I. A Calendar»
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
1. - 4. 11.
Prague’s Aero cinema in cooperation with Respekt weekly and Web portal Econnect organized the cine-meeting Third Pole, festival of films about climate change. The event opened with a screening of the documentary Out of Balance – ExxonMobil’s Impact on Climate Change (dir. Tom Jackson, 2006, USA). The festival programme further featured a cycle of short films that were presented at the 5th International NUFF Global festival in Tromsø (Norway), which focused on global warming and climate change issues, and which awarded the main prize to the animated film The Fridge (Lednice, dir. Lucie Štamfestová, 2007). As part of the Third Pole festival there was a panel discussion of the weekly Respect and internet portal Econnect entitled Climate Dispute or Who’s Nobel Peace Prize? Among the guests of the discussion were climatologist Ladislav Metelka (Czech Hydrometeorological Institute), advisor to the President of the Czech Republic Petr Mach (Centre for Economics and Politics), Greenpeace climate campaign coordinator Jan Rovenský, and vice chairman of the Green Party and Prague City Council representative Petr Štěpánek.
2. - 10. 11.
Seville (Spain) hosted the 4th International film festival 100 % Europeo. Programme director of Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Eva Zaoralová was one of the members of the international jury. Czech director Jiří Menzel, a honorary guest of the festival, was awarded a special prize. As the Czech Republic was the festival’s guest country, it featured a profile of another Czech film personality, prominent animated filmmaker Břetislav Pojar. As part of the Focus Republica Checa section, the Seville festival presented the films Empties (Vratné lahve, dir. Jan Svěrák, 2007, CR – Great Britain – Denmark), Rules of Lies (Pravidla lži, dir. Robert Sedláček, 2006), Grandhotel (dir. David Ondříček, 2006), It’s Gonna Get Worse (...a bude hůř, dir. Petr Nikolaev, 2007), The Indian and the Nurse (Indián a sestřička, dir. Dan Wlodarczyk, 2006), Pleasant Moments (Hezké chvilky bez záruky, dir. Věra Chytilová, 2006) and the puppet-animated One Night, One City (Jedné noci v jednom městě, dir. Jan Balej, 2007). In the Eurodoc section the Czech Republic was represented by a documentary by Lucie Králová Lost Holiday (Ztracená dovolená, 2007). The festival’s programme also featured some earlier films by the awarded director Jiří Menzel Skylarks on the String (Skřivánci na niti, 1969), Closely Watched Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky, 1966) and My Sweet Little Village (Vesničko má středisková, 1985), as well as his most recent film I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, 2006, CR – SR). The director personally attended a press conference for the film and gave lectures for Seville university students. The Golden Giraldillo Prize for best European documentary was awarded in Seville to documentary filmmaker Helena Třeštíková. She personally received the prize for her film Marcela (2007) in Lope De Vega theatre in Seville.
2. - 24. 11.
Turkey’s capital Ankara hosted the 13th Festival of European Films on Wheels, which included the Czech short films The Christmas Dream (Vánoční sen, dir. Karel Zeman, Bořivoj Zeman, 1945), Zvířátka a Petrovští The Little Animals and the Petrovs (Zvířátka a Petrovští, dir. Jiří Trnka, 1946), A Drop Too Much (O skleničku víc, dir. Břetislav Pojar, 1953), The Incorrectly Drawn Hen (Špatně namalovaná slepice, dir. Jiří Brdečka, 1963), The Vanished World of Gloves (Zaniklý svět rukavic, dir. Jiří Barta, 1982) and Dimensions of Dialogue (Možnosti dialogu, dir. Jan Švankmajer, 1982), provided by the National Film Archive I Prague.
3. 11.
In Seville (Spain) the European Film Academy (EFA) nominated director Stephen Frears’ The Queen (2006, United Kingdom – France – Italy – USA) in six categories for European Film Awards. Two Czech films, I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, dir. Jiří Menzel, 2006) and Empties (Vratné lahve, dir. Jan Svěrák, 2007, R – Great Britain – Denmark), also aspired for nomination but did not make it into the final selection. 20th European Film Awards were presented at a ceremony 1. 12. in Berlin (Germany).
6. 11.
Three Czech films winning the Tachov Pumpkin prize in the 13th edition of the audience competition of 12 Czech and Slovak new releases of 2007 were announced in Tachov (Czech Republic). The competition took place between 1. 1. – 6. 11. 2007. First in the competition came Rules of Lies (Pravidla lži, dir. Robert Sedláček, 2006, CR), second place went to Empties (Vratné lahve, dir. Jan Svěrák, 2007 CR – Great Britain – Denmark) and third place went to The Wonder (Kvaska, dir. Mirjam Landa, 2006, CR).
6. - 10. 11.
Cottbus (Germany) hosted the 17th Film Festival of East and Central European cinema. Among the ten feature films that qualified for the competition was the Czech film by director Robert Sedláček Rules of Lies (Pravidla lži, 2006), the National Hits section featured Empties (Vratné lahve, dir. Jan Svěrák, 2007, CR – Great Britain – Denmark). The festival focused on Balkan cinematography, especially from countries of former Yugoslavia. Svěrák’s film Empties (Vratné lahve) won the audience prize. Among the festival guests was Czech actor and singer Jan Budař.
6. 11. 2007 - 31. 1. 2008
Cafe Bar Platýz in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted a photography exhibition entitled Beautiful Woman of Czech Cinema 1933 – 1945. The exhibition was opened by actor Miroslav Donutil. Among the visitors was director Otakar Vávra, who had worked with many of the photographed actresses. The art portrait photographs on display from the Barrandov film studios brought back to memory the films The Masked Lover (Maskovaná milenka, dir. Otakar Vávra, 1940) starring Lída Baarová, The Glove (Rukavička, dir. Jan Alfréd Holman, 1941) featuring Nataša Gollová, Kristian (dir. Martin Frič, 1939) with Adina Mandlová, Turbine (Turbina, dir. Otakar Vávra, 1941, CR) starring Lída Baarová, The Guild of the Kutná Hora Virgins (Cech panen kutnohorských, dir. Otakar Vávra, 1938) with Adina Mandlová, and others.
7. 11.
The opening ceremony of the Czech feature film A Catfish Summer (Poslední plavky, 2007) directed by Michal Krajňák was held in Palace Cinemas Nový Smíchov multiplex in Prague (Czech Republic).
