I. A Calendar»
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
1. 9.
Martin Štoll was named the new rector of the Literary Academy – the Private University of Josef Škvorecký in Prague (Literární akademie (Soukromá vysoká škola Josefa Škvoreckého) s. r. o). Štoll is a director of documentary films, a former script editor for Czech Television (ČESKÁ TELEVIZE), publisher and columnist and head of the encyclopaedic book project Czech Film: Documentary directors.
1. 9.
French filmmakers began shooting a historical film at the Barrandov studios with the working title Film; the film was made in coproduction with OKKO PRODUCTION s. r. o. (Czech Republic) and Mandarin Cinéma (France). The director is Sylvain Fusée. The leading role in this project that filled three studios and adjacent land was played by Jérémie Rénier. Barrandov scenery experts built a backdrop simulating the 16th century, including exteriors of an estate and a segment of a castle with a water moat. One challenging aspect was the production of a wooden galley for slaves. The boat is about 10 meters wide and 14 meters long.
1. 9.
The Association of Czech Film Clubs (Asociace českých filmových klubů – AČFK) selected as it new chairperson former vice-chairperson and second statutory representative Radana Korená. The association’s council decided this at its meeting in Prague.
1. 9.
Czech University professor, writer, screenplay writer and columnist David Jan Novotný (28. 11. 1947) received the Literary Award of the Book Club for a hitherto unpublished work – his novel that takes place in the Prague Jewish community entitled Sidra Noach. The award was presented at the Kaiserštejnský palace in Prague. A publishing house published the book and the author received a CZK 100,000 reward. Following his secondary school leaving exam he was employed in various blue collar professions; after graduating from FAMU (Filmové a televizní fakulty Akademie múzických umění v Praze) (screenwriting and script editing) he was hired as a screenplay writer at Barrandov studios. In 1990 he became an expert assistant at FAMU (Filmové a televizní fakulty Akademie múzických umění v Praze), where he was named lecturer in 1997 and professor in 2001. He also works at the department of journalism of Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University and was first rector of the Miroslav Ondříček Film Academy in Písek (Filmové akademie Miroslava Ondříčka v Písku, o. p. s.) from 2004 to 2007. Since 2008 he has lectured at the Literary Academy of Josef Škvorecký (Literární akademii (Soukromá vysoká škola Josefa Škvoreckého) s. r. o.). In the book Sidra Noach, Novotný was inspired by the floods in Prague in 2002. In his imagination they reached much greater dimensions – hundreds of people lost their homes, thousands had to be evacuated from the flooded areas. Even the Jews from Josefov had to leave their homes. Ten men then met in the Jewish pension of Mr Reich in Vinohrady, quarter of Prague and the book follows their lives and stories.
1. 9.
Starting with the academic year of 2010, film and audiovisual education began to be taught as an elective at basic schools and gymnasiums. Students shoot their own films, animation or documentaries during the film and audiovisual classes. They also have the chance to view a number of interesting films that reflect, for instance, various historical events and to discuss them with teachers. Some schools had begun teaching film education even before this date, but this was done more intuitively.
1. - 11. 9.
The 67th International Film Festival took place in Venice (Italy). Czech film was represented in a non-competition capacity with the new film by director Jan Švankmajer entitled Surviving Life (Přežít svůj život, 2010, CR – SR) that had here its world premiere.
1. 9. - 15. 10.
The Bio Oko cinema in Prague hosted an exhibition of film posters by artist Zdeněk Kaplan, organized by the Haberdashery Terry’s Socks. Zdeněk Kaplan began creating film posters for the Central Film Lending Office shortly after completing the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (Vysoká škola uměleckoprůmyslová v Praze). He and his contemporary and good friend Josef Vyleťal were among the young upcoming generation of artists that the older generation and already established artists such as Karel Vaca, Milan Grygar and Zdeněk Ziegler with their helpfulness and openness provided opportunities to work on film posters. The creative language that Zdeněk Kaplan used is highly unique and recognizable even though only a low number of posters were made (a total of forty). His excellent craftsmanship connected with surreal elements, clever and innovative typography and, last but not least, with and humour render his posters a creative poem. Since his emigration in 1969 Zdeněk Kaplan has lived in Italy.
2. 9.
The Czech actors Josef Abrhám and Libuše Šafránková were named honourable citizens of Prague 4. The Prague 4 council decided on this. The council also bestowed the award on mathematician Miroslav Fiedler, artist Emma Srncová, scientists Ludmila Třísková, Pavel Tříska and film critic and art director of International Film Festival Karlovy Vary Eva Zaoralová. The new honourable citizens received their awards on September 20th.
2. 9.
In 1910 an admirer of the discovery of the cinematograph, Mladá Boleslav native František Ponec agreed with the Prague’quarter Žižkov municipality on the lease of the former Stabenow mechanical engineering plant. After an expensive reconstruction, exactly 100 years ago on September 3, as the third permanent cinema of the city of Žižkov, operation of the Royal Bioskop of František Ponec was opened. Films were screening until the 1960s in this building, which originally served as a factory hall for rolling sheet metal, wire, poles and pipes owned by magnate Rudolf Stabenow. It later became the dilapidated warehouse of the Prague City Film Company and it wasn’t until 1997 that a new operator took over, the Tanec Praha civic association. After three years of ongoing reconstruction the Ponec theatre was opened here.
2. 9.
The Czech documentary film by Radim Procházka entitled Catenaccio á la Drnovice or Beginning of the Time of Economic Transformation (Drnovické catenaccio aneb Cesta do pravěku ekonomické transformace, 2010) was launched into distribution. The short Czech film Our First Father Cultivator (Náš první hospodář, dir. Radim Procházka, 2009) was added to the film as a pre-film.
2. - 8. 9.
