I. A Calendar»
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2. - 6. 5.
In conjunction with the 17th International Book Fair and Literary Festival Book World (10. přehlídka Svět knihy ve filmu při 17. mezinárodním knižním veletrhu a literárním festivalu Svět knihy /12. – 15. 5. 2011/) held in Prague on the theme of Literature of the Arab World, the National Film Archive’s Ponrepo screening hall (Národní filmový archiv) hosted, as part of the 10th screening The World of Books in Film (10. přehlídka Svět knihy ve filmu) /2. – 15. 5./, a screening of Arabic films. Ponrepo screened some of the films for the very first time. These included Surakh (dir. Omar Khlifi, 1972, Tunisia), Al Fahd, (dir. Nabil El-Maleh, 1971, Syria) and Bas ya Bahar (dir. Khaled El-Saddiq, 1971, Syria). Four feature films in total were screened upon the occasion of the book fair; the opening programmeTunisia through the Eyes of Czech Filmmakers (Tunisko očima českých filmařů) consisted of five short films shot between 1961 – 1980.
3. - 8. 5.
The 2nd International Festival of Animated Films – ANIFILM (ANIFILM – 2. mezinárodní festival animovaných filmů Třeboň) was held in Třeboň (Czech Republic). Czech films in the international competition included the feature-length films Surviving Life (Přežít svůj život, dir. Jan Švankmajer, 2010, CR – SR) in the adult category and Fimfarum the Third Time Lucky 3D (Fimfárum do třetice všeho dobrého 3D, dir. Kristina Dufková, Vlasta Pospíšilová, David Súkup, 2011) in the children’s film category. The Czech film by Martin Búřil entitled MONOSKOP no. 3 (monkeykinglegend) (2011) was included in the international competition. The Czech-Slovak competition of student films featured films by students from the Prague schools Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (Filmová a televizní fakulta Akademie múzických umění v Praze) and Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design of Prague (Vysoká škola uměleckoprůmyslová v Praze), from Private Film College Písek Ltd. (Soukromá vyšší odborná škola filmová s. r. o. Písek) and other schools. The festival also included a screening of feature-length films by Czech director Jan Švankmajer, which included, among other films, Alice (Něco z Alenky, 1987, Switzerland) and Lunacy (Šílení, 2005, CR – SR). The Survey Section provided a survey of contemporary animation from around the world – films that were launched in Czech distribution, short films and feature-length films of the British Aardman Animations studio with the figures Wallace and his intelligent dog Gromit and a cross-section of British and Canadian animation. Czech Television (ČESKÁ TELEVIZE) presented a series for children entitled New Fairy Tales. Also presented were Czech animated films still being finalized such as A Goat Story with Cheese (Kozí příběh se sýrem, dir. Jan Tománek ml.) or Laika (Lajka, dir. Aurel Klimt), both set to premiere in 2012. Focus – a choice of select cultural and pop-culture phenomena – presented contemporary British, Belgian, Slovenian and Austrian works and films of the French school La Poudrière and a cross-section of Canadian work. Also screened were films nominated in 2011 for an Oscar. A screening of “fateful films” of the Estonian tandem Olga and Priit Pärn was presented under the heading A View. Animation and creative workshops were prepared for those interested. For awarded Czech films see ANIFILM – 2. mezinárodní festival animovaných filmů Třeboň.
4. - 8. 5.
The National Film Archive Prague (Národní filmový archiv) sent to Neisse (Germany) for the 8th annual Neisse Film Festival the films All Good Countrymen (Všichni dobří rodáci, dir. Vojtěch Jasný, 1968, Czechoslovakia), The Party and the Guests (O slavnosti a hostech, dir. Jan Němec, 1965, Czechoslovakia) and Black Peter (Černý Petr, dir. Miloš Forman, 1963, Czechoslovakia).
6. - 8. 5.
