I. A Calendar»
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
1. 4.
The so-called Cinetrain started out on its journey from the Hradec Králové train station (CR). The train offers a specially fitted car that shows children’s films from the popular children’s television programme, Evening Fairy Tale (Večerníček), along with an exhibition on the history of the railroad. The Cinetrain Project was a supplemental part of the 48th International Film Festival for Children and Youth Zlín 2008 (1. – 6. 6.). The travelling cinema stopped in 21 cities in the Czech Republic. This was also the first time the Cinetrain headed to Slovakia.
3. - 27. 4.
The International Cross-cultural Festival Prague Gates took place in Prague. Part of the festival was a presentation of various spiritually themed films entitled Film Gate (Brána filmu) at the Světozor cinema. Festival guests included, among others, American healer and chiropractor Eric Pearl and American physicist Fred Alan Wolf also known as Dr. Quantum. As part of his lecture series a screening of the film What the Bleep Do We Know?! (dir. William Arntz, Betsy Chasse, Mark Vincente, 2004, USA) which presents his views of quantum mechanics, took place. The film also went into distribution in central Europe.
3. 4. - 25. 6.
The National Film Archive organized in the foyer of the Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt an exhibition of posters of Václav Ševčík and photographs of Jiří Opěla from August 1968 as an accompanying programme to the 15th International Screening of Film, Television and Video – FEBIOFEST 2008.
5. - 20. 4.
During the International Film Festival in Istanbul homage to Miloš Forman was organized and simultaneously the festival included a section called Events of ’68. Among the Czech films screened were: Loves of a Blonde (Lásky jedné plavovlásky, dir. Miloš Forman, 1965), Talent Competition (Konkurs, dir. Miloš Forman, 1963) and The Joke (Žert, dir. Jaromil Jireš, 1968).
7. 4.
Arnošt Lustig was selected for the 2007 Franz Kafka award from among 15 other authors by an international jury. The laureates received a statuette that is a miniature replica of the Prague’s commemorative statue of Franz Kafka (3. 7. 1883 – 3. 6. 1924), by Academic Sculptor Jaroslav Róna. The award carries a USD 10, 000 prize and is always presented on the Czech Republic’s state holiday, October 28, at the Old Town Hall. Several films have been made based on the literary work of the author. Among these are Dita Sax (dir. Antonín Moskalyk, 1967), A Convoy Leaving Paradise (Transport z ráje, dir. Zbyněk Brynych, 1962) and Diamonds of the Night (Démanty noci, dir. Jan Němec, 1964).
8. 4.
Pavel Borowiec, chairman of the board of the Blu-ray Forum.cz, announced that Blu-ray Forum.cz, whose goal it is to support the modern high-definition format called Blu-ray, has commenced its operation in the Czech Republic. Among the founding member companies of the Czech branch of the association are Samsung, Sony and a company called BrickBox Multimedia, which is currently finishing the first Czech film to be issued in Blu-ray format, The Can (Gympl, dir. Tomáš Vorel, 2007). A number of other companies showed an interest in participating in the association, such as BaSys, Bontonfilm, Bontonland, Diskus, Forum Home Entertainment and Magic Box. The association for the support of Blu-ray discs has so far only been established in developed nations of the EU such as Germany, France, Italy or Spain. On 6. 5. the association held a press conference in Prague, part of which was a presentation of the technology and new releases on Blu-ray. The Blu-ray Forum.cz Association is focused on bringing attention to Full HD televisions and Blu-ray players in shops and supporting the expansion of new, attractive feature films and music titles on Blu-ray discs in Czech language versions.
8. - 12. 4.
A screening of Czech films in cooperation with National Film Archive, Prague took place at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The presentation included some films of Jan Švankmajer and Jiří Barta.
9. 4.
The National Film Archive, in cooperation with the Institute of Slovakia in Prague, held a screening of the ”vault” film I Love, You Love (Ja milujem, ty miluješ, 1980) by Dušan Hanák at the Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt. The screening was a jubilee celebration for Slovak director Dušan Hanák (27. 4. 1938). In 1989 the film received the Silver Bear at the International Film Festival in Berlin (Germany). This was also the official opening of an exhibition of photographs by Hanák, entitled Records and References, at the Gallery of the Institute of Slovakia.