The Czech film entitled Goat Story – Legends of Old Prague (Kozí příběh – Pověsti staré Prahy, Jan Tománek ml., 2009) received the main prize for best feature animated film for youth at the 9th International Film Festival Nueva Mirada for Children and Youth in Buenos Aires (Argentina). The festival also presented, in addition to feature films for children, a broader competition screening of 159 short animated films divided into 12 competition blocks.
2. 9. - 20. 10.
started the new distribution project MANIFESTO /echoes of film festivals around the world/ (Ozvěny světových filmových festivalů MANIFESTO. The project is to bring quality films that have large audiences at major film festivals to select cinemas in a pre-premiere and festival "packaging" in the form of a travelling mini-festival. The festival focuses on the normal viewer and the strategy for selecting the individual films is subordinated to this – each of them represents a different genre and form and is also designated to a different target group. It offered a collection of nine feature-length films of various genres in 42 cinemas. The travelling festival is to take place twice a year – in April and September and should significantly expand the choice of films. The festival’s programme began in the Atlas cinema in Prague with the French film Bébés (dir. Thomas Balmès, 2009), in which four film crews concurrently record over the course of three years the first three years of life of four children born in California, Naminia, Tokyo and the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, and continued in the central Bohemian region and other regions and cities of the Czech Republic. The programme also included the following films: the feature The Killer Inside Me (dir. Michael Winterbottom, 2010, Great Britain – USA), the animated film L’illusionniste/The Illusionist (dir. Sylvain Chomet, 2010, France – Great Britain) and a film on the famous punk group The Runaways (dir. Floria Sigismondi, 2010, USA).
3. 9.
A retrospective of films by Czech director František Vláčil began in the British Film Institute (BFI) in London (Great Britain). For all of September British viewers had a chance to get to know the work of the Czech director not only at the BFI and Barbican Theatre, but also in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The screening entitled Film as Poetry was opened in London by film critic Peter Hames, according to whom Vláčil had been unjustly overlooked abroad, especially in comparison with directors of the Czech new wave of the 1960s. Vláčil’s films were never before shown in Britain. This changed in 2007 when the company Second Run released the DVD of Markéta Lazarová. Vláčil was, after Gustav Machatý, the second Czech director that the BFI has selected for such a screening. During Vláčil’s retrospective British viewers saw a total of 14 films – 12 feature films and 2 short films. The BFI, Czech Centre in London and National Film Archive in Prague (Národní filmový archiv) collaborated on the retrospective.
3. - 11. 9.
The town of Trouville in northern France held its 11th annual festival of short films – Off-Courts. Under the title Fenêtre sur le court tchèque the festival also featured the screening of 6 Czech short films. The Czech Film Centre (České filmové centrum) presented itself at the concurrently running film market and FAMU students – cinematographer Jan Hubač and director-editor Štěpán Vodrážka – took part in the KinoWorld creative workshop. The Off-Courts film festival is a traditional meeting of creators of short films from all over the world. The festival has three competition sections – French, Quebec and International. In addition to screenings, the festival offers a number of accompanying cultural events (concerts, exhibitions, seminars, workshops) and a constantly expanding film market. The Czech films presented as part of the festival were: Basic Language (Kmenový jazyk, dir. Lukáš Glaser, 2009), Saharan Sands (Saharské písky, dir. Josef Tuka, 2009), The Kingdom of Cutlery (Království příborů, dir. Eva Skurská, 2009), 59/184/84 (dir. Lukáš Kokeš, 2009), A Tear Is Needed (Usnula jsem, dir. Kristina Dufková, 2009) and Anonymous (Anonym, dir. Tomasz Mielnik, 2009). Czech short films were also offered on the international film market.
4. 9. - 28. 11.
Brno’s Baron Trenck Gallery in the Capuchin monastery (Czech Republic) hosted an exhibition entitled Evening Fairytales and Other Fairytales from the Studios of Bonton Zlín (Ateliéry Bonton Zlín a. s.). The main attraction for visitors consisted of the characters of the klutzes Pat and Mat, their home and workshops. The exhibition also offered a trip to the Zlín studios and workshops that created a number of fairytales and evening fairytales, and presented the legends of Czech animated work, including director Hermína Týrlová, artist Kamil Lhoták and writer Ondřej Sekora. Among the exhibits were original puppets including the Blue Eyed Tomcat, Goldilocks and the Pig Boy. The oldest exhibits were from the 1940s and the latest included scripts and sketches of evening fairytales on the rabbits out of the hat – Bob and Bobek. Due to the considerable success the exhibition was prolonged till 9. 1. 2011.
5. 9.
Two bears from the series of Czech animated stories Come, Sir, Let Us Play (Pojďte, pane, budeme si hrát, 1965 – 1967), which began with the film They Met at Kolín (Potkali se u Kolína, 1965), were honoured with a monument. The monument is located in Kolín’s Borky forest park (Czech Republic). Two rocks of different sizes symbolise the famous bears – one that is cunning and the other one more good-natured. The Society of the Friends of Bears from Kolín was responsible for the monument’s installation. The symbolic unveiling of the monument was performed by the director of the animated series Břetislav Pojar (7. 10. 1923).
7. 9.
The 20th annual traditional festival Jičín – Fairytale Town opened in Jičín (Czech Republic). Part of the six-day festival devoted to traditional Czech fairytales consists of various theatre and musical performances, games, autographs and other events. For instance on Thursday the organizers bestowed upon film director Václav Vorlíček (3. 6. 1930) the honourable citizenship of the Jičín fairytale town. Vorlíček became the fourth honourable citizens of the fairytale town; the award has also been bestowed upon writer Marie Kubátová, writer Václav Čtvrtek and artist Radek Pilař, who created the figures for the fairytales about Rumcajs.
7. 9.