The 13th Seminar of Archive Films Werner Herzog + Klaus Kinski (13. seminář archivního filmu: Werner Herzog + Klaus Kinski) took place in Uherské Hradiště (Czech Republic). The main theme was the figure and work of German director Werner Herzog, especially his collaboration with actor Klaus Kinski (real name: Nikolaus Karl Günther Nakszyński, 18. 10. 1926 – 23. 11. 1991). In addition to Herzog’s films, in which Klaus Kinski played the main role, such as Aguirre: The Wrath of God (Aguirre der Zorn Gottes, 1972, Germany), a pair of films from 1979 were also screened: Nosferatu: The Vampir (Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht Germany – France) and Woyzeck (Germany), which was shot in Telč (Czech Republic), as well as the films Fitzcarraldo (1982, Germany – Peru) and Cobra Verde (1987, Germany – Ghana), and the seminar featured documentary films capturing the collaboration of these two figures of world cinematography. In addition to the documentary My best Fiend Klaus Kinski (Mein liebster Feind – Klaus Kinski 1999, Germany – Great Britain – Finland – USA) directed by Werner Herzog eight years after Kinski’s death, the film Burden of Dreams (1982, USA) by American independent filmmaker Les Blank on the complicated course of shooting the film Fitzcarraldo was also screened in Uherské Hradiště. The controversial figure of Klaus Kinski was explored in the documentary by American director Peter Geyer entitled Jesus Christus Savior (Jesus Christus Erlöser, 2008, Germany). The seminar also featured many of Herzog’s documentary works. Films presented included Herzog’s latest film My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2009, USA – Germany), which he shot in the production of David Lynch. Two lectures on cinema were given in line with the theme at Uherské Hradiště. Lukáš Skupa spoke about the context of New German Film and Rudolf Schimera gave a talk on director Werner Herzog’s work. The seminar was supplemented by the photography of Swiss photographer Beat Presser depicting both main figures of the seminar, as did a group of film posters from Film Haberdashery Terry’s Socks memorabilia shop in Prague and by two musical evenings.
11. 5.
The ceremonial premiere of the Czech film comedy WesternStory (dir. Vlastimil Peška, 2011) was held in Western Park in Boskovice (Czech Republic). The Velký Špalíček cinema in Brno hosted the premiere on 12. 5. and Palace Cinemas at Slovanský dům in Prague on 19. 5.
11. - 12. 5.
The 2nd Prague International Advertising Festival PIAF (2. pražský mezinárodní festival reklamy PIAF) was held in Prague. In the second year of the festival featured 361 works from 33 countries competing (over half the entries were from abroad) and the traditional categories were entirely changed in most of the creative competitions. The best spot, advertisement and billboard were dropped from the categories. PIAF reacted to the complexity of contemporary advertising and marketing and focussed on three key aspects (groups of categories): Creative Branding, Marketing and Sales, Creative Thinking and the Art of Delivering. PIAF then followed the story of building a brand in twelve steps that also consist of twelve categories. The most successful agencies in the finale were from Israel and Germany, and Czech agencies didn’t fare so poorly themselves – some of them winning bronze medals. The festival newly collaborated with the European Federation for Commercial Film Producers (CFP-E), which associate leading creators and producers of advertisements throughout Europe and thus attracted 13 producers of advertising films to Prague. The General Meeting of the Federation for Commercial Film Producers was held along with the festival in Prague. The PIAF’s objective is to awake the perception of Prague as an advertising centre and to inspire local agencies and marketers to greater creativity. The most successful advertising spots production-wise were screened for the public on 11. 5. with free admission at Veletržní Palace. The winning works were presented 12. 5. at the Best of SHOW evening in the basement of the National Gallery at Veletržní Palace. For awards to Czech works see 2. pražský mezinárodní festival reklamy PIAF.
11. - 22. 5.