7. 11.
The Czech documentary The Source (Zdroj, 2005) by director Martin Mareček was awarded the first prize at the Sun Child Festival in Yerevan (Armenia).
7. - 10. 11.
Ústí nad Orlicí (Czech Republic) hosted its 7th Festival of Documentary Films on Social Issues NADOTEK (On Touch) 2007. The festival’s programme featured competition as well as non-competition films, and it included films about women in dissent, a look at mining colonies in the Ostrava region, and to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the birth of the late Jan Špáta (25. 10. 1932 – 18. 8. 2006) there was a screening of several of his documentaries. More recent releases were represented by Olga Sommerová’s documentary We Survived Our Children (Přežili jsme svoje děti, 2006, CR) and A Low-level Flight (Nízký let, 2007, CR) from the documentary series The Private Century (Soukromé století ), directed by Jan Šikl. From Restart series the film How I Didn’t Meet the Fish or A Journey out of Mental Illness (Jak jsem nepotkal ryby aneb Cesta z duševní nemoci, dir. David Ondráček, 2007, CR) was selected. The prize in the category of documentary films under 30 minutes went to Jan Látal’s How Does a Man Sound? (Jak dělá člověk?, 2007, CR), the prize for documentary over 30 minutes went to the above-mentioned film by Jan Šikl A Low-level Flight (Nízký let ) from the series The Private Century (Soukromé století). The jury, acting on its privilege, awarded two special prizes outside of categories, which went to Daniela Gébová’s Industrial Elegy (Industriální elegie, 2006) and to Violin Knight (Houslový rytíř, 2006, CR) directed by Pavel Marek. The Milan Maryška prize went to director Václav Táborský for lifelong interest in Czech cinema, contribution of original humour to Czech documentary of the 1960s and his today’s practical assistance to young filmmakers. Director Táborský, who has lived in Canada since 1968, was the main guest of the festival.
7. - 11. 11.
The Carnival of Diversity – DIALOGUE of Culture 2007 took place in Prague (Czech Republic) and other Czech cities. The event was organized by the non-profit organization People in Need as part of the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All. Apart from films, the festival also included social spots, concerts, literary readings, discussions, exhibitions and other events, aimed to draw attention to discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, religion or disability. Apart from selected cinemas, screenings were held in several wheelchair-friendly clubs and children and youth centres. The film programme presented seventeen thematic documentaries. The section Discrimination on the grounds of gender featured Věra Chytilová’s Czech television film Naughty Girls (Potížistky, 2007) as well as Just Because I Love You (To všechno z lásky, dir. Tomáš Kudrna, 2004). The festival also took place in Brno (17. 10. – 17. 11.), České Budějovice (21. 11.), Hradec Králové (1. – 4. 11.), Liberec (3. – 5. 10. and 16. 10.), Olomouc (12. – 14. 11.), Opava (1. – 7. 11.), Ostrava (3. – 7. 11.), Pardubice (29. 10. – 1. 11.), Plzeň (11. – 13. 10.), Tábor (18. – 20. 10. and 22. – 23. 10.), Ústí nad Labem (8. – 11. 10.) and Vsetín (6. – 9. 11.).
8. 11.
At its Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt in Prague (Czech Republic) the National Film Archive presented a selection of 16mm films from 1963 – 1986 entitled Filmography of Rudolf Mihle (Filmografie Rudolfa Mihleho). The showcase of films by the well-known film amateur included Frontiers of Glass (Hranice ze skla, 1963), ... and /… Still They Do Come Through! (... a přece se plní !, 1963), The First Hours of the Occupation (První hodiny okupace 1968) and Green for Strahov (Zelená pro Strahov, 1980).
8. - 11. 11.
Archa Theatre in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the 24th Festival of Student Films Famufest 2007. Apart from the traditional screenings the festival’s programme included a video art exhibition, sound practice, interactive installations and a photography exhibition. During the afternoons in Archa Theatre there were workshops and lectures which were aimed at bringing together students of Prague’s art schools. Selected films were organized into sections. Two feature films were presented – documentary film by Lucie Králová Lost Holiday (Ztracená dovolená, 2007) and a graduation feature film by Gyula Nemes entitled My One and Onlies (Moje jediné/Égyetleneim, 2007). The jury awarded the following prizes: Jakub Mejdřický Prize (Maxim) for the best film of the festival: documentary Rula, Ticho, Čumba Ladislav, doc. Karel Floss and Other Heroes of Our Demonstrations in 2007 (Rula, Ticho, Čumba Ladislav, doc Karel Floss a další hrdinové našich demonstrací v roce 2007 dir. Helena Všetečková, 2007, CR). Jakub Mejdřický Prize (Maxim) for the best film of the festival: documentary Piranha (Piraňa, dir. Viera Čákanyová, 2007). KODAK Prize (Maxim) for best film in the category feature film director: Domestic Violence in a Film Studio (DOMÁCÍ NÁSILÍ ve filmovém ateliéru, dir. Radovan Síbrt, 2007). Václav Táborský Prize (Maxim) for best documentary film: Who Wants to Kill Aschley? ( Kdo chce zabít Aschley ?, dir. Bohdan Bláhovec, 2007). Maxim Award for best first-year film: documentary On the Slippers (O topanki, dir. Rozálie Kohoutová, 2007). Maxim Award in the category of photography: Jáchym Kliment a set of eight photographs Cartography (Kartografie). Maxim Award for best screenplay: Jakub Felcman and Ondřej Provazník for The Best from the Cafe (Co nejkrásnějšího v kavárně, 2007). Maxim for best camera work: György László for the feature film The Dazzlement (Oslnění, dir. Vladimír Kovář, 2007). Maxim Award for best sound: Richard Müller for the feature film The Dazzlement (Oslnění). Maxim Award for editing: Ágnes Völlerová for the feature film My One and Onlies (Moje jediné/Égyetleneim, dir. Gyula Nemes, 2007). Maxim Award for best animation: the animated film Radio Kebrle (dir. Zdeněk Durdil, 2006). Maxim Award for intermedia and multimedia project: Kateřina Držková for video-photo sequence The Frontier (Hranice, 2007). Maxim Award in the category of production: Lukáš Karvánek for his general approach to film production in 2007. The student jury award for best film: animated Bloody Merry Christmas (dir. Jan Cechl, 2007). Dagmar Táborská Prize for the most original work by a female filmmaker: animated (multimedia) film Uteri O.7 (dir. Yael Ben-Horin, 2007). Cinepur Magazine Prize for the most original work at FAMUFEST 2007 went to DOMESTIC VIOLENCE in a Film Studio (DOMÁCÍ NÁSILÍ ve filmovém ateliéru). Literární noviny Prize for the most original screenplay: Kateřina Borecká for Echoes of Sounds (Odrazy zvuků).