The Vysočina region (Czech Republic) presented to tourists 51 places linked to Czech film. This non-traditional film path features cities, towns and monuments, in which films were shot or which are connected to famous actors. The places are indicated and described in the map entitled In Search of Film.
8. - 15. 9.
The National Film Archive (Národní filmový archiv) organized at its Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt in Prague a screening of films by Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski entitled Critical Cinematography. The films screened were A short Film about Killing (Krótki film o zabijaniu, 1987), A short Film about Love (Krótki film o miłości, 1988), Blind Chance (Przypadek, 1981) and Camera Buff (Amator, 1979).
9. - 12. 9.
Poděbradské theatre (Czech Republic) hosted an opening of an exhibition of serigraphy by Slovak director living in Prague Juraj Jakubisko entitled Dreamy Imagination. The exhibition was part of the programme of the 39th Theatre Festival of Amateur Theatre – FEMAD. On 22. 10. the exhibition continued in Brno.
10. 9.
Former American Secretary of State Madeleine Albright opened on Thursday in Glasgow at the local university (University of Glasgow) a new doctorate scholarship programme in Czech and Central European studies. A scholarship of EUR 15,000 (approx. CZK 370,000) annually was created for four years. The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerstvo zahraničních věcí České republiky) is financing it. The student who wins in the selection process will get a scholarship to cover tuition costs and student residency costs in Glasgow. The scholarship will go to the applicant that submits the most successful research project in the area of Czech history, literature, politics, media or cinematography. The scholarship is named after Madeleine Albright, who is of Czech origin. She met in Glasgow with students of the Czech language and history and with rector Anton Muscatelli. She visited with Czech ambassador Michael Žantovský the extensive collection of the university library devoted to Czech studies. According to the university, its research in the area of Czech studies concentrates mainly on the social analysis of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic since 1989.
10. 9.
The Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes presented a new teaching aid. It consists of an Internet presentation of the instructional film Facts from a former Secret Police regarding the revolutionary events of 1989. It is supplemented by the educational DVD entitled 1989 – November and the Path to It, in which the filmmaker primarily utilised Czech Television’s archive (ČESKÁ TELEVIZE). Fragments of the instructional film had never been made public before. It was found by historian and former director of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes Pavel Žáček in examining archives. The film lasts roughly half an hour. The DVD, the other teaching aid, has seven thematic sections with the titles Shadow of 1968, Reconstruction – attempt at a change (?), Opposition, Demonstrations, Culture and Politics, Revolution, A View of Our Neighbours. The several-minute-long documentary clips always come with a brief annotation and each thematic section contains a set of worksheets. Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes historians Kamil Činátl, Lukáš Lebduška and Václav Ruml selected various film and TV clips that capture both the official news reporting of Czechoslovak TV on the events of celebration of May Day or the demonstrations in 1989, as well as materials that were created after the regime collapsed. Among the film clips from the revolutionary period is a record of the Czech hymn sung in December 1989 by Czech singers Karel Gott and Karel Kryl. The institute is preparing an Internet presentation on collectivisation and another new DVD on this theme. This is one of the reasons why it has begun to collaborate with the National Film Archive (Národní filmový archiv), whose materials it will begin to use – the first will be on collectivisation.
10. - 12. 9.
The broadcast of Buddhist teachings and meditation techniques from Tibet to Europe and the United States was the main feature of Brno’s Festival of Documentary Films – Buddhas in Fléda. In addition to the screenings, the programme included debates with documentary filmmakers. The festival, devoted to Buddhism, took place at the Fléda club in Brno for the third time and opened with the film Vajra Sky over Tibet (dir. John Bush, 2006, USA). Also screened was the feature film Himalaya – l’enfance d’un chef (dir. Eric Valli, 1999, France – Great Britain – Switzerland – Nepal) that won two Cesars and was nominated for an Oscar.
13. 9.
The 62nd quarterly FITES (FITES – Český filmový a televizní svaz) took place at the MAT CLUB in Prague (Czech Republic). Its guest was culture minister Czech Republic Jiří Besser. The programme consisted mainly of the following themes: media laws, the functioning of media rules and laws on cinematography. The discussion was moderated by director Břetislav Rychlík.
13. - 17. 9.
The 47th International Festival of Films on Science, Technology and Art – TECHFILM 2010 and The 5th International Conference EMTECH 2010 (47. mezinárodní festival filmů o vědě, technice a umění – TECHFILM 2010 a 5. ročník mezinárodní konference EMTECH 2010), organized by the Czech University of Technology in Prague (České vysoké učení technické v Praze) took place in Prague. The festival and conferences create at the university a specialised cultural-educational forum – a space where specialists, teachers, students, artists and the public can meet. The motto of the festival and conference was: Studying technical fields – that’s a good choice. The programme was divided by various fields: intelligent systems not only in construction and transportation, technology for the future, robotics and technology for life, controlling systems and artificial intelligence and communication and information technology. The conference offered interesting gatherings, seminars and panel discussions, including the topic Strategies of the Czech University of Technology in Prague (České vysoké učení technické v Praze), discussions whether e-learning is the right way to change education and the round table on the use of audiovisual media in education. For the awarding of Czech films and projects – see 47. mezinárodní festival filmů o vědě, technice a umění – TECHFILM 2010 a 5. ročník mezinárodní konference EMTECH 2010.
14. 9.
The Příbram cinema underwent digitisation. The costs for equipping the cinema with the new technology is CZK 2.2 million, of which CZK 800,000 was covered by a subsidy from the State Fund of the CR for the Support and Development of Czech Cinematography (Státní fond České republiky pro podporu a rozvoj české kinematografie). Digitisation entails replacing the film projectors with digital technology and changing the means of distribution. A number of Czech cinemas, thanks to this, now offer films in the popular 3D format. In Příbram (Czech Republic) only 2D technology will be used, 3D screening won’t be possible. In the future, however, additional equipment may be purchased to allow for 3D as well. Nevertheless, the town hall expects the cinema to attract more people in the foreseeable future. The fact that the Příbram cinema will get top films earlier should help this.
