I. A Calendar»
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
1. 6.
The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (AMU) rector Ivo Mathé presented a the gold medal to leading Czech documentary filmmaker Drahomíra Vihanová, a graduate of the Direction Department of the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (Filmová a televizní fakulta Akademie múzických umění v Praze - Katedra režie), for significant contribution to Czech film culture and to pedagogical activities at FAMU. This occurred in the National Film Archive’s Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt (Národní filmový archiv) in Prague during the christening of the DVD with a selection of her films. During the ceremonial evening there her graduation feature film The Black Keys Fugue (Fuga na černých klávesách) from 1964 and her documentary film on Sudeten Germans entitled Everyday I Step in Front of Your Face (Denně předstupuji před tvou tvář..., 1992) were screened. The AMU Gold Medal is the highest award that the rector can bestow on important Czech or international experts and artists that worked at AMU as teachers. Former recipients include documentary filmmaker Jan Špáta, French screenwriter, actor and director Jean-Claude Carrière, directors Ivan Passer, Jan Švankmajer and Věra Chytilová and writer, playwright and inspirer of 1960s theatre Ivan Vyskočil.
1. 6. - 31. 8.
The Summer Poster Celebration I, which featured 100 hitherto unexhibited film posters of major Czechoslovak artists from the 1960s, was held in the lobby of the Světozor, Aero and Bio Oko cinemas in Prague in collaboration with Film Haberdashery Terry’s Socks. Some of these artists, such as Jiří Balcar, Richard Fremund, Zdeněk Palcr and Jan Kubíček were among those in the early 1960s at the birth of the modern, progressive face of Czechoslovak film poster. Many are currently among the most acknowledged Czech artists.
2. - 4. 6.
The 5th International Film Festival of (non)Actors with Mental and Combined Disabilities – Mental Power Prague (5. mezinárodní filmový festival (ne)herců s mentálním a kombinovaným postižením – Mental Power Prague) was held at Prague’s Palace Theatre. The aim of the festival, organized by the HENDAVER, o. s. civic association, is to create the conditions and settings typical for film festivals of professional actors, allow handicapped people to experience the fame and noble moments among non-handicapped people and show that they too are capable of artistic achievement. Among those on the jury of the 5th year were actresses Tatiana Vilhelmová, Eva Holubová and Tereza Voříšková, cinematographer Kateřina Hornová, director Martin Vadas and Václav Krása, chairman of the Czech National Disability Council. For awarded films and personalities see 5. mezinárodní filmový festival (ne)herců s mentálním a kombinovaným postižením – Mental Power Prague.
3. 6. - 4. 9.
The Kinobus set out for the fourth time on its trek across the Czech Republic. The trip was organized and produced by Prague Public Transport. Viewers in 23 places of greater Prague were treated to 81 feature-length screenings of successful Czech films. Entry to all screenings was free; the film evenings included charity collections for Help Children.
6. 6.
The Pavel Koutecký Award 2011 (5. ceny Pavla Kouteckého) for unique documentary work was presented for the fifth time at a ceremonial evening at Prague’s Archa theatre. Directors of a hundred documentary films vied for the Pavel Koutecký Award and the five-member jury awarded it to the film Earthlings, Who Are You Voting For? (Pozemšťané, koho budete volit?, 2010). This film is a joint effort of participants of the documentary workshop Inventura civic association (o. s. Inventura) and director Linda Jablonská. In addition to being documentarists, the filmmakers are also mentally disabled. The film crew monitored the elections to the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (Parlament České republiky Poslanecká sněmovna) in 2010. The result confirmed that even mentally disabled people can be publicly active and have a political opinion. The film was created in collaboration with Czech Television (ČESKÁ TELEVIZE) and was shown as part of the Czech DocumenT 2011 festival of documentary films (3. přehlídka Český dokumenT) held on 8. – 9. 6. Director Linda Jablonská and participants of the Inventura documentary workshop (o. s. Inventura) received the glass object created by artist René Roubíček and a monetary award of one hundred thousand crowns. The jury also awarded the jury’s special prize – this time not to a director, as is usually the case, but to the music group DVA (Two), which contributed to the effect of two films highly praised by the jury: Martin Ryšavý’s Bear Islands (Medvědí ostrovy, 2010) and All for the Good of the World and Nošovice (Vše pro dobro světa a Nošovic, 2011) by Vít Klusák. Also see 5. ceny Pavla Kouteckého.