8. - 11. 11.
Plzeň (Czech Republic) hosted its 4th Czech-Slovak Days. The aim of the event was to promote Czech and Slovak solidarity, friendship, and cooperation in all spheres of life. The programme included theatre and music performances, exhibitions, discussions, as well as religious services. As part of the Days event a Czech-Slovak film festival took place, featuring films by Juraj Herz The Sweet Games of Last Summer (Sladké hry minulého léta, 1969) and Cruelties of Life (Sběrné surovosti, 1965). Czech-Slovak Days presented a discussion forum on the present state of Czech and Slovak relations.
8. - 11. 11.
London (Great Britain) hosted the 11th Czech Film Festival. The feature films that were screened included: Something Like Happiness (Štěstí, dir. Bohdan Sláma, 2005, CR – SR), Grandhotel (dir. David Ondříček, 2006), It’s Gonna Get Worse ...a bude hůř, dir. Petr Nikolaev, 2007), Little Girl Blue (Tajnosti, dir. Alice Nellis, 2007, CR – SR), documentary film Marcela (dir. Helena Třeštíková, 2007), animated films Filmfarum 2 (Fimfárum 2, dir. Jan Balej, Vlasta Pospíšilová, Aurel Klimt, Břetislav Pojar, 2006), One Night, One City (Jedné noci v jednom městě, dir. Jan Balej, 2007) and short films Lucie Is Still in Bed (Lucie už je v posteli, dir. Jitka Rudolfová, 2006), Carnival of the Animals (Karneval zvířat/Le Carneval des Animaux, dir. Michaela Pavlatová, 2006), From the Lives of Mothers (Ze života matek, dir. Kristina Dufková, 2005) and clips from Břetislav Pojar’s series Come Along, Sir, We Are Going to Play (Pojďte, pane, budeme si hrát, 1965 – 1967) and The Garden (Zahrada, 1974 – 1977). The festival was followed by a touring showcase presenting Czech films titled Made in Prague: New Czech Cinema in the UK (12. 11. 2007 – 17. 2. 2008 ). The six films representing the diverse contemporary Czech film production then went on a three-month tour, featuring: comedies – such as Beauty in Trouble (Kráska v nesnázích, dir. Jan Hřebejk, 2006), directorial debut The Indian and the Nurse (Indián a sestřička, dir. Dan Wlodarczyk, 2006) documentary film Marcela (dir. Helena Třeštíková, 2007) as well as the animated Fimfarum 2. (Fimfárum 2, dir. Jan Balej, Vlasta Pospíšilová, Aurel Klimt, Břetislav Pojar, 2006). There were also two films that celebrated an international premiere at last year’s IFF Berlin 2007, Grandhotel by David Ondříček (2006) and Petr Nikolaev’s It’s Gonna Get Worse (…a bude hůř). It was organized by the Czech Centre London in cooperation with the cinema chain City Screen Picturehouses.
8. - 16. 11.
Malaga (Spain) hosted the 17th International Fantasy Film Week, which presented in cooperation with the National Film Archive in Prague the Czech feature films Icarus XB 1 (Ikarie XB 1, dir. Jindřich Polák, 1963), Who Wants to Kill Jessie? (Kdo chce zabít Jessii ?, dir. Václav Vorlíček, 1966) and The Cremator (Spalovač mrtvol, dir. Juraj Herz, 1968).
9. 11.
In Prague (Czech Republic), on the occasion of Veteran’s Day, the US Ambassador to the Czech Republic Richard Graber presented the director of the National Film Archive Vladimír Opěla with unique documentary materials from 1945’s liberation of western Bohemia. The footages are by amateur cameramen from the U.S. Army and haven’t yet been screened in the Czech Republic. The videos are from the period of 5. 5. – 27. 7. 1945 and show the immediate postwar state of the towns of Loket, Sušice, Cheb and Písek, as well as people returning from the concentration camps liberated by Americans. The footages also capture other events from that time, such as the arrival of American General George Patton at Plzeň field airport. This was not the first time that the U.S. Embassy presented interesting film materials to the National Film Archive – in 2005, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II the Embassy asked William Murphy, former director of the documentary section of the American Film Archive to prepare a documentary about the liberation of Bohemia by the U.S. Army. Murphy used the depository of the archive and focused on footage unknown in the Czech Republic.
9. 11.
The National Film Archive’s Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt in Prague (Czech Republic) presented a tribute to the late Jana Špáta (25. 10. 1932 – 18. 8. 2006), prominent Czech documentary filmmaker, director and cinematographer. The programme of the retrospective evening featured screenings of Špáta’s author films , including To Live One’s Own Life (Žít svůj život, 1963), Why? (Proč, 1964 co-authored with Evald Schorm,), Is the Sun Shining? (Svítí slunce?, 1970) and The Czech Philharmonics Orchestra (Česká filharmonie, 1983).
9. - 11. 11.
Veselí nad Moravou (Czech Republic) held its 14th Seminar of Russian Cinema. Dramaturgy focused on two themes: film adaptations of literary works, and Orthodoxy. The seminar’s accompanying programme included an exhibition in the Galerie ve dvoře gallery entitled Orthodox Icons made by painters of icons in Bohemia in Moravia, and the Cultural Centre’s Behind the Curtain stage presented a concert of Martin Dohnal. The opening lecture was read by film theorist, journalist and teacher Galina Kopaněva. The programme of the seminar featured a multi-part screening of the film adaptation of L. N. Tolstoy’s novel War and Peace (Voyna i mir,1968, USSR) directed by Sergei Bondarchuk, documentary films Vlast Solovetskaya (dir. Marina Goldovskaya, 1988, USSR), Suďba čeloveka, (dir. Sergei Bondarchuk, 1959, USSR), Jardins en automne (dir. Otar Ioseliani, 2006, France) and more. Screenings were held in the Cultural Centre of new Russian documentary releases of 2007 related to the seminar’s themes, as well as documentary films by psychotherapist Svatava Marie Kabošová Archangelic Keys (Archandělské klíče, 2006, CR), Miracle on the Banks of the Volga (Zázrak na břehu Volhy, 2006, CR) and Window to Eternity (Okno do věčnosti, 2000, CR) from Czech TV series Curriculum vitae.