14. - 17. 9.
The 12th International Television and Radio Festival of Gastronomy – The Znojmo Grapes was held in Znojmo /Czech Republic/ (12. mezinárodní televizní a rozhlasový festival o gastronomii – Znojemský hrozen). Competing at the festival were 133 television programmes, 61 radio programmes and 105 advertising spots from 18 countries around the world. The event also featured sidebars – exhibitions, a bartender competition and show, a competition of special and unusual beers and seminars with the Brewery and Maltster Research Institute, the Federation of the Food and Drink Industries and the Czech Ministry of Agriculture. For the awarded Czech programmes and advertising spots – see The 12th International Television and Radio Festival of Gastronomy – The Znojmo Grapes (12. mezinárodní televizní a rozhlasový festival o gastronomii – Znojemský hrozen).
15. 9.
The Atlas cinema in Prague hosted a premiere of a series of films entitled Carstensz – the Seventh Mountain and Other Films (Carstensz – sedmá hora a další filmy, 2010, CR – SR), which contains films by Slovak director and traveller Pavol Barabáš: Carstensz – the Seventh Mountain (Carstensz – siedma hora, 2008, SR), Over the Himalayas on Bicycles (Na kolech přes Himálaje, Cez Himálaje na bicykloch, 2010, SR) and Bhutan – Searching for Happiness Bhútán – hledání štěstí (Bhútan – Hľadanie šťastia, 2008, SR) The series comprise the award-winning documentary films by Slovak director and explorer Pavol Barabáš (born 1959). The programme features three films: Bhutan – Searching for Happiness (Bhútán – hledání štěstí/Bhután – Hľadanie šťastia, 2008), Carstensz – The Seventh Mountain (Carstensz – Sedmá hora/Carstensz – Siedma hora, 2008), Over the Himalayas on Bicycles (Na kolech přes Himálaje/Cez Himaláje na bicykloch, 2010) and several trailers on films prepared in the production of Barabáš’s K2 Studio. This series of films is distributed by the new distribution company OUTDOOR FILMS s.r.o. The company deals in the distribution of films of an outdoor sporting nature and is the organizer of the 8. mezinárodní putovní festival outdoorových filmů MFOF – soutěž a přehlídka sportovních, dobrodružných, adrenalinových a cestopisných filmů, a competition travelling festival of films.
15. - 19. 9.
The 18th Screening of Czech, Slovak and Polish Feature Films – The Třinec Film Indian Summer (18. přehlídka českých, slovenských a polských hraných filmů – Třinecké filmové babí léto/Trzyniecke Babie Lato Filmowe) was held in the Třinec cinema Kosmos (Czech Republic). The festival director was Tadeusz Wantula and the Head Dramaturge was Martin Novosad. The films were divided into several sections: Debuts competition, Season hits, Retrospective – Adults only, Documentaries and Special Programme. The Debuts competition included the Czech films Two Some (Dvojka, dir. Jaroslav Fuit, 2009), Three Seasons in Hell (3 sezóny v pekle, dir. Tomáš Mašín, 2009, CR – Germany – SR) and Kajínek (dir. Petr Jákl ml., 2010). In the Documentaries section viewers could see Czech Peace (Český mír, 2010, CR) by Vít Klusák and Filip Remunda. The awards ceremony was held on 18. 9. For the awarding of Czech films – see 18. přehlídka českých, slovenských a polských hraných filmů – Třinecké filmové babí léto/Trzyniecke Babie Lato Filmowe.
16. 9.
was inducted into film distribution the Czech documentary film Generation 60 (Generace 60, 2010) of director Peter Hledík.
16. - 20. 9.
A four-day festival of films on women and for women – Femina Film (6. mezinárodní festival filmů žen a o ženách – Femina Film) opened in Ústí nad Labem (Czech Republic). For the first time in its six-year existence there was no competition part. Viewers at the festival mostly saw films that they could see in cinemas. Four evenings were reserved for the films Women in Temptation (Ženy v pokušení, 2010) by Jiří Vejdělek, Mamas & Papas (2010) by director Alice Nellis and Helena Třeštíková’s documentary Katka (2010). Foreign films included, among others, Alice in Wonderland (dir. Tim Burton, 2010, USA), Julie & Julia (dir. Nora Ephron, 2009, USA) and Män som hatar kvinnor (dir. Niels Arden Oplev, 2009, Sweden – Denmark – Germany). Young Czech female writers and recipients of the Magnesia Litera award Petra Dvořáková and Petra Soukupová gave readings at the festival. The organizers abandoned the competition section this year mainly because the festival awaits significant change in year 2011, especially in the dates it is held.
16. - 22. 9.
The ATLAS cinemas in Prague organized (in collaboration with VAPET Production, spol. s r. o. and HOLLYWOOD C. E., s. r. o.) a screening of films of French director, producer and screenplay writer Luc Besson, who offered his 9 feature films. Among the films screened were his French films Les aventures extraordinaires d’Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010), Leon (1994) and Subway (1985).
16. 9. - 22. 10.
The distribution company CinemArt celebrated in September fifteen years of its operation on the Czech film market. The Evald cinema in Prague screened a selection of successful films of this company. The screening opened with the first Czech distribution film for CinemaArt, a poetic tragicomedy by director Saša Gedeon awarded with several Czech Lions entitled The Return of the Idiot (Návrat idiota, 1999, CR – Germany) which actor Pavel Liška appeared for the first time on the silver screen. Also screened was a new Czech feature-length documentary by Peter Hledík Generation 60 (Generace 60, 2010), Interview by Steve Buscemi (2007, USA) and a number of other films. On 14. 9. 1995 the company introduced to cinemas it first distribution film: Yves Hanchar’s La partie d’échecs (1994, France). Over the course of the following years it bought for Czech cinemas some of the first film by Pedro Almodóvar, Lars von Trier, Aki Kaurismäki or Fridrik Thór Fridriksson. As part of the 15th anniversary of CinemArt a selection of films was released on DVD.
