I. A Calendar»
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
3. - 28. 9.
An exhibition of the drawings of French artist Jean Effel (given name François Lejeune, 12. 2. 1908 – 10. 10. 1982), whose 100th birthday would have been in February, took place at the Millennium Gallery in Prague. Thanks to his friendship with the Czechoslovak ambassador at the time in Paris, artist, writer and publicist Adolf Hoffmeister (15. 8. 1902 – 24. 7. 1973), a feature-length animated film based on his drawings was created at Film Studio Barrandov in Prague, entitled La Création du monde/Stvoření světa (dir. Eduard Hofman, 1957, France – CR). The rhymed commentary to the film was written by Adolf Hoffmeister for Czech vriter and actor Jan Werich (6. 2. 1905 – 31. 10. 1980). The exhibition was first put together in Vysoké Mýto, and later shown in Litomyšl.
3. - 30. 9.
The 51st annual multi-genre festival, The Opava of Bezruč took place in Opava. The festival is one of the oldest cultural festivals in the Czech Republic. From 1958 it carries the name of most famous Opava native poet Petr Bezruč (original name Vladimír Vašek, 15. 9. 1867 – 17. 2. 1958), who became famous namely for social protest poetry in the collection, Silesian Songs. The festival has undergone many makeovers and currently it offers a presentation of all art forms – literature, fine art, theatre, film and even music. The festival has a predetermined theme each year for its programme. This year’s festival theme was Myths and Legends. For film fans, the film Marketa Lazarová (dir. František Vláčil, 1967), among others, was screened.
4. 9.
The Slovak feature film Half-life (Polčas rozpadu, dir. Vlado Fischer, 2007), in which the two female roles were played by Czech actresses Iva Janžurová and Klára Pollertová-Trojanová, was released in Czech cinemas.
7. 9.
The film I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, dir. Jiří Menzel, 2006, CR – SR) won the Golden Gladiator Award at the first International Film Festival in Durrës (Albania). Jiří Menzel, as part of his participation in the festival, also led a seminar for Albanian and foreign filmmakers entitled The Art of Direction during which he spoke about, among other things, adapting difficult literary texts to film versions.
7. 9.
The Czech Bureau of Statistics and the Union of Film Distributors in Prague published data according to which the price of Czech cinema tickets has roughly quadrupled since 1989, while attendance has decreased to one quarter. According to experts the price of admission to cinemas in the Czech Republic will apparently keep growing, because, it is still lower in comparison to the rest of the European Union. Prior to 1989 prices were subsidized and in no way corresponded to real expenditures. Multiplex cinemas, according to experts, do influence the increases of average admission prices, but on the other hand thanks to them the domestic film market after 1999 overcame a crisis that it had been battling with from the beginning of the 1990s and which, in 1994, enabled TV Nova to begin broadcasting and attract a large number of viewers.
8. 9.
The premieres of the feature film Return of the Storks (Návrat čápů/Návrat bocianov/Rückkher der Störche, dir. Martin Repka, 2007, SR – Germany – CR) took place at the Atlas cinema in Prague. The film brought Slovakia an Oscar nomination in the category of best foreign film.
10. 9.
The opening premiere of the feature film Tobruk (dir. Václav Marhoul, 2008, CR –SR) took place at the Village Cinemas Anděl multiplex in Prague.
13. - 20. 9.
The 6th annual Festival of European Film Smiles took place in Mladá Boleslav (CR). The mission of the festival of new comedies is to popularise European films through one of the most popular film genres. Festival kicked off at the Škoda Auto Museum with a screening of the Czech comedy by director Jan Hřebejk, I Am All Good (U mě dobrý, 2008). A part of the opening programme was a unique presentation of six original statuettes of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Oscar, which were awarded to Czech and before that Czechoslovak cinematography for the films The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na korze, dir. Ján Kadár, Elmar Klos, 1965), Closely Watched Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky, dir. Jiří Menzel, 1966) and Kolya (Kolja, dir. Jan Svěrák, 1996, CR – Great Britain – France). Ivan Jandl (24. 1. 1937 – 21. 11. 1987) received an award for his child role in the film The Search (dir. Fred Zinnemann, 1948, Switzerland – USA), Theodor Pištěk for best costume design in the film Amadeus (dir. Miloš Forman, 1984, USA), Karel Černý for art directing on the film Amadeus, Markéta Irglová together with Irishman Glen Hansard for best film song for the song Falling Slowly from the film Once (dir. John Carney, Irsko, 2007). The Oscar statue for Ivan Jandl’s child role was loaned for the occasion by the National Film Archive. Part of the first festival evening was the presentation of the Awards of festival director Jan Kuděla – ”For All of the Cinema Smiles”– firstly to actor Boleslav Polívka, who accepted the role of honorary president and patron of the festival. The same award was also received by directors Jiří Menzel (23. 2. 1938), and in honour of his 70th birthday the festival organized a presentation of his films, and the elder statesman of Czech cinematography Jiří Krejčík (26. 6. 1918), who in 2008 celebrated his 90th birthday. In Czech cinematography the film I Am All Good (U mě dobrý) was given the award for best Czech film – Czech Broadcasting Award. The award for best female performance – The Ško-Energo Award remained in the Czech Republic as well, when the jury awarded it to Tatiana Vilhelmová for the double role of two different types of women in the film Catch the Doc! (Chyťte doktora, dir. Martin Ed Woolf, 2007). Most popular among audiences was the film Grapes (Bobule, dir. Tomáš Bařina, 2008), winning the Kovo Award.