10. 11.
The National Film Archive published a fifth part of the catalogue Czech Feature Film V 1971 – 1980. The bilingual Czech-English book of 621 pages with 107 black-and-white and 329 colour photographs includes films from the “normalization” period 1971 – 1980. It presents all available information on Czech feature films, advertisements and education films in Czech production, the work of Studio FAMU and co-production films co-financed by the Czech party. The primary sources of information were film copies and negatives. The data was complemented by information from secondary sources such as screenplays and shooting scripts, payroll sheets, production documents, contemporary film and general press, memoirs and interviews with witnesses of that era, etc. Each film entry includes title, year of production, production place, film studios and distribution, sometimes the date of a premiere, information about the makers, actors, film music, plot summary exteriors, bibliography, sources and literature, as well as information on the film materials available for each title. The publication is supplemented with an index of film titles, chronological list of films based on the production year, list of names, producers list and exteriors list. A supplement of 24 colour film posters forms an integral part of the publication.
10. - 17. 11.
Czech feature films Closely Watched Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky, dir. Jiří Menzel, 1966), A Carriage Going to Vienna (Kočár do Vídně, dir. Karel Kachyňa, 1966), Train to Heaven (Vlak do stanice Nebe, dir. Karel Kachyňa, 1972) and Trials and Tribulations (Trápení, dir. Karel Kachyňa, 1961) were screened at Calcutta International Film Festival (India).
11. 11.
As part of the Prague Theatre Festival of German Language Hybernia Theatre featured a performance of Austrian theatre and film actor Klaus Maria Brandauer, staging his own version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which Brandauer either read or acted all the roles. His performance was accompanied by the piano duo Andreas Grau and Götz Schumacher. Music was by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdi.
12. - 16. 11.
Aero cinema and Roxy club in Prague (Czech Republic) held the 2nd The Normal Festival – Handicapped by Film. The festival is organized by Inventura NGO which works on changing the public view on people with mental disabilities. The 2nd edition of The Normal Festival received financial support from the Visegrad Fund, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Municipality of Prague 3, the Magistrate Office of the City of Prague, and Nadace Život umělce foundation (The Life of an Artist Foundation). The first day of the festival presented professional theatre performances by Divadlo z Pasáže theatre company, which works with people with learning disabilities. The programme for the following days included screenings of feature as well as documentary and animated films dealing with the topic of learning disabilities. Among the films were Return of the Idiot (Návrat idiota, dir. Saša Gedeon, 1999, CR), Of Mice and Men (dir. Gary Sinise, 1992, USA), Benny & Joon (dir. Jeremiah S. Chechik, 1993, USA) and films produced by Inventura in 2007, such as the documentary Relationships (Vztahy, Inventura, 2007, CR) focusing on relationships and the intimate world of people with mental disabilities.
13. - 17. 11.
Olomouc hosted its 4th Multicultural Festival across Central European Cultures – Crossroads Olomouc 2007, which pointed out various artists and genres from Central Europe, specifically from the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Austria. The film programme was organized in two thematic sections. The first section, entitled Focus On Austria, presented contemporary Austrian filmmakers Barbara Albert, Michael Glawogger and Michael Sturminger and their collective film Zur Lage: Österreich in sechs Kapiteln (2002), an unflattering portrayal of the Austrian mentality abroad. Austrian cinema was further represented by Import Export (2007, Austria – France) directed by Ulrich Seidl, a documentary about Hitler’s personal secretary Traudl Jung entitled Im toten Winkel – Hitlers Sekretärin (dir. Andre Heller, Othmar Schmiderer, 2002). Second film section – Across Central Europe – featured the most successful contemporary European films – for example the Polish film from 2007 Plac Zbawiciela (dir. Joanna Kos-Krauze, Krzysztof Krauze, 2006), the winning documentary in Karlovy Vary International Film Fastival Lost Holiday (Ztracená dovolená, 2007, CR) directed by Lucie Králová and the Slovak film Martin Slivka – “The Man Who Planted Trees” (Martin Slivka – „muž, ktorý sadil stromy“, dir. Martin Šulík, 2007). Following the festival there was a programme of screenings of films by Austrian documentary filmmaker Michael Glawogger personally attended by the director. An accompanying event to the festival was the exhibition The Art of Czech Film Poster.
13. 11. 2007 - 6. 1. 2008
Kunštát House in Brno (Czech Republic) held an exhibition of photographs by Czech traveller, navigator, filmmaker and composer Eduard Ingriš (11. 2. 1905 – 12. 1. 1991). Ingriš was a man of many professions – including a successful career as a composer (he wrote the famous camper’s song The Sad Rolling of the Niagara), in Lima (Peru), where he lived after leaving Czechoslovakia, he led the National Philharmonic Orchestra, he worked in Hollywood as a cinematographer and as a music composer. His film music had been nominated for an Oscar. He was a friend of Ernest Hemingway, whom he assisted in filming The Old Man and the Sea (dir. John Sturges, 1958, USA). Inspired by Thor Heyerdahl he built the balsa raft La Cantuta and twice sailed across the Pacific. He made a colour documentary about the balsa raft expeditions. Together with the legendary travellers Zikmund and Hanzelka he filmed on Peru’s Guano Islands, thus providing film material showing both the two adventurers H + Z together. Miroslav Zikmund, Miroslav Náplava, the author of the Suicide Voyage (Plavba sebevrahů) book and Petr Horký, who made the documentary film Ingriš! Eduard Ingriš (2007,CR), sponsored their own trip to California in 2001 to record and document the Ingriš estate and make arrangements for transporting it. The then Minister of Culture Pavel Dostál (25. 2. 1943 – 24. 7. 2005) provided a grant to fund the transportation of the Ingriš estate to the Czech Republic. The large collection is now kept in the Museum of Southeast Moravia in Zlín.
14. 11.