At the 64th Cannes Film Festival (France) Czech cinematography was represented by two films – in the Cinéfondation section by the student film Cagey Tigers (2010) by the director Aramisova and by the co-production film Les bien-aimés/Milovaní (2011, France – Great Britain – CR) by director Christophe Honoré. The Czech company Negative (Negativ s. r. o.) took part in this latter film that ceremoniously closed the festival. The festival included the three-day event Producers on the Move which presented twenty-five talented filmmakers from twenty-five European countries. These included Czech producer Radim Procházka, a graduate of Department of documentary film of the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (Filmová a televizní fakulta Akademie múzických umění v Praze – Katedra dokumentární tvorby) and the producer of the feature films Rules of Lies (Pravidla lži, 2006) and The Greatest Czechs (Největší z Čechů, 2010) by director Robert Sedláček and producer of the documentary film Desk-based Assassination (Papírový atentát, 2007).
13., 20., 27. 5., 3., 8., 10., 15., 17. 6., 2. and 9. 9.
The National Film Archive’s Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt (Národní filmový archiv) in Prague held screenings entitled There Once Was Dubbing, organized in conjunction with the web portal dabingforum.cz. Over the course of nearly four months there were screening samples of the art of Czech dubbing, including the films Remontons les Champs-Élysées (dir. Sacha Guitry, 1938, France), The Pickwick Papers (dir. Noel Langley, 1952, Great Britain) and Terence Fisher’s German-French-Italian film Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962).
15. - 19. 5.
In collaboration between the Czech Centre in Bucharest (Romania) and the National Film Archive (Národní filmový archiv) in Prague a screening of select films by Czech director Jiří Menzel was held in the Romanian capital. The following films were among those shown: Closely Watched Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky, 1966), Capricious Summer (Rozmarné léto, 1967), Skylarks on the String (Skřivánci na niti, 1969), Cutting It Short (Postřižiny, 1980), The End of Old Times (Konec starých časů, 1989) and the story The Death of Mr Baltazar (Smrt pana Baltazara) from the film Pearls at the Bottom (Perličky na dně, 1965), on which other Czech directors besides Jiří Menzel worked: Evald Schorm, Věra Chytilová, Jan Němec and Jaromil Jireš.
16. 5.
The space shuttle Endeavour took off from its launch pad in Cape Canaveral (USA) to its destination at the ISS space where it was to spend sixteen days. The main task of the crew, whose members included the cartoon character Little Mole by Czech artist and director of animated films Zdeněk Miler (21. 2.1921 – 30. 11. 2011), was to deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the ISS. Little Mole was part of the luggage of astronaut Andrew Feustel, whose wife Indira has Czech roots. The glove puppet approved by Zdeněk Miler measures 19 centimeters and was made from micro-beads. NASA required that it be made from inflammable material and with as little filling as possible. Only one cosmic original could be sewn at the Moravia Center in Brno (Czech Republic) where the Little Mole was made.
16. - 17. 5.
The 16th Film Festival by Students of Audiovisual Theory – Golden Eyes (16. filmový festival studentů teorie audiovize – Zlatý voči) provided a non-traditional view of the film medium. Prague’s Bio Oko cinema screened films of former and current students of the Department of Film Studies of the The Faculty of Arts of the Charles University in Prague (Univerzita Karlova v Praze – Filozofická fakulta – Katedra filmových studií), of the Centre of Audiovisual Studies at Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (Filmová a televizní fakulta Akademie múzických umění v Praze – Centrum audiovizuálních studií), of the Department of Theatre, Film and Media Studies of the Philosophycal Faculty of Palacký University in Olomouc (Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci – Filozofická fakulta – Katedra divadelních, filmových a mediálních studií), of the Department of Film and Audiovisual Culture Faculty of Arts Masaryk University (Masarykova univerzita – Filozofická fakulta – Ústav filmu a audiovizuální kultury) in Brno and of the Faculty of Mass-media Communication of the University of St. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava (Slovak Republic). The festival arose from the idea that students of audiovisual theory (meaning most film studies departments) often shoot their own films. What’s lacking in production background is made up for with extensive theoretical knowledge. The festival’s uniqueness lies in the fact that this theoretical background in the works reflects and distinguished it from other amateur and professional work. For awarded films – see 16. filmový festival studentů teorie audiovize – Zlatý voči.
16. - 29. 5.
