National Film Archive in collaboration with the Albanian embassy in Prague screened at its Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt upon the occasion of the Francophone Days 2007 a screening of the film Slogans (dir. Gjergj Xhuvani, 2001, Albania – France). The screening included the opening of an exhibition of documents of France in Albanian archives (15. – 31. 3.).
15. 3.
Hudební theatre Karlín in Prague (Czech Republic) announced the results of the 15th Year Competition for Best Czech Advertisement – The Nutcracker 2006. In the category of television and film – food/drink the bronze went to the Pilsner Urquell spot – Bedřich Smetana (dir. Xavier Mairesse, 2006, Leo Burnett Advertising spol. s r. o.); in the category of television & film – finance/retail/transport services the bronze went to Czech Savings Bank – Box (Česká spořitelna – Box, dir. Daniel Růžička, 2006, Young and Rubicam Praha s. r. o.); in the category of television & film – communication the silver went to the spot Czech Telecom — Bulgaria (Český Telecom – Bulharsko, dir. Tomáš Mašín, 2006, Young and Rubicam Praha s. r. o.) and the bronze to Vodafone Czech Republic a. s. – Fake Reindeer (Vodafone Czech Republic a. s. – Falešní sobi, dir. duo Mods, 2006, Vodafone Czech Republic a. s.) and ATLAS TV – series of TV spots on the Atlas portál (ATLAS TV — série televizních spotů na portál Atlas, dir. Petr Čtvrtníček, 2006, Wunderman s. r. o.); in the category of television & film – public interest the spot Parliament (Sněmovna) – from the campaign You Decide or Voting Is Sexy (Rozhodněte to aneb Jít volit je sexy, dir. Ivan Zachariáš, Daniel Růžička, Martin Dostál, Filip Malásek, 2006, Mowshe s. r. o.) won the Golden Nutcracker and the bronze went to Greenpeace — Sperms (Greenpeace – Spermie, dir. Kryštof Michal, 2006, Thamesdown CZ a. s.).
15. - 25. 3.
The American Museum of Moving Image in New York (USA) organized the Fashion in Film Festival in which in collaboration with the National Film Archive in Prague the following Czech films were screened: the animated film The Vanished World of Gloves (Zaniklý svět rukavic, dir. Jiří Barta, 1982) and the feature The Ceiling (Strop, dir. Věra Chytilová, 1961).
16. 3.
At the International Television Festival in Remes (France) the feature film Just a Little Bit of Jazz (Eine kleine Jazzmusik, dir. Zuzana Zemanová, 1996), which was based on a story by Czech writer Josef Škvorecký, was screened. The festival's organizers selected the film to the section of films awarded by the festival over the past 20 years. The film was twice awarded in 1998 at the French television festival: it received the award of the expert jury for best performance for the lead role played by Barbora Bobulová and the main prize of the viewer jury.
16. - 18. 3.
Mír cinema in Krnov (Czech Republic) hosted a seminar of 70 mm films. The cinema is probably the only one in both the Czech Republic as well as the Visegrad Four (Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland) to screen films using technology no longer in use today. The screening was designed above all for cinema operators, students, film critics and film buffs. Most of the films from American, German and Polish productions, among them Doctor Zhivago (dir. David Lean, 1965, USA) were accompanied by papers given by film experts. The organizers prepared talks on the historical development of film, screening and shooting technology. There are only a few places around the world where screening of 70-mm films are held – e.g. in Karlsruhe (Germany), Bradsford (Great Britain) and Oslo (Norway).
16. 3. - 16. 4.
The 13th festival of French and Francophone culture Bonjour Brno 2007, prepared by the Brno branch of French Alliance, took place in Brno (Czech Republic). The event featured the screening of the following French films at the Art cinema: A bout de souffle (dir. Jean-Luc Godard, 1960, France), Darwin’s Nightmare (dir. Hubert Sauper, 2004, Austria – Belgium – France – Canada), La Science des rêves (dir. Michel Gondry, 2006, France) and the animated film Astérix et les Vikings (dir. Stefan Fjeldmark, Jesper Moller, 2006, France). An evening of short independent films screened at the Fléda club was a new addition to the festival.
17. - 18. 3.
Lucerna cinema in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the 6th International Festival of Non-Commercial Festival Films — Land of Dreams geared toward promoting non-commercial film associations, amateur societies and non-commercial projects of independent professionals. The jury's festival the "Great Critic" awarded seven Dream Fragments to the following filmmakers: Vladimír Franče for the film Mosquito Sting to the Leg (Komárem do nohy, 2006) for skilful absurdity, Zdenka Trvalcová, creator of the film Agnes (Anežka, 2006) for inwardness, Jakub Hussar for the film Dalur (2006) together with the clip animation of the 3D action game 8th Death (2006) for fearless poetics, Jan Chramost, creator of the film Harold and Vincent (Harold a Vincent, 2006) for outlook to the future, Andy Fehu and his film Nicholas' (Mikulášská, 2006) for civil story, Luděk Svoboda, author of the film Reset (2006) for best gag and Daniel Kroenk for best foreign film Cloud Chaser (2006). The Special award of the jury went to Ondřej Poledne, author of the film Derek Supermale (Derek Nadsamec, 2006).