Students of Tomas Bata University in Zlín (Czech Republic) commemorated the events of November 1939, when the funeral (15. 11. 1939) of student Jan Opletal (31. 12. 1915 – 11. 11. 1939), shot by the Nazi forces, turned into a demonstration against the German occupation. In retaliation, all universities were shut down. The celebrations of the Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day included screenings of Czech feature films A Higher Principle (Vyšší princip, dir. Jiří Krejčík, 1960), and the wartime tragicomedy based on the eponymous novel by Bohumil Hrabal Closely Watched Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky, dir. Jiří Menzel, 1966).
14. 11.
Pavel Bednařík was named the new Director of the Association of Czech Film Clubs. He will be responsible for the planning of all Association’s activities including the Summer Film School Uherské Hradiště. Bednařík took the place of Jiří Králík, who was dismissed from the post in late August. Pavel Bednařík works at the same time as the director of Festival of Animated Films Olomouc, as chairman of Pastiche Filmz and programme director of the festival Academia Film Olomouc.
14. - 18. 11.
Plzeň (Czech Republic) hosted the 2nd edition of Animánie 2007. The organizers of the event offered animation workshops to school children and schools and public were offered screenings of animated films. The festival took up on Plzeň’s long-time tradition of animated filmmaking. The children got acquainted with 3D animation technique, paper drawing animation, and pixilation. As part of the event there were screenings of animated films with commentary. The films included works by students of Czech colleges and universities. The festival was organized by Primary Art School Sokolovská in cooperation with the private Primary Art School Trnka, both of which provided space for animation workshops.
14. - 18. 11.
Světozor cinema in Prague (Czech Republic) organized the 3rd Short Films Festival 2007. The festival offered eighteen films in international competition and as the festival’s novelty there was a competition for short films for mobile phones of up to 80 seconds footage, entitled Ultrashorts. The competition was open to all, it had two parts, and there were dozens of competing super-short films. Through Internet voting the viewers selected 15 films, to which the jury made up of representatives of the organizers and of the main sponsor, Vodafone, added another five. From the final selection the jury chose 3 best films which are available on the Internet to mobile phones. The non-competition section focused on South Korean and Finnish cinema. The Tampere Festival (Finland) was presented and the section First Service offered short films by famous directors such as Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Michel Gondry, Andrei Tarkovsky (4. 4. 1932 – 28. 12. 1986), Lukas Moodysson, as well as the short film The Oil-Gobblers (Ropáci 1988) by Jan Svěrák, which is still the only Czech student film awarded an Oscar. In this year’s edition Czech films didn’t score among international competition. In the cooperative project with Vodafone, entitled Ultrashorts, the best films were – apart from Fetch (2006, Dana Dorian, Great Britain), Czech minifilms Bad Dream (2007) by Martin Smékal and Icon (Ikona, 2007) by Pavel Kahatska, a Belarus student of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design of Prague.
15. 11.
15. 11. A fashion show of Vlaďka Dobiášová collection entitled Golden Era of Czechoslovak Fashion of the First Republic (Zlaté časy československé módy první republiky) took place in Prague (Czech Republic). The models presented evening dresses, sports clothing as well as leisurewear. The collector got inspired to gather her collection by black and white movies from the era of the First Republic. Vlaďka Dobiášová’s collection includes a dress of actress Adina Mandlová (28. 1. 1910 – 16. 6. 1991), actor Oldřich Nový a red polka dot scarf that belonged to Oldřich Nový (7. 8. 1899 – 15. 3. 1983), a handbag that belonged to actress Nataša Gollová (27. 2. 1912 – 29. 10. 1988) and a hat owned by actress and writer Olga Scheinpflugová (3. 12. 1902 – 3. 4. 1968). The collector, an arts and Russian language teacher by profession, had presented her collection at many exhibitions, fashion shows and in television programmes Domácí štěstí (Domestic Bliss), Dobrá rána s Českou televizí (Good Morning with Czech Television) as well as in period films.
16. 11.
Theatre in Brno (Czech Republic) launched a premiere of the production Loves of a Blonde (Lásky jedné plavovlásky), inspired by the eponymous Czech feature film by Miloš Forman from 1965. The play’s director and script editor Vladimír Morávek described the play as a stage collage, where the film narrative connects with the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops. At the same time, it pays a tribute to the 1960s, the era which inspired perhaps the most dreams and hopes.
16. 11.
The National Film Archive at its Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt in Prague (Czech Republic) screened the film The Long Journey (Daleká cesta, dir. Alfréd Radok, 1949) to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of cinematographer Josef Střecha (3. 11. 1907 – 29. 3. 1985).
16. - 23. 11.
Minsk (Belarus) hosted its International Film Festival for Children and Youth. Czech film Code Name Maharal (Maharal – Tajemství talismanu, dir. Pavel Jandourek, 2007, CR) received the Grand Prix award.
17. - 25. 11.
Hamburg (Germany) hosted the International Festival of German Film Heritage CineFest, with a focus at Czech-German filmmaking relations. The festival’s heading this year was Film in the Heart of Europe was organized by the Hamburg Centre for Film Studies CineGraph in cooperation with the German Film Archive, Metropolis cinema, the National Film Archive in Prague, Film Studies Department at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague, the Film Archive Austria, La Cinémathèque Suisse, Filmpodium Zurich and Berlin’s German Historical museum. It received support from the Czech-German Fund for the Future and by the city of Hamburg. The viewers had the opportunity to see almost thirty films reflecting Czech-German relations on many levels Czech films in the programme included Such Is Life /The Story of a Prague Washerwoman/( Takový je život /Román pražské pradleny/, dir. Carl Junghans, 1929), The Silent Barricade (Němá barikáda, dir. Otakar Vávra, 1949), Those Born in 1921 (Ročník 21/Jahrgang 21, dir. Václav Gajer, 1957), A Higher Principle (Vyšší princip, dir. Jiří Krejčík, 1960), A Convoy Leaving Paradise (Transport z ráje, dir. Zbyněk Brynych, 1962), Adelheid (dir. František Vláčil, 1969), Three Nuts for Cinderella (Tři oříšky pro Popelku/Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel, dir. Václav Vorlíček, 1973, Czechoslovakia – GDR), Divided We Fall(Musíme si pomáhat, dir. Jan Hřebejk, 2000) and short films A Wedding in the Coral Sea (Svatba v korálovém moři, dir. Team of authors, 1944), The Springer and the SS (Pérák a SS, dir. Jiří Trnka, 1946). German films that were screened included films by Czech director Karel Lamač Der Junge Graf from 1935 and Schweik’s New Adventures from 1943, made in British production, Die Goldene Stadt by German director Veit Harlan from 1941 and more. Visitors to the festival could also get acquainted with the recently discovered clips from Der Golem (1914) by Paul Wegener. Apart from the film programme, an experts’ conference took place from 22. – 24. 11., focused on the relations between Czech and German filmmaking, attended by academics specializing in the field. The Czech National Film Archive was represented by PhD. Ivan Klimeš, Director of film history and theory section at the National Film Archive and Head of the Department of Film Studies at the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy of Charles University in Prague.