10. - 12. 4.
The Czech Film Industry was represented at the 23 annual Locations Trade Show in Santa Monica (California), the largest film locations trade show. The show is organized by AFCI (Association of Film Commissioners International). This was the first presentation of Czech cinematography at this annual show. The Czech Film Centre – Film Commission presented Prague and the Czech Republic at its own booth, as an attractive film destination offering filmmakers from all over the world the highest quality and a wide assortment of film services, professional crews and attractive and varied locations. The show was geared toward the professional public and industry professionals such as producers, managers, directors, cinematographers, location managers and studios.
11. - 12. 4.
Aero cinema in Prague organized a film weekend with František Vláčil (19. 2. 1924 – 27. 1. 1999). In cooperation with Barrandov Studio a. s., Cinema aero presented four films by this director as a supplement to the exhibition at the Riding Hall of the Prague Castle (14. 2. – 31. 5.). The programme included the films The White Dove (Holubice, 1960), The Devil’s Trap (Ďáblova past, 1961), Valley of the Bees (Údolí včel, 1967) and Marketa Lazarová (1967).
12. 4.
Director Lucie Štamfestová and screenwriter Pavel Sobek received an award for animation at the International Film Festival, Cineposible in Caceres (Spain) for their animated film The Fridge (Lednice, 2007).
12. 4. - 25. 5.
The Regional Museum in Vysoké Mýto (CR) organized an exhibition entitled How Evening Fairy Tales (Večerníčci) Are Created. Through photographs and models, visitors were able to look into the studios of notable personages of animated film, as well as to see how today’s animators work. The exhibition presented, among others, the works of Hermína Týrlová (11. 12. 1900 – 3. 5. 1993), Karel Zeman (3. 11. 1910 – 5. 4. 1989), Jan Dudešek (11. 5. 1926 – 19. 2. 1988) and Lubomír Beneš (7. 11. 1935 – 12. 9. 1995). The exhibition showed visitors how animated films are made by, for example, showing animated scenes from the films of director Karel Zeman, A Journey into Primeval Time (Cesta do pravěku, 1955) and Invention of Destruction (Vynález zkázy, 1958), where animation was combined with live action. The exhibition was conceived at the Children’s Museum in Brno and was cooperated on by the Brno branch of Czech Television and the Bonton Zlín Studios Company. After its closing in Vysoké Mýto, the exhibition was re-located to Litomyšl.
14. - 19. 4.
The Mosaico d' Europa Film Festival took place in Ravenna (Italy). The programme included screenings of the films of Jiří Menzel Closely Watched Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky, 1966) and Skylarks on the String (Skřivánci na niti, 1969).
14. - 27. 4.
The 14th annual International Book Fair and Literary Festival, Book World, took place at the Industrial Palace at the Prague Exhibition Grounds in Holešovice. The Guest of Honor was Spain. Themes of the festival were: Love and Passion in Literature, The Book and Lifestyle, Egypt – 50 years of Czech Egyptology, Literature Written in Spanish, Kafka and Borges. A conference dedicated to two writers, Franz Kafka (3. 7. 1883 – 3. 6. 1924) and Jorge Luis Borges (24. 8. 1899 – 14. 6. 1986) took place from 22. – 24. 4., and was carried out in cooperation with the Franz Kafka Society, the Embassy of Argentina, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the International Jorge Luis Borges Foundation (Fundación Internacional Jorge Luis Borges). Part of the programme was the 7th annual Books World in Film, a presentation of adaptations of literary works, which took place in the screening hall of the National Film Archive Ponrepo at Bio Konvikt and at the cinemas of Atlas, the Tradeshow Cinema at the Exhibition Grounds and at the French Institute cinema in Prague. The films screened, among others, were the films El momia (dir. Shadi Abdulsalam, 1969, Egypt), Fi baitina rajul (dir. Abdullah Barakat, 1961, Egypt), Cairo 30 (dir. Sallah Abu Seif, 1965, Egypt), Bodas de sange (dir. Carlos Saura, 1981, Spain – France), Radúz and Mahulena (Radúz a Mahulena, dir. Petr Weigl, 1970, Czechoslovakia), Oldřich and Božena (Oldřich a Božena, dir. Otakar Vávra, 1984, Czechoslovakia), Romeo and Juliet (dir. Renato Castellani, 1954, Great Britain – Italy) and La Mala education (dir. Pedro Almodóvar, 2004, Spain).