6. - 13. 6.
Belgrade (Serbia) hosted the 13th Nitrate Film Festival organized by Jugoslovenska Kinoteka. The Prague National Film Archive (Národní filmový archiv) took part with the restored film Gypsies (Cikáni, dir. Karel Anton, 1921).
7. 6.
Prague’s Oko cinema was the venue for the ceremonial launch into distribution of the Czech-German documentary film Day after the Long Night (Po dlouhé noci den, dir. Tomáš Kudrna, 2011).
8. 6.
The Endowment Fund of Involved Non-Partisans (Nadační fond angažovaných nestraníků – NFAN) of the Institute for the Studies of Totalitarian Regimes (ÚSTR) in Prague awarded screenwriter and director, member of the FITES – Czech Film and Television Union (FITES – Český filmový a televizní svaz) – executive committee Kristina Vlachová (real name Jana Slánská) with the Jan Beneš Award (Cena Jana Beneše) for her volume of screenwriting and for being a courageous documentary filmmaker over the past twenty years. The award was presented upon the occasion of the seminar on the Corrections Facility in Minkovice near Liberec that ÚSTR and NFAN organized in collaboration with the political prisoners of this work camp.
8. - 9. 6.
Czech Television (ČESKÁ TELEVIZE) organized at the Atlas cinema in Prague a screening of new documentary films that it had a hand in producing. Under the title of Czech DocumenT (3. přehlídka Český dokumenT) it offered in two screening rooms, in addition to nearly twenty documentary films, meetings and discussions with the filmmakers. Among the films screened were Nicky’s Family (Nickyho rodina, dir. Matej Mináč, 2011, SR – ČR), All for the Good of the World and Nošovice (Vše pro dobro světa a Nošovic, dir. Vít Klusák, 2011) and Earthlings, Who Are You Voting For? (Pozemšťané, koho budete volit?, 2010) by documentary filmmaker Linda Jablonská and the documentary film workshop and civic association Inventura (o. s. Inventura). The screening ended on 10. 6. at the MAT cinema in Prague with a talk by Leena Pasanen, the former director of the European Documentary Network, entitled Current Trends in European Documentary Film.
8. - 10. 6.
The 14th Screening of Museum Films – MUSAIONFILM (14. přehlídka muzejních filmů MUSAIONFILM), a non-competition festival, was held, as usual, at the Comenius Museum in Uherské Hradiště (Muzeum Jana Amose Komenského v Uherském Brodě). The programme featured thematically aimed blocks of films, expert lectures, discussions with film analyses, professional seminars and cultural programmes for participants. The screening blocks included films as part of a permanent exhibit, accompanying films to exhibitions, films on which the museums collaborated, archive films, spots for exhibition projects for television broadcasting and others. The professional seminar Science and Film – Film and Science linked to the screening of films was led by Professor Rudolf Adler from the department of documentary film FAMU Prague (Filmová a televizní fakulta Akademie múzických umění v Praze – Katedra dokumentární tvorby). The following films were among those screened: History Treaded Here (Tudy kráčela historie, dir. Roman Zapletal, 2011, CR, entered by the Comenius Museum in Přerov), The Ceremonial Arrival of Cardinal Ferdinand Julius Troyer to Olomouc (Slavnostní vjezd kardinála Ferdinanda Julia Troyera do Olomouce, dir. Alexandr Jeništa, 2010, CR, entered by the Olomouc Museum of Art, Olomouc Museum of Music) and My Wars Věra Fialová (* 1918) (Moje války. Věra Fialová /* 1918/, dir. Jiřina Kosíková, 2010, CR, entered by the Ethnological Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i. Prague – Brno workplace).
9. 6.