14. 9.
An exhibition of works by Eva (25. 9. 1940 – 20. 10. 2005) and Jan (4. 9. 1934) Švankmajer finished in Uherské Hradiště at the Gallery of the Moravian Museum. The Retrospective exhibition of works of the Švankmajers was the biggest and most important overview of the works of these unique and important artists – representatives of Czech Surrealism – in 2008. Visitors had the opportunity to see 154 works from their workshop, from pictures to props to clips from their films.
15. - 19. 9.
The 33rd annual Film Festival, Gdynia 2008 took place in Gdynia (Poland). Atthis most important of national film festivals, ten Czech films that in recent times enjoyed huge popularity in Poland were screened. Among them were feature film Václav (dir. Jiří Vejdělek, 2007), documentary film Citizen Havel (Občan Havel, dir. Pavel Koutecký, Miroslav Janek, 2008), puppet film Fimfárum 2 (Fimfarum 2, dir. Jan Balej, Vlasta Pospíšilová, Břetislav Pojar, Aurel Klimt, 2006) and the fairytale The Loveliest Riddle (Nejkrásnější hádanka, dir. Zdeněk Troška, 2008). A Czech Day took place at the festival 15. 9. At a conference entitled, Like in a Czech Film, Czech filmmakers spoke about Czech film and about the possibilities of Czech-Polish cooperation. Participating in the forum were producers Pavel Strnad, Helena Uldrichová, Ondřej Trojan and filmmakers Martin Vandas. The Czech delegation also included director Petr Zelenka with the film The Karamazovs (Karamazovi/Bracia Karamazowi, 2008, CR – Poland) and actor Ivan Trojan who has one of the leading roles in the film.
16. 9.
A presentation of the documentary film in production by director and screenwriter Olga Špátová, Eye Over Prague (Oko nad Prahou), dedicated to the author of the proposal for the National Library in Prague, architect Jan Kaplický (18. 4. 1937 – 14. 1. 2009) who, after emigrating from Czechoslovakia in 1969, chose Great Britain for his life and work, took place in Prague. The subject of the film, which was produced by his wife, Eliška Kaplická, was the battle over his controversial proposal for the National Library.
16. - 19. 9.
The 10th International Festival of Radio and Television Programmes and Adverts Relating to Gastronomy, the Znojmo Grape 2008 took place in Znojmo (CR). The festival concluded with a ceremonial evening at the Municipal Theatre, where awards were presented to the creators of the winning films. The jury, which evaluated the advertising spots, awarded the Golden Grape 2008 to the advertising spot Fernet Stock – Lipno (dir. Michael Baumbruck, 2007), for the client Stock Plzeň Božkov, for creative work connected with humorous promotion of Fernet Stock liqueur for Czech consumers.
18. 9. - 15. 10.
The presentation Fifteen Years of Czech Documentaries took place at Prague’s Světozor and MAT Club. The three best films of the presentation were announced at the Czech Lion 2008 awards (7. 3. 2009). The next step is the establishment of a separate category for documentary films stated Pavel Strnad, one of the organizers of the presentation, which would partially repay the debt owed to documentary films, that in the past were not valued within the framework of the Czech Lion awards. The presentation included all Czech documentaries that were shot from 1993 – 2007, and that are longer than 50 minutes and were distributed to cinemas.
19. - 25. 9.
A retrospective of the films of director Vojtěch Jasný took place in NewYork at the Anthology Film Archives institute. Organizers of the event assembled a selection from the body of film and television work of the director consisting of six feature-length films and one short film. The presentation was kicked off by the screening of one of the most important films of the Czechoslovak New Wave of the 1960s, All Good Countrymen (Všichni dobří rodáci, 1968). Further, viewers also saw, among others, the films That Cat... (Až přijde kocour 1963), Desire (Touha, 1958) and I Survived My Own Death (Přežil jsem svou smrt, 1960). The retrospective presentation also included the short film poem Czech Rhapsody (Česká rapsodie, 1969) about Czechoslovakia occupied by the Soviet army, which was an artistic farewell to his homeland by Vojtěch Jasný before his departure into exile.