The Vietnamese cities of Ho Chi Minh City (16. – 27. 5.) and Hanoi (20. – 29. 5.) hosted the European Union Film Festival. The Czech Republic took part with Marie Poledňáková’s film With You the World Thrills Me (S tebou mě baví svět) from 1982.
19. - 25. 5.
Evald cinema in Prague held the Contemporary European Film Festival. A total of 12 contemporary European films were screened during the week. The festival opened with the film Mammoth (2009, Sweden – Denmark – Germany) set in contemporary New York and directed by Lukas Moodysson. The screening closed with the Norwegian film on love Hjem til Jul (dir. Bent Hamer, 2010, Norway – Sweden – Germany) that takes place on one untraditional Christmas Day.
20. - 22. 5.
The 33rd International Festival of Diving Photography, Films and Children’s Creative Works – PAF Tachov (33. mezinárodní festival potápěčské fotografie, filmu a dětské výtvarné tvorby – PAF Tachov) was held at the Mže Community Center in Tachov. Photographers and filmmakers from all over the world making underwater films came together at this competition. For many years the competition has also featured the category of children’s creative work in painting, drawing, graphic work and ceramics. The photo jury chaired by Ladislav Smelik assessed a total of 419 photographs and 3 audiovisual programmes in 9 categories. The video jury chaired by Miroslav Hrdý assessed 30 videos in the category of professional and in the category of amateur films. In the category of children’s creative work a total of 227 works competed in two age categories, from which each was further divided according to artistic techniques. Lectures were included in the programme by Zdeněk Skružný on the disciplines and successes around the world of Czech recreational divers, by Pal'o Král on the Tatras mountains and Tatras mountains lakes from a hydro-biological and other viewpoints, by Robert Dvořák and Miloš Chlápek not only on diving in the less frequented locations, but on the distorted media image of Sudan and by Adam Petrusek on the marine fauna and the Adriatic Sea – a location frequently visited by Czechs. Grand Prize of festival won the film Catfish – A Monster in the Lake (Wels-Alarm – Ungeheuer im Badesee?, dir. Florian Guthknecht, 2009, Germany). Czech film did not receive any prize.
21. 5.
An exhibition on the photographs and documents entitled Winton’s Trains opened at Vyšehrad in Prague. Director and cinematographer Jaroslav Brabec used large dimensioned panels to evoke the rescue of 669 Czech and predominantly Jewish children from the Nazis. The Brit Nicholas Winton organized the rescue. The same day the same exhibition entitled Winton’s Trains opened in London (Great Britain) which Nicholas Winton, who celebrated his 102nd birthday on 19. 5. 2011, personally attended. In London the exhibition was held on the premises of the Liverpool Street train station where the trains with children had arrived from Czechoslovakia in 1939. Sir Nicholas Winton also unveiled a sculpture dedicated to the children refugees. The Prague and London exhibitions offered materials from museums, as well as photographs and documents from the private archives of “Winton’s Children”.
23. - 27. 5.
The 37th Film Festival MEDICFILM 2011 (37. filmový festival MEDICFILM 2011) was held in a cinema in Podbořany (Czech Republic). Czech works screened included Václav Havel’s directorial debut of the film Leaving (Odcházení, 2011) based on his eponymous play, Czech Made Man (Czech made man, 2011) by Tomáš Řehořek and the documentary film Tantra (2011) by Benjamin Tuček. Individual films competed to win over viewers who decided on the victor of this traditional event. For awards see 37. filmový festival MEDICFILM 2011.
26. 5.
The Czech feature film Retraining (Rekvalifikace, dir. Vlado Štancel, 2011) had its ceremonial premiere at Lucerna cinema in Prague.
26. - 27. 5.