15. - 20. 4.
The 43rd annual International Festival of Popular-science and Documentary Films Academia Film Olomouc – AFO 2008, took place in Olomouc (CR). The award for best popular-science Czech film was given to director Petr Jančárek for the film Mr. Parkinson (Pan Parkinson, 2007) together with the Viewer’s Choice award for best popular-science film. The Space (Vesmír) magazine award for best Czech documentary in the area of natural sciences was given to the film Fish’n’Pills (Hormonální akvárium, dir. Tereza Tara, 2007). The History and the Present (Dějiny a současnost) magazine award for best Czech documentary in the field of humanities and social sciences went to the creators of the series Forgotten Transports (Zapomenuté transporty, dir. Lukáš Přibyl, 2007 – 2008). The student jury award went to the film Peace with Seals (Mír s tuleni/Alieni sulla spiaggia, dir. Miloslav Novák, 2007, CR – Italy). The award for best student film – V.Ř.E.D. went to the video clip by the group Lajka entitled I (Já, dir. Miloš Kameník, 2008). The award for best world popular science film was received by the French documentary about modern wastewater processing In the Name of Roses (dir. Thierry Berrod, 2008, France). An award in the form of a kaleidoscope was accepted from the Don of Palacký University by festival guest, British filmmaker Nigel Marven for his work in popularising science.
16. 4.
opening ceremony of the Czech feature film Just an Ordinary Family (Taková normální rodinka, dir. Patrik Hartl, 2008), took place in Prague at the Palace Cinemas Slovanský dům multiplex.
17. - 29. 4.
The 154th Festival of European Films – The Days of European Film 2008 took place in Prague. Film screenings took place at the Světozor cinema where the presentation commenced with the film Die Welle (dir. Dennis Gansel, Germany, 2008) and at the cinema Aero. Guests of the evening at Světozor cinema were the film’s actresses Jennifer Ulrich and Cristina Do Reg. The programme of the presentation included the Romanian film Nesfarsit/California Dream'in, dir. Christian Nemescu, 2006) and a film shot in Prague entitled Prag (Praha, dir. Christian Madsen, 2006, Denmark – Great Britain) and the film Return of the Storks (Návrat čápů/Návrat bocianov/Rückkehr der Störche, dir. Martin Repka, 2007, SR – Germany – CR). Domestic cinematography was represented by the film The Karamazovs (Karamazovi/Bracia Karamazow, dir. Petr Zelenka, 2008, CR – Poland). Two blocks of short films were also presented. The first presented the work of students and the second block, entitled Five Films of Unrest, presented the works of young European filmmakers. A part of the Days of European Film was an all night film presentation at the Světozor, from midnight Saturday (19.– 20. 4.) where moviegoers could watch the feature films: Belle toujours (dir. Manoel de Oliveira, 2006, Portugal – France), In 3 Tage bis du tot (dir. Andreas Prochaska, 2006, Austria) and Przebacz (dir. Marek Stacharski, 2006, Poland). The Prague section of the presentation came to a close with the film The Tiger’s Tail (dir. John Boorman, 2006, Ireland – Great Britain). The 15th annual presentation was then continued in Brno (25. – 30. 4.) and in Olomouc (28. 4. – 2. 5.). Echoes of the Days of European Film took place in early May in Boskovice and in Uherské Hradiště. A part of the supplemental programme to the festival was a seminar for distributors and cinema employees, the main theme of which was the digitalization of film and financial support from the European Union for cinema operation. The guests included, among others, Alexander Syllaba, who presented cinema Paradiso in Vienna and who received an award for his work in the year 2007 and Alexander Stolz, who spoke on the theme of digitalization of cinemas in Great Britain.
18. - 20. 4.