20. 9. 2008 - 20. 9. 2009
The 14th Awards of František Filipovský for Best Acting and Dubbing Performances of Audiovisual Works was presented in Přelouč (CR). Jiří Plachý received the award for his male performance in dubbing role of Flash Madden (Christopher Plummer) in the film entitled Man in the Chair (dir. Michael Schroeder, 2007, USA), and the award for best female performance went to Alena Vránová for the dubbing of the role of Miss Jane Marple (Margaret Rutherford) in the British television detective series, Murder, She Said (dir. George Pollock, 1961, Great Britain), based on the detective stories British author Agatha Christie (15. 9. 1890 – 12. 1. 1976). The FITES award for exceptional dubbing work on a valued audio-visual work was awarded to Jana Mertinová, Jozef Kušnír and Elmar Klos for work on the film Dead Poets Society (dir. Peter Weir, 1989, USA). The Special award of František Filipovský for exceptional dubbing work on television or feature films of various genres, including animated works, and children’s television series for 2008 went to creators Petra Mertinová, Jana Mertinová, Jiří Meixner and Zdeněk Hruška for their work on the British television series The Impressionists (dir. Tim Dunn, 2006), which was broadcast on Czech Television. The Award of the Association of Sound Technicians was also awarded in Přelouč for best sound of an audiovisual dubbed work – to Richard Tomíček for the film Zodiac (dir. David Fincher, 2007, USA). The Award of The Translators and Interpreters Association for exceptional translation quality and dialogues of an dubbing audiovisual work went to Jiřina Hradecká with Jiří Meixner and Zdeněk Hruška for The Grapes of Wrath (dir. John Ford, 1940, USA). The Award for lifetime achievement in dubbing 2008 was awarded by FITES – Czech Film and Television Union to television dramatist Jarmila Hampacherová. Presidium of the Actor’s Association awards for lifetime mastery in dubbing went to Jiřina Petrovická, Antonie Hegerlíková, Josef Zíma and Lubomír Lipský.
20. - 27. 9.
The The 30th Festival of Czech Film and Television Comedy – Nové Město Pot of Laughter, took place in Nové Město nad Metují (CR). Nine feature films and five television films competed for the award of the professional jury. Festival screenings took place in the renovated cinema hall of Cinema 70. The comedies competed for several awards, such as the so-called Novoměstský Pot of Laughter which was the Viewer’s Award, awarded on the basis of measurement of audience laughter during the screenings. The other awards – the Golden Prim or the award for best male and female performance were decided on by the professional jury. The Nové Město Pot of Laughter Viewer’s Award went to the comedy film Just an Ordinary Family (Taková normální rodinka, dir. Patrik Hartl, 2008). The professional jury presented the Festival President’s Award to actress Jiřina Bohdalová for her contribution to Czech comedy. The Main Prize, the Zlatý Prim, in the best television comedy category went to Love In Memoriam (Láska in memoriam, dir. Jaroslav Pozzi, 2008). In the best film comedy category the jury awarded the Main Prize – the Zlatý Prim to the story film Marbles (Kuličky, dir. Olga Dabrowská, 2008). The FITES Award for best screenplay went to Marek Epstein and Jiří Vejdělek for the film Václav (dir. Jiří Vejdělek, 2007). The award for best artistic achievement and direction went to the film I Am All Good (U mě dobrý, dir. Jan Hřebejk, 2008). The Zdeněk Podskalský Award for most notable work of a young artist was given to actor Kryštof Hádek for his role in the film Grapes (Bobule, dir. Tomáš Bařina, 2008). The award for best female actor went to actress Lenka Vlasáková for the role of Andula in the film I Am All Good (U mě dobrý). The award for best male actor went to Jiří Vyorálek for the role of Jára in the story Moral Imperative (Mravní imperativ) from the film Marbles (Kuličky). The award for best direction went to Jan Hřebejk for the film I Am All Good (U mě dobrý). The Actor’s Association Award was given to Martha Issová for the role of Katka in the family television series A Good Neighborhood (Dobrá čtvrť) by director Karel Smyczek, who began shooting it in 2005. Part of the Nové Město Film Festival was an exhibition of photographs by actor and moderator Zdeněk Podhůrský entitled Silent Faces. An exhibition of 30 years of the Novoměstský Pot of Laughter was also on display for the duration of the festival at Cinema 70.
21. - 22. 9.
This was the evening of the presentation of the Emmy Awards for the best television series in the USA in Los Angeles and New York. This spring, for the first time ever, a Czech journalist – the current correspondent for Czech Television in China, Tomáš Etzler – received an award for his contribution to the development of modern technology in journalism. The jury praised his earlier cooperation with CNN, for which he worked as war correspondent in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Tomáš Etzler is the brother of film and theatre actor Miroslav Etzler.