The Department of Film and Audiovisual Culture Faculty of Arts Masaryk University (Masarykova univerzita – Filozofická fakulta – Ústav filmu a audiovizuální kultury) held its Doctorate Conference in Brno (CR). Among those contributing were National Film Archive (Národní filmový archiv) worker Briana Čechová, M.A. head of the Department of Film Historians with a talk on Flashback as a basic means of expression for film narration, Ivan Klimeš, Ph.D. the National Film Archive (Národní filmový archiv)’s head of the Department of Theory and Film History, the head of the Department of Film Studies of the Philosophy Faculty of the Charles University in Prague (Univerzita Karlova v Praze – Filozofická fakulta – Katedra filmových studií and the chairman of the Czech Society for Film Studies (Česká společnost pro filmová studia) in the debate on the possible direction of this society and Iwona Łyko, a staff member of the Department of Sales and Use of the National Film Archive (Národní filmový archiv)’s Collection with a talk on Echoes of Czech Cinematography in today’s Poland.
27. 5.
Defence minister of the Czech Republic Alexandr Vondra awarded his ministry’s Golden Linden Tree to Czech director and screenwriter Kristina Vlachová (real name Jana Slánská).
27. 5. - 4. 6.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Karel Schwarzenberg made a work trip to the USA, during which he visited California. The delegation was also accompanied by business representatives of the film industry. Members of the delegation on the Czech side were sales director of Barrandov Studios Petr Tichý and head of the Film Commission Ludmila Claussová. At the breakfast meeting Karel Schwarzenberg spoke with producers representing American film production including Sony, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal and Disney studios. The aim was to support the Czech film industry in Hollywood and to point out that in the Czech Republic investment stimulus applies for filmmakers.
29. 5. - 5. 6.
ZLÍN FILM FESTIVAL – The 51st International Film Festival for Children and Youth (ZLÍN FILM FESTIVAL – 51. mezinárodní festival filmů pro děti a mládež) took place in Zlín (Czech Republic). This year’s festival is the first one held under the new title, the ZLÍN FILM FESTIVAL, with a new logo and in the new building of the Congress Center, designed by architect Eva Jiřičná. The festival’s programme didn’t just focus on the target group of children and youth, but was also for adults. The festival’s main sections consisted of the International Competition of Feature Films for Children and Youth, the International Competition of Short Animated Films for Children, the International Competition of European Debuts, Night Horizons (serious and provocative themes – films that provoke discussions and are for more adult audiences, namely university students), Novelties of Czech Film and Television Works for Children and Youth, Documents – a section devoted to documentary work for children and youth or covering children and youth issues, Panorama (presents films awarded at other festivals, etc.) and Days of European Film. The festival’s artistic director was Petr Koliha. The International feature film competition included two Czech films – In the Duvet (V peřině, 2011) by F. A. Brabec and Devil’s Bride (Čertova nevěsta, 2011) by Zdeněk Troška. The Czech film One Way Ticket (Piko, dir. Tomáš Řehořek, 2010) was included in the category of feature films for youth; in the category European Debuts the Czech film Eighty Letters (Osmdesát dopisů, r. Václav Kadrnka, 2011) vied for the Europe Award. A total number of 76 competition films were judged by 7 juries. Screenings were held in 9 places in Zlín and in another 4 cinemas in the partner towns of Kroměříž, Otrokovice, Vyškov and Mladá Boleslav. Films were screened from 44 countries. For the awarding of films and personalities see the ZLÍN FILM FESTIVAL – The 51st International Film Festival for Children and Youth (ZLÍN FILM FESTIVAL – 51. mezinárodní festival filmů pro děti a mládež). The festival also included the 9th International Festival of Advertising – The Rainbow Marble (Duhová kulička – 9. mezinárodní festival reklamy 30. 5. – 1. 6.) devoted to advertising focussed on children and youth. Some 220 works – nearly two thirds of the advertisements were from the Czech Republic – were entered by agencies into the competition. The festival featured, among other things, a profession conference on the theme of media education and a futuristic vision of what the media will look like in 2025. The international jury was made up of specialists from the area of advertising, media and social sciences. The best creative work was awarded in categories that were divided according to the media used (five categories) and scope of the advertising (three categories). For awards see (Duhová kulička – 9. mezinárodní festival reklamy).
31. 5.
Lucerna cinema in Prague hosted the ceremonial premiere of the Czech-Slovak feature film Lidice (dir. Petr Nikolaev, 2011).