A remembrance ceremony was held in the Czech town of Lidice accompanied by the screening of the new Czech film Lidice (2011) by director Petr Nikolaev. The ceremony was commenced by the Czech ministry of defence Alexandr Vondra and attended by director Petr Nikolaev, film editor and producer Adam Dvořák, story idea author and screenwriter Zdeněk Mahler, Jaroslav Kučera, the head producer of ČESKÁ TELEVIZE, historian Eduard Stehlík, and director of the Lidice Monument Milouš Červencl, actors from the film and other representatives of cultural and public life.
10. - 12. 6.
The Vatra cinema in Vsetín (Czech Republic) hosted the 13th Summer Film Marathon (13. letní filmový maraton – bulharský film a vítězové evropských filmových festivalů), traditionally focused on Balkan cinematography. Bulgaria was the fourth Balkan country whose cinematography was presented by this summer film marathon. A total of eleven Bulgarian films were screened. Contemporary Bulgarian film was represented by films that included Svetat e golyam i spasenie debne otvsyakade (2008, Bulgaria – Germany – Slovenia – Hungary) by director Stephan Komanderev and Stopy v pyasaka (2010) Ivaylo Christov. The history of Bulgarian cinematography was commemorated by a mini-profile of renowned director Christo Christov, in which, in addition to films known even in the Czech Republic, there was screened the film Posledno lyato from 1974. Also screened was the film by director Docha Bodjakova entitled Ty, koyto si na nebeto from 1990 in which Slovak actor Jozef Kroner (20. 3. 1924 – 12. 3. 1998) starred and for which he was nominated for a Felix – the European Film Award. The screening of Bulgarian films included two groups of animated films. The second thematic group of the Vsetín film marathon entitled Winners of European Festivals featured seven films that received European film prizes. These films included Haevnen (dir. Suzane Bier, 2010, Denmark – Sweden) or Copie conforme (dir. Abbás Kiárostamí, 2009, Italy – Iran – France). Among the festival’s guests were director Stoyan Dukov, the doyen of Bulgarian animated film, and director and producer Vladimir Shishkov. The opening of an exhibition of young Bulgarian artists, of painter Lyuben Petrov and sculptor Georgi Petkov was held at the Old Town Hall Gallery.
10. - 19. 6.
The 11th Krimifest Film Festival CHODOV (11. filmový festival Krimifest CHODOV) took place in Chodov near Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic). Several foreign films were screened at the festival including The American (dir. Anton Corbijn, 2010, USA), L’Immortel (dir. Richard Berry, 2010, France), Flickan som lekte med elden (dir. Daniel Alfredson, 2009, Sweden – Denmark – Germany) and Czech films Bastards (Bastardi, dir. Petr Šícha, 2010), Kajínek (dir. Petr Jákl ml., 2010) and Innocence (Nevinnost, dir. Jan Hřebejk, 2011). The following films were among those screened in the ČADÍK Brothers’ cinematograph (Kinematograf bratří Čadíků, s.r.o.): The Tourist (dir. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2010, USA – France) and Women in Temptation (Ženy v pokušení, dir. Jiří Vejdělek, 2010, CR). The 1st annual competition The Children’s Theatre Festival was held during the festival and opened with an exhibition of drawings by Czech caricaturist Jiří Slíva. For awarded films – see 11. filmový festival Krimifest CHODOV.
11. - 18. 6.
Nové Město nad Metují (Czech Republic) hosted the 33rd Czech Film and Television Comedy Festival – The Nové Město Pot of Laughter (33. festival české filmové a televizní komedie – Novoměstský hrnec smíchu) at Cinema 70. In addition to the competition and non-competition section, the 3rd Annual Student Laughter – a competition of films shots by film-school students – was held. The competition included the films Identity Card (Občanský průkaz, dir. Ondřej Trojan, 2010, ČR – SR), Retraining (Rekvalifikace, dir. Vlado Štancel, 2011), WesternStory (dir. Vlastimil Peška, 2011) and several films for television. For the awards see 33. festival české filmové a televizní komedie – Novoměstský hrnec smíchu.
13. - 26. 6.