19. 3.
Archa theatre in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted a performance by Bretagne composer and multi-instrumentalist Yann Tiersen and his band. Tiersen is known mainly as the author of the music to the film Le Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain (dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001, France). He also composed music to the films Alice et Martin (dir. André Téchiné, 1998, France – Spain), La Vie rêvée des anges (dir. Erik Zonca, 1998, France) a Good-Bye Lenin! (dir. Wolfgang Becker, 2003, Germany).
20. 3.
Miloš Forman, director of Czech-origin living in the USA, received at the Černínský Palace in Prague (Czech Republic) the Gratias Agit award from Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Karel Schwarzenberg for the dissemination of the good name of the Czech Republic throughout the world. The award has been given each year since 1997.
21. - 25. 3.
The festival Les Toiles Filantes was held in Terrebonne (France) and in collaboration with the National Film Archive in Prague the following films were among those shown: Hurvínek’s Circus (Cirkus Hurvínek, 1955) and The Jolly Circus (Veselý cirkus, 1951) by director Jiří Trnka and The Circus (Cirkus, dir. Zdeněk Seydl, Ludvík Kadleček, 1971).
21. 3. - 9. 5.
An exhibition of the photography of architect Harry Kilberger, acquainting the viewer with the life of the original inhabitants of Australia, Melanesia and Bali before the end of the 20th century was held in Prague (Czech Republic) at the Náprstkovo museum. In 2005 – 2006 Harry Kilberger donated his collection of negatives, slides, film footage and printed materials to the Náprstkovo museum. It also contains a collection of ethnographic objects from Australia and Melanesia and numerous video cassettes with various documentary films on cultures around the world. Harry Kilberger, who has lived in Australia for over 50 years, remained a Czech citizen. He is a member of the Australian Royal Society of Architects and the English Royal Society of Architects.
22. 3.
The Czech fairytale DVD film Master of the Castle (Pán hradu, dir. Jiří Chlumský, 1999) was introduced into cinema distribution at the Květen cinema in Jirkov (Czech Republic).
22. - 30. 3.
The company FEBIOFEST s. r. o. organized in Prague (Czech Republic) the 14th International Festival of Film, Television and Video FEBIOFEST 2007. The extensive film event continued in other Czech (29. 3. – 15. 4.) and Slovak (26. 3. – 25. 4.) towns. The programme was divided up geographically: Panorama of young European film, Latin American film with Brazilian, Argentine and Mexican cinematography, Anglo-Saxon cinema with independent films, Asia cinema – films from Vietnam and Indonesia, Southern cinema — films of North Africa, Eastern European cinema and the following themes: Novelties in world film – awarded Asian films, Another shore – gay and lesbian films, Cinema of personalities, Experimental film and documentaries, Musical films and DIY – Do It Yourself (new trends and technology). The project, devoted to Japanese works of the 1960s, was carried out in cooperation with the National Film Archive and the Rudolfinum gallery. Japanese films shown in the National Film Archive's Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt included Sádo (dir. Joichi Higashi, 1978), Tenshi no kokuzu (dir. Kodji Wakamazu, 1972), Erosu + gjakusacu (dir. Joshishige /Kidju/ Joshida, 1970), autobiographical films included Outside In (dir. Stephen Dwoskin, 1981, Great Britain – Germany), Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (dir. Jonas Mekas, 1971, Germany – USA), David Holzman’s Diary (dir. Jim McBride, 1967, USA), Film Portrait (dir. Jerome Hill, 1972, USA), Omelette (dir. Rémi Lange, 1997, France) and De grote vakantie (dir. Johan van der Keuken, 2000, Netherlands – France). Films with a spiritual theme were screened in the parish club of the Our Lady of the Snows Church. Once again the Febiofest Junior, offering Prague's schools a glimpse of the latest children's works in work film, and the Febiofest Music Festival, which featured dozens of concerts, were held concurrently. Czech films screened included It's Gonna Get Worse (…a bude hůř, dir. Petr Nikolaev, 2007), Bitch’s Diary (Bestiář, dir. Irena Pavlásková, 2007) and Code Name Maharal (Maharal – Tajemství talismanu, dir. Pavel Jandourek, 2007). In opening the festival Georgian director working in France Otar Ioseliani accepted the Kristián award that the Febiofest gives for contribution to world cinematography. Upon this occasion he introduced his latest film Jardins en automne (2006, France – Italy – Russia). The American film Stranger than Fiction (dir. Marc Forester, 2006, USA) was also shown. 22. 