22. 9.
French writer Georges-Marc Benamou presented his novel entitled La Fantôme de Munich, (2008) at the French Institute in Prague. The novel is about the signature of the Munich Agreement in 1938 by the leaders of Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy permitting German annexation of Czechoslovakia's territory. 29. 9. 2008 marks the passage of seventy years since this event took place. The French author expressed his satisfaction that Miloš Forman and Václav Havel have decided to transfer this subject to the silver screen. Both of these artists participated in the evening with Georges-Marc Benamou.
22. 9. - 6. 10.
A French-German co-production film about the life of French King Henry IV of Navarre, under the title Henry IV shot on the grounds of the baroque monastery in Plasy (CR). Its viewers will see it not only as a feature film in cinemas, but also as a two-part film on television. The funds obtained for the rental of the monastery will go toward the renovation of the monastery furnishings that will enrich monastery tours from next season.
24. 9.
Petr Vachler, the director of Czech Film and Television Academy (ČFTA) announced that the feature film of director Petr Zelenka, The Karamazovs (Karamazovi/Bracia Karamazowi, 2008 CR – Poland) was selected by vote of the academy members of the ČFTA, for the 81st annual presentation of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Oscars.
24. 9.
The opening premiere of the feature film Night Owls (Děti noci, dir. Michaela Pavlátová, 2008) took place at the Prague Lucerna and Světozor cinemas.
25. 9.
The opening premiere of the Czech-American co-production feature film The Resolution (dir. Petr Smělík, Petr Hastík, 2008) took place at the Golden Apple Cinema in Zlín (CR).
25. 9.
The Světozor cinema in Prague met the needs of approximately one-half million hearing impaired citizens in the Czech Republic in its large cinema hall by installing a so-called induction loop that allows the hearing-impaired to hear sounds better through their hearing aids, and deaf people to perceive the sounds. Moreover, this system does not disrupt the film-viewing experience for those with healthy hearing. Another new addition is that of special screenings of films with captions for the hearing impaired. These achievements were made possible by the Portlingua company. The Cinema for the Hearing Impaired project is supported by the Charter 77 Foundation and Konto Bariéry, The State Fund of the Czech Republic for the Support and Development of Czech Cinematography and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. Over time, the Portlingua company will equip more cinema halls that will use these captions, with this equipment. Of the newest Czech films, the ones made with these captions are the feature films Tobruk (dir. Václav Marhoul, 2008, CR – SR), Night Owls (Děti noci, dir. Michaela Pavlátová, 2008), Little Girl Blue (Tajnosti, dir. Alice Nellis, 2007, CR – SR), Václav (dir. Jiří Vejdělek, 2007) and The Can (Gympl, dir. Tomáš Vorel, 2007).
28. 9.
The Czech ambassador to North Korea (KLDR) Martin Tomčo accepted the Special Jury Prize of the International jury for the feature film Empties (Vratné lahve, dir. Jan Svěrák, 2007, CR – Great Britain – Denmark) from the jury chairman of the 11th annual International Film Festival in the North Korean capital of Pyong Yang. In addition to the award-winning film, the documentary film The Power of Humanity – Nicholas Winton (Síla lidskosti – Nicholas Winton, dir. Matej Mináč, 2001, CR – SR) was also screened at the festival.
29. 9.
The director of Cinema Aero announced at a press conference in Prague, that forfans of the broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera, there will be a broadcast of the gala concert commencing the 125th season of this opera building. In nine selected Czech cinemas that participated in the broadcasts there were two free screenings daily. The video was seen by viewers from non-American territories. The gala concert took place in New York on 22. 9. Ten direct broadcasts were prepared at the Aero cinema in Prague, Central Cinema in Hradec Králové and at the Digital Cinema in Žatec on Louny region for the season from 11. 10. 2008 – 9. 5. 2009. Also participating in the project were cinema Kotva in České Budějovice, Velké Cinema in Zlín, Panasonic in Karlovy Vary, Reduta and Mahenovo Theatre in Brno, Cinestar in Plzeň and cinema in Chotěboř in the Havlíčkův Brod region. The broadcasts, which began in the Czech Republic in 2007, were shown in so-called High Definition that is in high resolution, which exceeds DVD picture quality, and in five-channel surround sound.
30. 9.
The Czech-American co-production film Jan Saudek – Trapped by His Passions, No Hope for Rescue (Jan Saudek – V pekle svých vášní, ráj v nedohlednu, dir. Adolf Zika, 2007, CR – USA) received The Glass Eye Award for best documentary film at the 2nd annual Eurofest festival in Montreal, which focuses on Eastern European cinematography. ]]