19. - 21. 11.
The Children’s Crisis Centre (Dětské krizové centrum) in Prague (Czech Republic) organized the 5th edition of festival of feature films and documentaries focused on child abuse and violence against children titled The Reverse Side of Childhood (Odvrácená strana dětství). The event took place on the occasion of the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse (19. 11.), and of the anniversary of the adoption of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, celebrated in the Check Republic on 20. 11. Atlas cinema screened features and documentaries on children victims of abuse or neglect. Among the films on the festival’s programme were The Color Purple (dir. Steven Spielberg, 1985, USA), Sleepers (dir. Barry Levinson, 1996, USA), documentary video The Story of Milada G. (Příběh Milady G., dir. Pavel Linhart, 2003, CR), Yipe! (Au!, dir. Alena Činčerová, 2007), O Soni a jej rodine (dir. Daniela Rusnoková, 2006, SR) and television investigative programme Children Without Love (Děti bez lásky, authors Jolana Matějková and Jan Reinisch, 2007, CR).
19. - 23. 11.
Zlín (Czech Republic) hosted its 5th Mixer Multimedia Festival, dedicated to photography, graphic art, films, animation, 3D design, music, and modern technologies. The visitors of the festival had the opportunity to meet designer Alan Záruba, Aleš Najbrt, pioneer of Czech 3D animation Jaroslav Matys, or the Irish designer Ruairí O´Brien from Dublin, who now lives in Germany where he lectures at Weimar university.. The festival had originally focused only on film screenings, but Zlín has a large competition in that respect and therefore the organizers as early as 2006 added more subject fields and created a multimedia event. One whole day of the festival was dedicated to cinema. Vladimír Malík, an experienced film animator and director and vice-chairman of Slovak Association of Animated Film Makers held a debate over the screenings of films from A Journey into the Primeval Times (Cesta do pravěku, r. Karel Zeman, 1955, Czechoslovakia), to Jurassic Park (r. Steven Spielberg, 1993, USA), Jaroslav Matys spoke about 3D animation used in post-production. Graphic designer, illustrator, animator and director Petra Štefánková, who studied abroad and has worked for companies such as BBC, IBM, Allianz and Freemantle Media joined in through a live online video. Designer Lukáš Veverka spoke mainly about a redesign of the Czech Television. The film day of the festival closed with a screening of Ryna (dir. Ruxandra Zenide, 2005, Switzerland – Romania) followed by a discussion with Marek Epstein, the Czech film’s screenwriter.
19. - 25. 11.
Uherské Hradiště (Czech Republic) hosted its 32nd International Competition of Films and Video-programmes on Themes of Environment – It Is About You Too. The Main prize for best amateur film went to Czech director Petr Baran’s The Last Stop (Zastavení poslední, 2007). In the professional films competition the Prize of the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic went to director Martin Slunečko for his collection journalist films Disneyland near Znojmo (Disneyland u Znojma, 2007), Calamity or Warm Greetings from Šumava Mountains to Tatras (Kalamita aneb srdečný pozdrav od Šumavy k Tatrám, 2007) and The End of Alleys in Bohemia? (Konec alejí v Čechách ?, 2007) from the television series Don’t Give Up (Nedejte se).
19. - 25. 11.
Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs) Workshop. EAVE is a professional organization based in Luxemburg, which provides intensive and innovating training programmes aimed at developing the skills of established producers and professionals working in European film, television and documentary production. The aim of the EAVE workshops is to renew and improve production and co-production methods and to encourage co-operation. The Czech Film Centre and Media Desk CZ with support from the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic prepared programme for five Czech projects. Mini EAVE included the projects The Granddaughter (Vnučka, screenplay and directing Lenka Kny, producers Viktor Schwarcz and Aleš Hudský), Money from Hitler (Peníze od Hitlera, screenplay Radka Denemarková, director Tomáš Mašín, producer Monika Kristlová), Part-Time Virgin (Panic na půl úvazku, screenplay and directing Jan Prušinovský, producer Ondřej Zima), It’s Just and Old Cottage (screenplay and directing Slobodanka Radun and producer Richard Němec) and Testament (screenplay Iva Stojáková, director Julius Ševčík and producer Karla Stojáková). The final workshop in Prague was attended by about fifty producers and a similar number of key figures of the European industry, including television producers and programme directors, financiers and buyers from sales and distribution companies.
19. - 27. 11.
Scala cinema in Brno (Czech Republic) held a music films event, which offered viewers Hollywood biographical movies as well as art films and European cinematic productions. The event opened with a screening of Transylvania (dir. Tony Gatlif, 2006, France). The programme featured autobiographical films such as Walk the Line (dir. James Mangold, 2005, USA) about Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter, Ray (dir. Taylor Hackford, 2004, USA) about the soul singer Ray Charles, and Edith Piaf (La Môme, dir. Olivier Dahan, 2007, France – Great Britain – CR) about the famous French chansonier. Hollywood musical entertainment was represented by the musical Dreamgirls (dir. Bill Condon, 2006, USA). The film by Jim Jarmusch Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) gave acting opportunities to musicians Iggy Pop, Tom Waits and the duo White Stripes. The history of a Brazilian original music style called choro was shown by the Finnish director living in Brazil Mika Kaurismäki in his documentary Brasileirinho (2005, Brazil – Switzerland). Northern cinema was represented by the ”raw musical” Cool and Crazy/Heftig og begeistret (dir. Ralph Bakshi, 2001, Norway – Sweden – Finland) about a choir from a Norwegian fishing village.
20. - 21. 11.