17. 9.
At the 1st screening in Hluboká nad Vltavou (Czech Republic) viewers saw a selection of successful films from past years of the Water, Seas, Oceans festival (6. mezinárodním filmovém festivalu Voda, moře, oceány 2010) in Ústí nad Labem (Czech Republic), as well as Steve Lichtag’s new feature film The Last Hunter (Poslední lovci, 2010). The film was about native whale hunters from the eastern most part of Indonesia. Viewers could hold discussions with director Petr Horký, who is the author of some 60 documentary films and several books, with director and photographer Miroslav Hrdý or traveller Richard Jaroněk. The festival was moderated by actor Jakub Žáček. More already the 6th International Film Festival Water, Seas, Oceans 2010 (6. mezinárodní filmový festival Voda, moře, oceány 2010) took place in Ústí nad Labem (Czech Republic) from 25. – 26. 9.
18. 9.
Přelouč (Czech Republic) hosted the 16th Awards of František Filipovský for Best Acting and Dubbing Performances of Audiovisual Works Přelouč 2010 (16. ceny Františka Filipovského za nejlepší herecké a tvůrčí výkony v dabingu audiovizuálních děl Přelouč 2010). The event was sponsored by the town of Přelouč, FITES – the Czech Film and Television Union (FITES – Český filmový a televizní svaz) and the Actors’Association (Herecká asociace, občanské sdružení). In addition to awarding the best actors, special awards were presented and one viewers’ choice award. After an introduction by Pavlína Filipovská, the daughter of Czech actor František Filipovský, the ceremony was moderated by Jan Rosák. For awards and recipients – see 16. ceny Františka Filipovského za nejlepší herecké a tvůrčí výkony v dabingu audiovizuálních děl Přelouč 2010.
20. 9.
The Czech documentary by Vít Klusák and Filip Remunda on the American radar in the Czech Republic Czech Peace (Český mír) was awarded with the White Goose main prize of the international jury at the International Festival of Documentary Films – DMZ in the Paju, South Korea.
21. 9.
A new feature arrived in the Czech Republic providing film-watching with a whole new dimension. The special seat shakes and rocks according to the action on the film or TV screen. The seat and additional D-BOX technology costs several thousand dollars. The vibrating seat, which was first presented in mid October at the Home Cinema exhibition in Prague, may be installed in Czech cinemas as well in the future. The specially reinforced seat manages to faithfully imitate the vibrations and movement of the film’s action so that the viewer feels more a part of it. The seat can tilt to the sides, can be raised or vibrate to correspond to the film’s events. The technology manages in following the film to create up to twice the effect. The price of the vibrating the seat ranges from two thousand to four and a half thousand dollars and the vibrating technology that’s installed in it comes to another USD 9,000. For the system to work a special apparatus costing USD 4,500 must be purchased that sends signals to the seat according to the movement commands either stored directly on the film discs or in files downloaded from the Internet.
22. 9.
Palace Cinemas Slovanský dům multiplex in Prague and Lucerna cinema hosted the ceremonial premiere of the Czech feature film based on Michal Viewegh’s book A Novel for Men (Román pro muže, dir. Tomáš Bařina, 2010).
22. - 25. 9.
Aero cinema in Prague hosted a screening of older Czech films entitled Propaganda and Ideology in Czech films. It opened with Juraj Herz’s drama Caught by the Night (Zastihla mě noc) from 1985 on the communist journalist Jožka Jabůrková tortured in a concentration camp. Director Otakar Vávra was represented by two films: The Silent Barricade (Němá barikáda, 1949) and Citizen Brych (Občan Brych, 1958), Death Is Called Engelchen (Smrt si říká Engelchen, dir. Ján Kadár, Elmar Klos, 1963). Also screened were the Smugglers of Death (Král Šumavy, dir. Karel Kachyňa, 1959), I Survived My Own Death (Přežil jsem svou smrt, dir. Vojtěch Jasný, 1960), The Assassination (Atentát, dir. Jiří Sequens, 1964), The Marathon (Maratón, dir. Ivo Novák, 1968), Shadows of a Hot Summer (Stíny horkého léta, dir. František Vláčil, 1977) and The Downfall of the Secluded Berhof (Zánik samoty Berhof/Ślady wilczych zębów, dir. Jiří Svoboda, 1983, Czechoslovakia – Poland). The festival included an exhibition of thirty film posters thematically linked to propaganda and ideology in film in Prague’s cinema Světozor (1. – 30. 9.). These included designs of posters for “the communist film hits” of the 1950s Anna the Proletarian (Anna proletářka, dir. Karel Steklý, 1952), The Red Glow Over Kladno (Rudá záře nad Kladnem, dir. Vladimír Vlček, 1955), Deployment (Nástup, dir. Otakar Vávra, 1952) and posters of the 1970s and 80s during the hard-line communist years for the ideologically tinted films Hostage at Bella Vista (Rukojmí v Bella Vista, dir. Jiří Sequens, 1980), Who Looks for Gold (Kdo hledá zlaté dno, dir. Jiří Menzel, 1974) and The Black Wolf (Černý vlk, dir. Stanislav Černý, 1971). Film critic and historian Stanislava Přádná were a dramaturg of this screening.
23. 9. - 3. 10.