A Seminar of 70mm Films took place in Krnov (CR) at the Mír cinema, which was the third annual presentation entitled The Universe Is Our World. Mír cinema in Krnov is the last place in the Czech Republic where it is possible to see 70mm films. The programme included, among others, the feature films West Side Story (dir. Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins, 1961, USA), Lawrence of Arabia (dir. David Lean, 1962, Great Britain), Yemelian Pugachov (dir. Alexei Saltykov, 1978, USSR), Hauptman Florian von der Mühle (dir. Werner W. Wallroth, 1968, DDR), Kazimierz Wielki (dir. Ewa Petelska, Czesław Petelski, 1975, Poland), Amadeus (dir. Miloš Forman, 1984, USA), and the animated feature film A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Sen noci svatojánské, dir. Jiří Trnka, 1959). A part of the programme was also a lecture on widescreen film formats by Danish expert Thomas Hauerslev, editor of the online magazine in 70mm.com.
19. 4.
The second year of the Slovak National Film Awards, Slnko v sieti 2008, presented by the Academy of Slovak Film and Television took place in Bratislava in the historic building of the Slovak National Theatre. Czech filmmakers were awarded: for best film editing Alois Fišárek for the film Muzika (dir. Juraj Nvota, 2007, SR), and Iva Bittová for best female actor in a lead role for the film Little Girl Blue (Tajnosti, dir. Alice Nellis, 2007, CR – SR). Slovak actor Martin Huba received the award for best male actor in a supporting role in the Czech-Slovak co-production of the film I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, dir. Jiří Menzel, 2006). The award for best Slovak documentary film went to the Slovak-Czech co-production film Other Worlds (Iné svety, dir. Marko Škop, 2006).
21. 4.
A presentation of Czechoslovak films from the 1960s began in Vienna to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the Prague Spring reform movement. The presentation was commenced with a screening film director Vojtěch Jasný’s That Cat... (Až přijde kocour, 1963), after which a forum with Slovak actress and politician Emílie Vášáryová, who played the role of trapeze artist Diana in the film, took place. The presentation included films of the 1960s that foreshadowed political and social change: The Ear (Ucho, dir. Karel Kachyňa, 1970), Black Peter (Černý Petr, dir. Miloš Forman, 1963), The Cry (Křik, dir. Jaromil Jireš, 1963) and The Joke (Žert, dir. Jaromil Jireš, 1968). The presentation was concluded with the film All Good Countrymen (Všichni dobří rodáci, dir. Vojtěch Jasný, 1968). The preparation of the presentation, which was conceived as a Czecho-Slovak event, was a joint venture between the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Austria, The Czech Centre in Vienna, and the Embassy of the Slovak Republic.
21. - 24. 4.
The first annual presentation of Days of Italian Film took place in Brno at the Art cinema, and presented the films La dolce vita (dir. Federico Fellini, 1960, Italy – France), Ladri di biciclette (dir. Vittorio De Sica, 1948) and Il Vangelo secondo Matteo (dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1964, France – Italy). Current Italian cinematography was represented by the films La Tigre e la neve (dir. Roberto Benigni, 2005), and Buongiorno notte (dir. Marco Bellocchio, 2003). The Festival concluded with a screening of the film La Caduta degli dei (dir. Luchino Visconti, 1969, Italy – Switzerland – Germany).
21. - 25. 4.
The 5th International Festival of Films on Consistently Maintaned Development – TUR Ostrava 2008 took place. Films were divided into three categories – Life in the City, Conservation of Land and Nature and Man and Society. In the area of Czech film work, the Minister of Industry and Commerce award went to director Jaroslav Večeřa for the film Scars Remain or Changes of our Borderlands (Jizvy zůstávají aneb Proměny našeho pohraničí, 2007) from the Czech Television series, Our Czech Nature (Ta naše povaha česká). The International jury prize went to the film The Civil Servant and His Big Adventure (Úředník a jeho velké dobrodružství, dir. Vítězslav Ureš, 2008) and Honourable mention went to the film Let’s Leave It to Fate (Necháme to osudu, dir. Tereza Brázdová, 2006).
21. - 27. 4.