3. The Association of Directors and Screenplay writers presented its annual awards – the Jaromil Jireš award – to the joint-stock company RWU Transgas for significant support of Czech cinematography and to Jan Jíra for organizational, distribution and publishing activities. Recipients of the Czech critics Kristián award for 2006 were director Robert Sedláček for his feature work for cinema and film Rules of Lies (Pravidla lži, 2006), director Linda Jablonská for her documentary film Left, Right, Forward (Kupředu levá, kupředu pravá, 2006) and Michaela Pavlátová for the animated film The Carnival of the Animals (Karneval zvířat/Le carneval des animaux, 2006). At the festival's conclusion the Kristián award for contribution to the Czech film public went to Polish actor Daniel Olbrychski. The Zentiva prize went to Soňa Rusnoková for her documentary Soňa and her Family (O Soni a jej rodine, 2006, SR). Foreign guests included Hungarian director Béla Tarr, who presented his film Sátántangó (1994, Hungary – Germany – Switzerland), Russian director Eldar Rjazanov who introduced his new film Žizň bez ljubvi (2006, Russia – Italy – Germany), American director Nina Davenport presented her film Operation Filmmaker /Work in Process/ from 2007, French director Olivier Dahan showed his co-production film La Môme (2007, France – Great Britain – Czech Republic), Macedonian actress and producer Labina Mitevská and Azerbaijani director Rustam Ibragimbekov, author of the screenplay Nomad (dir. Sergei Bodrov, Ivan Passer, 2005, Kazakhstan – USA). Upon completing the Prague part, the festival continued on in ten Czech and eight Slovak towns.
24. 3.
The Thálie awards ceremony for 2006 was held at the National Theatre in Prague (Czech Republic). In the theatre category actor David Prachař and actress Vilma Cibulková received Thálie awards, the Thálie for young theatre actor up to 33 years of age went to Jan Hájek, and in the category of operetta, musical or other music-dramatic genre the award went to Tomáš Töpfer. The Thálie for lifelong mastery in the theatre was presented to actress Věra Kubánková and the Special award for lifelong contribution to theatre and for universal mastery went to Dutch choreographer of Czech origin Jiří Kylián.
25. 3.
The Na Fidlovačce Theatre in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted a ceremonial performance featuring the award ceremony of the Golden Heart from the Our Children Foundation for the protection and nurturing of threatened children. Director of documentary films Ljuba Václavová, whose work on parentless children helped many of them find new homes, was among those awarded.
26. 3. a 23. 4.
The Austrian company Pro Omnia Film GmbH in coproduction with ORF Austria and the European television broadcaster ARTE shot in Český Krumlov (Czech Republic) a historical documentary film on the life and the strange circumstances regarding the burial of Princess Eleonora von Schwarzenberg (1812 – 1873). The film's subject was inspired by the archaeological find at the former Lutheran cemetery in Plešivec, where archaeologist discovered several skeletons that bore typical signs of measures taken to ward off vampires.
28. - 30. 3.
A festival with the spiritual theme Prague Gates 2007, which featured a screening of films at Světozor cinema took place in Prague (Czech Republic). The festival's objective was the presentation of old and new views of life. The screening featured A Drop from the Goblet of Immortality (Kapka z poháru nesmrtelnosti, 2001) and Anyone Can Try It or The Legacy of Mother Theresa (Zkusit to může každý aneb Odkaz Matky Terezy, 2003) by Viliam Poltikovič, Samsara (dir. Pan Nalin, 2001, Germany– France – Italy) and Conversations with God (dir. Stephen Simon, 2006, USA).
28. - 31. 3.
Písek (Czech Republic) hosted the first part of the creative workshop the 5th Ex Oriente Film in which thirty directors and producers developed projects of their future documentary films. The Institute of Documentary Film, whose activities were geared to supporting the Central European creative documentary film, took part in organizing the workshop. The programme featured a screening of successful documentary films accompanied by discussions with creators of the films. In Písek, A Story of People in War and Peace (dir. Vardan Hovhannisyan, 2006, Armenia) on the war in Upper Karabach was screened and director Philip Gröning personally introduced his documentary Into Great Silence/Die grosse Stille (2005, Germany) on life in an isolated monastery in the French Alps. The Miroslav Ondříček Film Academy in Písek took part in the screenings.
28. 3. - 3. 4.
The GoEast Film Festival in Wiesbaden (Germany) featured in collaboration with the National Film Archive in Prague a screening of Czech films by Miloš Forman, which included, among others Fireman's Ball (Hoří, má panenko/La Fiesta de bomberos (1967, Czechoslovakia – Italy), Black Peter (Černý Petr, 1963), Talent Competition (Konkurs, 1963), Loves of a Blond (Lásky jedné plavovlásky, 1965) and Vintage Car (Dědeček automobil, dir. Alfréd Radok; Miloš Forman assistant director, 1956).