The 2nd Ostrava Kamera Oko International Cinematographers’ Film Festival (2. mezinárodní filmový festival Ostrava Kamera Oko) took place in Ostrava (Czech Republic). During the festival there were screened 81 films and 141 showings. The screenings were held in five screening rooms in Ostrava, as well as in Mine Hlubina, on the premises of the Vítkovické železárny (steel works), in the former Veronikárna factory, beneath the Sýkorův bridge, in homes on the Main Avenue in Poruba (Czech Republic). The festival itself was preceded by a series of screenings entitled Moonlight Cinema that took place with great viewer success in August on several major Ostrava places and in Hlučín in the Opava region (Czech Republic). As part of the summer film screening viewers could see, among other films, Black Peter (Černý Petr, dir. Miloš Forman, 1963), Crime in the Night-Club (Zločin v šantánu, dir. Jiří Menzel, 1968) and Capricious Summer (Rozmarné léto, dir. Jiří Menzel, 1967). A number of film professionals visited Ostrava, including director and cinematographer Ivan Vojnár, director and cinematographer Olivier Booming, Vít Klusák and Pavel Klusák, cinematographer Miloslav Holman, cinematographer Braňo Pažitka, director Denes Orosz, cinematographer Adam Fillenz, director and cinematographer Ohad Milstein, cinematographer Leonard Lehmann, cinematographer Roberto Fernandez, directors Ondřej Provazník and Jiří Krejčík ml. Jan Švankmajer’s film Surviving Life (Přežít svůj život, 2010, CR – SR), was screened in non-competition section. A national competition of short films on the best camera work offered five Czech competition films that were all created at Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (Filmová a televizní fakulta Akademie múzických umění v Praze) this year. The In Honour of Juraj Šajmovič screening presented: the cinematographic works The Ark of Fools (Archa bláznů aneb Vyprávění z konce života, dir. Ivan Balaďa, 1970), Golet in the Valley (Golet v údolí, dir. Zeno Dostál, 1995) and The Pilgrimage of Students Peter and Jacob (Zpráva o putování studentů Petra a Jakuba, dir. Drahomíra Vihanová, 2000, CR – SR – France). The In Honour of William Lubtchansky section was a legendary French cinematographer, who was an important colleague of world famous directors including Otar Iosseliani, Jacques Rivette, François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard and Philippe Garrel. The non-competition profile screening ENCORE presented a selection 23 films of contemporary short and feature-length works from around the world. IMAGO: awarded film consisted of screening of films that were awarded by European national cinematographer associations. Films presented included Antichrist (2009, Denmark – Germany – France – Sweden –Italy – Poland) by Lars von Trier, Das weisse Band – Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (Bílá stuha, 2009, Austria – Germany – France – Italy) by Michael Haneke and Protector by Marek Najbrt (Protektor, 2009, CR). Ostrava in Film offered newly discovered works from the film history of Ostrava that were chosen from the Národní filmový archiv, Prague for the festival by Martin Jiroušek. For the awarding of Czech films – see 2. mezinárodní filmový festival Ostrava Kamera Oko. Echoes of the festival began at Prague’s Atlas cinema on 4. 10.
24. 9.
The European Commission began around 2010 to financially assist small cinemas in EU countries in buying technology for digital projections. It also wants to prevent putting them at a disadvantage vis-à-vis multiplex cinemas, which according to the commission benefits the most from the digital revolution in European cinemas, stated the AFP (Agence France-Presse). The equipping of one screening room with this technology costs EUR 75,000. According to the commission, assistance in the amount of EUR four million is earmarked for cinemas that screen mainly European films. Andrulla Vassiliu, commissioner for education, culture, multilingualism and youth, admitted that the amount is not large enough. She called on state and regional bodies in EU countries to help small cinemas, especially in rural areas. In the EU single-room cinemas comprise on average 31 percent of all cinemas, in some countries up to 80 percent.
24. 9.
By the resolution of the Council for the Research, Development and Innovation Arts and Theatre Institute (Institut umění – Divadelní ústav) /IDU/ in Prague became a research organization. The decision was justified by the fact that research and development are one of the primary missions of the IDU and it has really fulfilled this mission with its hitherto activities according to the submitted documents and information available to the public. Thanks to its classification among research institutions, the IDU will be provided with institutional support for the organization’s long-term conceptual development. The resolution changes on 1. 11. 2010 the institution’s status. As a research organization the IDU carries out as its main activity basic research, applied research or experimental research and disseminates its results via tuition, publications or technology transfer. The main areas of the IDU’s research activities are theatre research.
24. 9.
Evald cinema in Prague hosted a license forum organized by the agency MEDIA Desk Czech Republic. Czech film producers presented here to representatives of developer companies films that were suited for processing in computer games or other interactive projects. Six production companies that presented a total of ten projects of feature and animated film in various phases of completion received invitations to participate. Such films included The Salamander War and The Last from Aporver (Poslední z Aporveru) from the Actor’s Runway Agency, s. r. o., the animated Tales from the Gingerland (Příběhy ze Zázvorové země) Evolution Films, s. r. o. and Hus i ti husiti (ANIFILM, spol. s r. o.). In recent years borders between purely film and interactive (game) creation have become increasingly blurred. Now the development of a film increasingly relies on its applicability on other platforms. Computer games represent one of the favourite free-time activities of European across all age groups. The two fields are still more or less separate in the Czech industries with minimum communication between them. The forum’s objective was to create the opportunity for better mutual awareness of film and game makers and to contribute to establishing initial work contacts. Another reason was the attempt to increase the potential for obtaining the support of interactive content from the MEDIA Desk programme. MEDIA Desk finances the development of interactive projects and computer games in order to support the creation of quality European content and to connect the two fields. A basic condition for obtaining financial support is the link of an interactive project to another audiovisual work. So far in the Czech Republic only two companies have received MEDIA Desk’s support – Hammerware studio for the project Family Farming (EUR 25,000 in 2008) and Centauri Production s.r.o. for the computer game based on Czech animation series the Pat and Mat /EUR 55,000 in 2007/. During the license forum MEDIA Desk Czech Republic and the association CZECH GAMES presented the first ever study of the video games industry in the Czech Republic. In 2010 there were 23 business entities that took part over the past ten years in the production of at least one published interactive audiovisual work. Most of these focus on creating for the PC Windows platform. During this time 9 publishers representing producers of titles for PC and video game consoles were active in the CR; seven of them were owned by foreign companies. The only organization that associated exclusively Czech video game creators was the civic association CZECH GAMES (ČESKÉ HRY).