Cultural Centre in Ústí nad Labem (Czech Republic) together with the North Bohemia Science Library hosted the 3rd International Film Festival Water, Seas and the Oceans 2007, which presented 28 films from 12 countries in competition. The festival’s Prize of the North Bohemia Science Library went to Czech film On One Breath – Martin Štěpánek (Na nádech – Martin Štěpánek, dir. Miroslav Hrdý, 2006).
21. 11.
Multiplex Palace Cinemas Slovanský dům in Prague (Czech Republic) held opening ceremony of the Czech feature-length film Crash Road (dir. Kryštof Hanzlík, 2007).
21. 11.
In Warsaw (Poland), a retrospective of films by Czech filmmakers Jan and Zdeněk Svěrák opened with a screening of Empties (Vratné lahve, dir. Jan Svěrák, 2007, CR – Great Britain  Denmark), personally introduced to the Polish audience by the two authors. The film showcase included Jana Svěrák’s The Oil-Gobblers (Ropáci, 1988), Accumulator 1 (Akumulátor 1, 1993), The Ride (Jízda, 1994), Dark Blue World (Tmavomodrý svět, 2001) and the documentary Papa (Tatínek, 2004), directed by Jan Svěrák together with Martin Dostál, which portrays Jan’s father, actor, screenwriter and lyricist Zdeněk Svěrák.
21. - 25. 11.
Tallinn (Estonia) hosted its 9th Animation Film Festival Animated Dreams. As part of the festival there was a special section titled Focus on Czech Animation, which showcased a cross-section of Czech animation. The following films were screened: The Hand (Ruka, dir. Jiří Trnka, 1965), Darwin Anti-Darwin or What the Earthworm Didn’t Suspect (Darwin Antidarwin aneb Co žížala netušila, dir. Břetislav Pojar, 1969), Automatic (dir. Václav Bedřich, 1973), The Face (Tvář, dir. Jiří Brdečka, 1973), Crabs (Krabi, dir. Václav Mergl, 1976), The Dimensions of Dialogue (Možnosti dialogu, dir. Jan Švankmajer, 1982), Welcome to Prague (Navštivte Prahu, dir. Pavel Koutský, 1983) and Words, Words, Words (Řeči, řeči, řeči, dir. Michaela Pavlátová, 1991).
22. - 28. 11.
Prague and seven other cities in the Czech Republic hosted the 10th annual Festival of French Cinema. Altogether 17 films were screened. Apart from renewed premieres of Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie (1972, France – Italy – Spain) by Luis Buñuel and of his surrealist film Un chien andalou (1928; sound version 1960, France), which was made with the assistance of Salvador Dalí, the programme included the animated autobiographical feature Persepolis (dir. Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud, 2007, France – USA), La Môme (Edith Piaf, dir. Olivier Dahan, 2007, France – Great Britain – CR) and a premiere screening of the war drama L’ennemi intime (dir. Florent-Emilio Siri, 2007, France). As a novelty of the anniversary 10th edition of the festival there was a competition for the Audience Prize, which involved eleven French films not in distribution in the Czech Republic. The winning film was Molière (dir. Laurent Tirard, 2007, France). The film distribution company that decided to buy the film received a grant of 10 000 Euros for the film’s marketing for 2008. For the first time in the Czech Republic, the On Set with French Cinema project took place, in cooperation with Unifrance, the French Embassy and Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. As part of the project, director Claude Miller introduced his latest film Un secret (2007, France) at a special closed screening for students, which was followed by a master class with the director for students of directing, screenwriting, editing, production and film studies. Festival of French Cinema was attended as well by director Emmanuelle Cuau, who introduced her latest film titled Très bien, merci (2007, France) to Prague audience. The section Legends of French Cinema reminded of the work of three major actors lost to the French art in recent years: Philippe Noiret (1. 10. 1930 – 23. 11. 2006), Michel Serrault (24. 1. 1925 – 29. 7. 2007) and Jean-Claude Brialy (30. 3.1933 – 30. 5. 2007).
23. 11.
Palace Cinemas Slovanský dům in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted Night of Ad Gluttons – a six-hour screening of hundreds of advertisements from the collection of French collector Jean-Marie Boursicot. Night of Ad Gluttons was supported by the Faculty of Multimedia Communications of Tomas Bata University in Zlín, which took interest in the audience’s opinions last year as part of its Cultural Aspects of Czech and European Advertising project.
23. 11.
Na Vinohradech Theatre in Prague (Czech Republic) celebrated its 100th anniversary. On the occasion the theatre staged a premiere of the original play Adina written by Czech-American Milena Jelínková about the Czech actress Adina Mandlová (real name Jarmila Anna Františka Marie Mandlová; 28. 1. 1910 – 16. 6. 1991), featuring Veronika Žilková in the lead role. The author had first treated the theme in a film script for director Vladimír Michálek, with whom she had co-operated on his film Forgotten Light (1996). But there were insufficient funds to film the Adina movie and the author reworked the script for a theatre production.
24. 11. - 1. 12.
Lodz (Poland) hosted its 15. International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Plus Camerimage 2007. The Special Award for Immense Contribution to the Art of Cinematography went to the Czech cameraman Miroslav Ondříček, and Jiří Menzel and Jaromír Šofr were awarded the Special Duo Award: Director – Cinematographer.
26. - 29. 11.
Olomouc (Czech Republic) hosted Cinepur Choice 2007 festival, showcasing a selection of films awarded at prestigious festivals. Cinepur Choice festival travelled from Olomouc to Brno where it took place in Břetislava Bakala hall (3. – 6. 12.), and in Prague the festival was held in the French Institute screening-hall (6. – 9. 12.). This year’s edition was the first time that the festival was organized as a separate event while in 2004 and 2005 it was a part of the Summer Film School in Uherské Hradiště. The opening screening of the festival at Metropol cinema in Olomouc was of Brian De Palma’s Redacted (2007, USA – Canada). Other films shown included Ai no yokan (dir. Masahiro Kobayashi, 2007, Japan), Tejút (dir. Benedek Fliegauf, 2007, Hungary), Marseille (dir. Angela Schanelec, 2004, Germany), Le Pont des arts (dir. Eugène Green, 2004, France), Geuk jang jeon (dir. Hong Sang-soo, 2005, South Korea), and Le Consequenze Dell'Amore (dir. Paolo Sorrentino, 2004, Italy). The festival was organized by the civic association Studio 19 together with the bi-monthly film journal Cinepur.