The 21st annual Festival of Czech Films, FINÁLE 2008, took place in Plzeň. The new base for the festival was provided by the multiplex Cinema City Plzeň. Měšťanská beseda became the location for the more intimate screening of documentary and archive films. During the week, 12 feature films and 34 documentary films battled for the Golden Kingfisher award (Zlatý ledňáček). The winner was selected by two juries headed by the vice rector of AMU (the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague) Ivo Mathé and Slovak director Peter Kerekeš. Executive director of the festival was Pavla Kormošová. The festival was visited by Greek documentary filmmaker Paul Pissanos, Canadian director Peter Lynch and American historian Robert Rosenstone. Domestic feature and animated projects currently in production were, for the seventh time, the theme of a meeting which the Czech Film Centre organized within the framework of the FINÁLE Festival. During the meeting, over 70 titles of Czech feature and animated work were presented. A panel with the participation of filmmakers and previews of their work or short montages of their work was moderated by film publicist Tomáš Baldýnský. The film festival was visited by, among others, Dagmar Havlová and director Juraj Jakubisko together with Deana Horváthová who attended the screening of the director’s film It’s Better To Be Wealthy and Healthy Than Poor and Ill (Lepší je být bohatý a zdravý než chudý a nemocný/Lepšie je byť bohatý a zdravý než chudobný a chorý, 1992, CR – SR), in which both actresses appeared together. Directors Věra Chytilová and Jiří Menzel, author and dramatist Pavel Kohout and documentarist and pedagogue Václav Táborský, who lives in Toronto participated in forums focusing on the 1960s. The Golden Kingfisher in the feature film category was received by director Alice Nellis for the film Little Girl Blue (Tajnosti, 2007, CR – SR). The award for documentary film was given by the jury to the documentary film Citizen Havel (Občan Havel, dir. Pavel Koutecký, Miroslav Janek, 2008). A special jury prize was given to the FAMU documentary film collection by Bohdan Bláhovec, Viera Čakányová, Petr Hátle, Rozálie Kohoutová, Lukáš Kokeš, Jaroslav Kratochvíl and Tereza Tara. The award for significant support of Czech cinematography abroad was given to the director of the Slovak Film Institute Peter Dubecký. The Plzeňský Prazdroj Viewer’s Choice award for best film went to director Tomáš Bařina for the film Grapes (Bobule, 2008). The jury gave the award for best acting to actor Ivan Trojan for the title role in the film Václav (dir. Jiří Vejdělek, 2007). The anniversary award of the Asotiation Czech Film Clubs for the past year was awarded to the film Little Girl Blue (Tajnosti). To comemorate the presentation and the twentieth anniversary of the passing of theatre and film director and screenwriter Evald Schorm (15. 12. 1931 – 14. 12. 1988), the organizers of the festival issued a book entitled The Quiet Guest, Evald Schorm (Mlčenlivý host Evald Schorm). Editor and motivating force behind the book, film historian Jan Lukeš captured within it the memories of the currently living close friends and colleagues of Schorm. The book is acompanied by a DVD with six short and mid-length films by Schorm. The book also includes a contribution by writer Radka Denemarková, author of a memoir of Evald Schorm entitled Enemy to Myself (Sám sobě nepřítelem, Petrov, 1998).
23. 4.
The opening of an exhibition of the photographs of cinematographer and director Jaroslav Brabec (1955) took place in Brno at the Kunštát Regents Building. The photographs are of Czech artists that Jaroslav Brabec systematically collected over a period of three decades. In addition to artists, he also captured their studios, homes and works in progress. He photographed not only the classical artists like Jan Zrzavý, Jan Sudek, Jiří Lhoták and Jiří Kolář, but also representatives of the younger generation such as David Černý, Josef Volf and Jakub Špaňhel.
23. 4.
The opening ceremony of the Czech-Polish co-production feature film The Karamazovs (Karamazovi/Bracia Karamazow, dir. Petr Zelenka, 2008, CR – Poland) took place at the Lucerna and Aero cinemas in Prague. The premiere was attended by the film’s music composer, Polish composer Jan A. P. Kaczmarek, Oscar winner in 2005 for best soundtrack to the film Finding Neverland (dir. Marc Forster, 2004, Great Britain – USA).
24. - 27. 4.