26. 9.
CFTA – Czech Film and Television Academy (ČFTA – Česká filmová a televizní akademie) nominated the feature film Kawasaki’s Rose (Kawasakiho růže, dir. Jan Hřebejk, 2009) to represent the Czech Republic at the American Film Academy’s Oscar Awards ceremony in the category of best foreign language film.
26. 9. - 2. 10.
Čadca (Slovak Republic) hosted the 16th International Film Festival ETNOFILM Čadca. The Award of the Ethnographic Society of Slovakia – in the category of Ethnologist behind the camera lens – went ex aequo to Pavel Popelka’s film Fulfilled Dream (Splněný sen, 2008, CR) and Births in Bunong (Bunong guu oh, dir. Tommi Mendel, SZ). The Award for Best Czech Film given by the Czech Embassy in Slovakia went to The Romany King (Romský král, dir. Viliam Poltikovič, 2009). This film was also awarded by the student jury.
26. 9. - 28. 10.
The Czech Centre of Košice (Slovak Republic) organized in conjunction with the Czech Association in Košice the Czech Culture Days. The extensive programme presented a wide-range of activities – from a St. Wenceslas feast to concerts of classical and popular music, of rock and jazz, to theatre performances, exhibitions, portraits of major Czech and Slovak figures to the Days of Czech Film. Films screened included A Journey into the Primeval Times (Cesta do pravěku, dir. Karel Zeman, 1955), Czech Peace (Český mír, dir. Vít Klusák, Filip Remunda, 2010), The Ninth Heart (Deváté srdce, dir. Juraj Herz, 1978), Smoke (Kouř, dir. Tomáš Vorel, 1990), Boys Will Be Boys (Páni kluci, dir. Věra Plívová-Šimková, 1975) and the other films of Karel Zeman (3. 11. 1910 – 5. 4. 1989) the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth – A Jester’s Tale (Bláznova kronika, 1964), Krabat (Čarodějův učeň, 1977, Czechoslovakia – Germany) and The Tale of John and Mary (Pohádka o Honzíkovi a Mařence, 1980). The Czech Culture Days were also held in other Slovak towns.
27. 9.
The European Commission announced a public consultation on the future of the MEDIA Desk programme after 2013 when the current MEDIA Desk 2007 programme ends. The aim of the public consultation is to gather suggestions and opinions on the goals, activities and kinds of support within the MEDIA Desk programme. The consultation is open until 30. 11. and is designated for all representatives of the audiovisual sector (both individuals and public institutions or private companies). The consultation’s results are very important since they will serve as a basis for negotiations on the new programme to support the audiovisual sector for the period from 2014.
28. 9.
The Czech Government Office celebrated St. Wenceslas Day – the Day of Czech Statehood – by screening the silent epic film St. Wenceslas (Svatý Václav, dir. Jan S. Kolár, 1929) on the great Czech ruler. The film was screened as a renewed premiere at Prague’s Rudolfinum accompanied by the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jan Kučera. The event was organized by the Czech Government Office, the National Film Archive (Národní filmový archiv), Czech Radio and Czech Television (ČESKÁ TELEVIZE). The project of restoring the film and music and its release on DVD was undertaken by Czech Radio in conjunction with the National Film Archive (Národní filmový archiv). National Film Archive (Národní filmový archiv) workers started with a restored copy from 1971 that director Jan Stanislav Kolár, still alive at the time, worked on. Along with František Horký and Josef Munclinger, he was also the screenplay writer of this first historical epic film of Czech cinematography. It was created with state support and was supposed to have its premiere on the occasion of the St. Wenceslas millennium in 1929. But due to high filming costs the premiere was held a year later. It wasn’t until 1930 that it appeared as a silent film in cinemas – when “talkies” already existed. It therefore was not a success with the public, only Zdeněk Štěpánek garnered attention for his work in the lead role. The musical part of the DVD comes from recently discovered scores that Jan Kučera, conductor of radio symphonists, arranged. Martin Suchánek shot a documentary on the creation of the film and DVD entitled St Wenceslas: Saint, Prince, Legend (Svatý Václav – světec, kníže, legenda, 2010). The film captured the process of restoring the film and tells the legend of Wenceslas. The authors offer the DVD with the film to schools as a teaching aid.
28. 9.
The annual film awards Czech Lion is also the name of a theatre performance – written by Bolek Polívka, Pavel Liška and Petr Vachler. After its ceremonial premiere at Brno’s Bolek Polívka Theatre it was presented at other venues in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The performance viewers are in the roles of invited filmmakers, artists and other VIP that usually make up the prestigious Czech Lions, and experience similar emotions already in the theatre’s foyer.
28. 9.
Czech artist and filmmaker Zdeněk Miler (21. 2. 1921), the creator of Little Mole and other animal characters from series of animated films for children, was awarded for lifelong work with the main prize of the 15th International Film Festival for Children and Youth – Schlingel (Uličník) in the German city of Chemnitz. Presently the eighty-nine-year-old illustrator has created his Little Mole for fifty years. By 2002 he had gradually created 60 episodes with Little Mole who has become world famous. The figure started to be imitated and commercially used in a number of Asian countries. Zdeněk Miler began his career in Zlín film studios; in 1945 he started to work in the Bratři v triku studio led by Jiří Trnka. Although the figure of The Mole (Krtek) brought him the most fame, he also created other animated films with sequels, whose heroes were The Cricket(Cvrček) or The Puppy (Štěňátko). He is the author of a number of other animated films for children and adults and has illustrated several books of fairytales.