27. 11. 2007 - 23. 3. 2008
The Town Museum of Poděbrady (Czech Republic) held an exhibition titled The Filming of Fimfárum. Children and adult visitors could see the original puppets in film set, and get acquainted with the technology of puppet making and the initial pictorial and technical designs. The display also showed the technique of trick shots using blue screening, and samples of the original screenplay cartoon for the film. The exhibition also presented two parts of the feature-length animated puppet film Fimfarum 2 (Fimfárum 2, dir. Jan Balej, Vlasta Pospíšilová, Aurel Klimt, Břetislav Pojar, 2006), and these were – The Sea, Uncle, Why Is It Salty? (Moře, strýčku, proč je slané?) by director Jan Balej and Tom Thumb (Paleček) directed by Břetislav Pojar.
28. 11.
Palace Cinemas Nový Smíchov in Prague (Czech Republic) held the opening ceremony of the Czech feature-length film Catch the Doctor! (Chyťte doktora, dir. Martin Ed Woolf /= Martin Dolenský/, 2007).
28. 11.
In Brno (Czech Republic) screenings were held for judges and other employees of the Supreme Administrative Court (NSS) of the 6.5-hour-long archive footage of the court trial of Milada Horáková (25. 12. 1901 – 27. 6. 1950) from 1950. The film was introduced and commented on by historians. The screening was attended also by the Constitutional Court Chairman Pavel Rychetský and Ombudsman Otakar Motejl.
28. - 29. 11.
The Blue hall of the Slovak Institute in Prague (Czech Republic) held a film showcase of the winning films from EKOTOPFILM 2007 in Bratislava (22. – 26. 10.). Fifteen films on the theme of sustainable development were shown. The projections were attended mainly by primary school, high-school and university students. Evening screenings were open to the public. Ekotopfilm Festival focuses on the educational agenda – film screenings are accompanied by seminars, workshops, and discussions on contemporary ecological issues.
29. 11.
Perštýn cinema in Prague (Czech Republic) held a screening of the documentary Paper Assassination (Papírový atentát, dir. Radim Procházka, 2007) about the “Sarajevo coup” against Václav Klaus from 1997. The so-called “Sarajevo coup” denotes the political crisis in the Czech Republic in 1997, which led to the government’s resignation and an early election. The Department of Modern Czech History of the National Museum expressed interest a paper panorama model depicting this political crisis in an original way. The model, which won its author Tomáš Chlud third prize at Czech plastic modelling championship, was presented to the museum’s officials at the ceremonial screening of the documentary.
29. 11. - 30. 1.
The annual conference of the Association of Hotels and Restaurants in the Czech Republic Conference took place in Tábor, focusing on contemporary trends and developments in hotel and gastronomy sector. The conference in Tábor was attended by over 200 professionals from the Czech Republic and abroad. The Association awarded prizes for best achievements, as well as prizes for director Jiří Menzel and Slovak actor Martin Huba for artistic rendition of the Czech hotel and gastronomy industry in I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, 2006, CR – SR).
29. 11. - 2. 12.
As part of the 7th Winter Film School, the 13th British Film Seminar took place in Uherské Hradiště (Czech Republic). In the tradition of the previous editions of the festival, of focusing on the combination of British film with another art genre, this year’s topic was British literature in British film. There were screenings of twenty feature film adaptations of British novels by famous authors such as Joseph Conrad, Charles Dickens, Graham Greene, James Joyce, Jane Austen and others. The programme featured the traditional accompanying selection of new films in the Project 100 film showcase. Uherské Hradiště also held a pre-premiere of The New World (2005, Great Britain) by Terrence Malick, a German expressionism representative Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, (dir. Robert Wiene, 1920) with live musical accompaniment, Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1972, SRN) by Werner Herzog, Zabriskie Point (dir. Michelangelo Antonioni, 1969, USA) and La Montaña strada (1973, Mexico – USA) by Alejandro Jodorowsky. Among the guests of the British Film Seminar were two prominent figures of British culture – internationally acclaimed British linguist David Crystal, who, as part of ‘kinolectures’ spoke on the function and significance of language in classic literary works and their film adaptations. The lectures focused on the works of William Shakespeare and other British literary classics. Each of Crystal’s lectures included a projection of a whole film or of selected scenes. Other film lectures were given by Věroslav Hába from the National Film Archive and by Martin Jiroušek, who, same as in previous years, focused mainly on horrors. The programme also included a profile of British director Julien Temple. As part of the 13th British Film Seminar there were a number of accompanying events such as an open round table on the theme of Film and School, theatre performance of the latest production of Pride and Prejudice based on Jane Austen’s novel and directed by Radovan Lipus, and more.
29. 11. - 3. 12.
Světozor and Aero cinemas in Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the 3rd festival of Asian films FILMASIA 2007. The festival opened in Světozor cinema with a screening of Sun taam (dir. Johnnie To, Wai Ka Fai, 2007, Hong Kong). The programme had four sections: Focus: Hongkong, Tribute to Johnnie To, New Asian Film, and Asian Horror-Film Night. The programme also presented the new Ssaibogeujiman kwaenchanha (dir. Park Chan-wook, 2006, South Korea). The New Asian Film section featured (Se jie, dir. Ang Lee, 2007, USA – China – Hongkong). Asian Horror-Film Night presented Korean films Geomeun jib (dir. Sin Tae-ra, 2007, South Korea), Yeogo goedam 4: Moksori (dir. Choe Ik-nwan, 2005, South Korea), and Gwai-wik (dir. Oxide Pang Chun, Danny Pang, 2006, Thailand – Hong Kong).
30. 11. - 7. 12.
Bratislava (Slovak Republic) held its 9th annual International Film Festival Bratislava 2007, which opened with the premiere screening of Half-life (Polčas rozpadu, dir. Vlado Fischer, 2007, SR) with Czech actress Iva Janžurová in the lead role. The film was awarded Audience Award Golden Pheasant. Among the Czech films presented were Dolls (Pusinky, dir. Karin Babinská, 2007), A Catfish Summer (Poslední plavky, dir. Michal Krajňák, 2007) and the feature-length documentary Lost Holiday (Ztracená dovolená, dir. Lucie Králová, 2007).