A presentation of films by actor and screenwriter Zdeněk Svěrák entitled Svěrákfest took place in Brandýs nad Labem (CR) at the local cinema Kuk. This event continued on from 2007, when the organizers screened the films of American director Quentin Tarantino. The presentation took place over a period of four days during which both older and newer films with which Zdeněk Svěrák was in some way involved were shown. Along with the films Empties (Vratné lahve, dir. Jan Svěrák, 2007, CR – Great Britain – Denmark) and Dark Blue World (Tmavomodrý svět, dir. Jan Svěrák, 2001), the programme included the older films Uncertain Season (Nejistá sezóna, dir. Ladislav Smoljak, 1987) and The Blockbuster (Trhák, dir. Zdeněk Podskalský, 1980). For younger viewers the films Three Veterans (Tři veteráni, 1983) and Long Live Ghosts! (Ať žijí duchové!, 1997) by director Oldřich Lipský were shown. The presentation included a forum with Zdeněk Svěrák.
25. 4.
A memorial plaque was unveiled in the foyer of the Prague theatre Švandovo divadlo, which commemorates the work of Czech actor Vlasta Burian (9. 4. 1891 – 31. 1. 1962), the so-called King of the Comics, on this theatre’s stage. The plaque was made by Academy sculptor Jiří Kubík and bears the quote, ”The theatre is a game of life with countless reprises…but a curtain at the end”, and installed at the theatre by the Vlasta Burian Society. The plaque was unveiled by film director Otakar Vávra. The first stage Burian performed on in the city was a ground floor theatre and later basement theatre of the Adria on Wenceslaus Square, where he performed from 1925 – 1928. In the summer of that year he moved to Smíchov to the Švandovo divadlo theatre, where he had been appearing as a guest performer since 1921 and from 1923 had been doing regular Monday performances. He found his permanent workplace in the year 1930 in the modern palace of the Mining and Metallurgy Company in Lazarská Street in Prague (contemporary Theatre of Comedy, Divadlo Komedie).
25. - 27. 4.
Viewers met in Bystřice pod Hostýnem (CR) for the Erotica in Czech Film Festival. The following films were screened Ecstasy (Extase, dir. Gustav Machatý, 1932), Silvery Wind (Stříbrný vítr, dir.Václav Krška, 1954), The Sweet Games of Last Summer (Sladké hry minulého léta, dir. Juraj Herz, 1969), Marketa Lazarová (dir. František Vláčil, 1967), The Apple Game (Hra o jablko, dir. Věra Chytilová, 197), A Magpie In The Hand (Straka v hrsti, dir. Juraj Herz, 1983), A Good Light (Dobré světlo, dir. Karel Kachyňa, 1986), Tortured Imagination (Muka obraznosti, dir. Vladimír Drha, 1989), Conspirators of Delight (Spiklenci slasti, dir. Jan Švankmajer, 1996, CR – Croatia – UK) and Post coitum (dir. Juraj Jakubisko, 2004, CR – SR).
29. 4.
The opening ceremony of the Czech feature film Marbles (Kuličky, r. Olga Dabrowská, 2008) took place at the Oko cinema in Prague.
29. 4. - 4. 5.
The 10th annual Screening of Czech, Slovak and Polish Films – Cinema on the Border 2008, took place in Český Těšín (CR) and Cieszyn (Poland). Over 80 films were shown and a Viewer’s Preference Jubilee Series was put together from the past nine festivals to celebrate the festival’s first decade of existence. The programme included a retrospective of the works of Czech director Pavel Juráček (2. 8. 1935 – 20. 5. 1989) and a portrait of Polish actor Franciszek Pieczka. Slovak animated film offered a cross-section of the history and current work and a profile of Ondrej Rudavský. In the Film and History section documentary films about Czechoslovakia in 1968 and Hungary in 1956 were screened. The Film presentation was augmented by the performances of music groups, exhibitions and meetings with the creators of the comic artist trio of Alois Nebel (White Brook, Main Station, Golden Mountains) Jaroslav Rudiš and Jaromír 99 (real name Jaromír Švejdík).
29. 4.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles stated on its website that Czech director Martin Duda became one of five nominees for the 35th Student Oscar in the foreign films category with his 3D animated film I Am Bigger and Better (2007). The winner of the Student Oscar was German filmmaker Ret Caffi and his film Auf der Strecke (2007).