29. 9.
American filmmakers began to shoot in Prague the fourth sequel to the film Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (dir. Brad Bird, 2011, USA). The film crew shot on location in Vyšehrad with leading actor Tom Cruise. The actor, who is also producing the film, plays the fearless secret agent Ethan Hunt. The film was shot in the Czech Republic as well as in Dubai.
29. 9. - 3. 10.
The 9th International Festival – Film in the Sign of the Fish (9. mezinárodní festival – Film ve znamení ryby) was held in Olomouc-Radíkov (Czech Republic). The event’s programme took place in the Metropol cinema and in the Archdiocesan museum. The festival is based on Europe’s Christian cultural tradition and is ecumenically open. In addition to the screening, discussions could be held with filmmakers that look for inspiration for their creative work above all in spiritual reference to Christianity. Guests from five European countries took part in the festival. Films were linked to the theme of the individual and society – solitude and solidarity. Among the films screened was a film by Polish artist, screenplay writer, director and one of the most best-known Polish animators Piotr Dumala, who presented at the festival his feature film Las (2009, Poland). Dmitri Mamuliya brought from Moscow his film Drugoye nyebo (2010, Russia), which was awarded at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The Czech film I am Wandering (Bloudím, 2010) by Martin Müller was screened at the pre-premiere. New films from Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (Filmová a televizní fakulta Akademie múzických umění v Praze) were presented by festival director Radim Valak. Directors Jiří Strach, Otakáro Maria Schmidt, Vladimír Suchánek and Jiří Holna speak of their encounters Tomáš Špidlík, who lived in Roma and film excerpts remembering recently deceased Czech cardinal Tomáš Špidlík (17. 12. 1919 – 16. 4. 2010).
30. 9.
The Arts and Theatre Institute (Institut umění – Divadelní ústav), Prague (IDU) in collaboration with Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Prag and Goethe-Institue organized at the National Technical Library in Prague the conference Artists: Vehicles of Change? that took place under the auspice of Václav Havel and with the financial support of the Czech-German Future Fund. The conference contributed to a debate of figures from various areas of art (theatre, literature, visual art), critics and experts from socio-scientific fields of the Czech Republic and Germany. They discussed the influence of contemporary art on society based on their personal experience or through their field of expertise. Artists and scientists sought answers to the following questions: What does today’s “engaged art” look like? What themes are chosen and how are these themes transformed? Do art projects offer in times of crisis new perspectives, concepts, idea or visions? How do art figures involve themselves in public affairs? Do current “engaged” artists succeed in reaching their audiences and how do they do this? What differences and similarities arise from the Czech-German comparison? The conference also included three panels – performing arts, literature and visual arts.
30. 9.
The National Film Archive’s Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt in Prague (Národní filmový archiv) hosted a ceremonial evening on the occasion of the 60th birthday of Czech cinematographer Jan Vaniš (19. 9. 1950). The evening was connected to the screening of his films The Jewel of the Kingdom (Klenot království, dir. Jiří Jahn, 1978), The Duel (Souboj, dir. Jan Kutálek, 1984) and The Biosphere Reservation of the Křivoklát Region (Biosférická rezervace Křivoklátsko, dir. Jan Svoboda, 1988).
30. 9. - 2. 10.
The 10th International Student Film Festival (10. mezinárodní festival studentských filmů), which presented works of Czech and European schools as well as that of Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia, India, Israel and Australia, was held in Písek (Czech Republic). Some 150 films from 21 countries were entered in the contest, with 34 films advancing. Another six were presented in the non-competition section and five of them were presented as the best of Czech student films. The films competed in the categories of documentary, feature and animated film. The festival opened with David Jařab’s Czech film Head – Arms – Heart (HLAVA-RUCE-SRDCE, 2010), which took place during the First World War and bears the subtitle: “on love without love, on war without war and magic without magic”. The jury, consisting of students and teachers, was chaired by Karlovy Vary festival art director Eva Zaoralová. Workshops featured the expertise of Universal Production Partners director Universal Production Partners, a. s., Vít Komrzý, who spoke of post-production and visual markets, Michaela Pavlátová offered a glimpse into the world of animated work and Varhan Orchestrovič Bauer let visitors in on the secret of film music. The Písek festival also presented the work of disabled artists, films from the International Film Festival of /non/Actors with Mental and Combined Disabilities – Mental Power Prague (4. mezinárodní filmový festival (ne)herců s mentálním a kombinovaným postižením – Mental Power Prague) were included on the programme. The festival was organized by the Private Film College Písek Ltd. (Soukromá vyšší odborná škola filmová s. r. o. Písek) in conjunction with Filmfest, Ltg. (FILMFEST Písek s.r.o.) and the Miroslav Ondříček Film Academy in Písek.Filmová akademie Miroslava Ondříčka v Písku, o. p. s. For the awarding of Czech films – see 10. mezinárodní festival studentských filmů.
30. 9. - 9. 10.
The Agenda 10 section at the Hamburg Filmfest presented Czech feature films An Earthy Paradise for the Eyes (Zemský ráj to na pohled, dir. Irena Pavlásková, 2009), Little Knights’ Tale (Ať žijí rytíři!, dir. Karel Janák, 2009), Men in a Rut (Muži v říji, dir. Robert Sedláček, 2009) and the combined animated and feature film In the Attic or Who Has a Birthday Today? (Na půdě aneb Kdo má dneska narozeniny?/Na povale alebo Kto má dnes narodeniny?, dir. Jiří Barta, 2009, CR – SR – Japan).