The 12th International Festival of Czech-German-Jewish Culture – Nine Gates (12. mezinárodní festival česko-německo-židovské kultury – Devět bran) that focused mainly on French-Jewish culture was held at the Estates Theatre in Stavovské divadlo Prague. The 12th year was devoted to the memory of one of the most important Czech writers, Arnošt Lustig (21. 12. 1926 – 26. 2. 2011), who was the festival’s president for many years. Among those in attendance at the ceremonial opening at the Estates Theatre were Czech Senate President (Parlament České republiky Senát) Milan Štěch, Czech culture minister Jiří Besser and Lustig’s relatives – his sister Hana Hnátová, son Josef Lustig and grandson Negev. Arnošt Lustig was awarded in memoriam the festival’s Grand Prix – the Crystal Menorah for contribution to Jewish culture – as part of the ceremony. This award was renamed with the family’s consent as the Arnošt Lustig Award. The Crystal Menorah for the documentary film Beclouded Democracy (Zatemněná demokracie, 2010, CR) was presented by Czech Senate President Milan Štěch and Czech culture minister Jiří Besser to the creators of the film – to producer Oldřich Stránský and director Oliver Malina Morgenstern. The award for feature film went to the director of the film Le concert (2009, France – Italy – Romania – Belgium – Russia) to Rad Mihailean, who was unable to personally attend the ceremony due to work commitments (the award was presented to him in Paris as part of the autumn part of the Nine Gates festival (12. mezinárodní festival česko-německo-židovské kultury – Devět bran) that presented Czech artists in France). After the awards were presented, a performance of the National Theatre’s To Be or Not to Be was given. The festival also focused on French Jewish culture and included the films Echoes of the Night of Lidice (Ozvěny lidické noci, dir. Pavel Dražan, 2011) or the French-Austrian-Israeli film Esther (dir. Amos Gitai, 1986, Austria – Israel – Great Britain) and an exhibition of photography capturing Arnošt Lustig as president of the festival was organized, as was a lecture entitled What do French Jews Think? prepared by Petr Fleischmann. For awards – see 12. mezinárodní festival česko-německo-židovské kultury – Devět bran.
15. 6.
The CineStar Anděl multiplex organized the ceremonial premiere of the Czech musical comedy In the Duvet (V peřině, dir. F. A. Brabec, 2011).
16. - 18. 6.
Arts&Film 2011 – The 7th European Film Festival about Arts (Arts&Film 2011 Telč – 7. evropský filmový festival o umění) was held in Telč (Czech Republic). The festival film competition included artistic disciplines – the fine arts in all areas, architecture, design and naive art, music, the dramatic arts, film and literature and New Generation – student films. Documentary, feature and experimental films could also compete. The festival was supplemented by a number of workshops, individual screenings and exhibitions. Among the films screened were A Short Film about the Long History of Litomyšl (Krátký film o dlouhé historii Litomyšle, dir. Jan Švarc, Jiří Novák, 2010) and the animated film Graffitiger (dir. Libor Pixa, 2010). The festival also included the opening of an exhibition of photography by Czech director Vojtěch Jasný. For awards – see Arts&Film 2011 Telč – 7. evropský filmový festival o umění.
20. 6. - 30. 9.
The European Commission began public consultation, which was the first step in reviewing the criteria used in European rules of state support for assessing financial aid provided by member states to the production and distribution of films. The existing memorandum on film was ten years old. The commission released a document on key questions that needed to be considered, such as a competition on making more attractive the production of films for main film producers with state support and non-production support activities. The commission invited those parties involved to submit their comments to the given questions by 30. 9. 2011. According to estimates, the EU member states provide 2.3 billion euros annual to support film: 1.3 billion euros via grants and low-interest loans and 1 billion euros via tax incentives. Roughly 80% of these funds are earmarked for film production. Most of this financial aid is provided by France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain.
20. 6. - 26. 10.
The 1st Czech Film Week at Thalia cinemas and Programmkino in Dresden began. The event takes place as part of the Days of Czech and German Culture, the largest presentation of Czech culture in Germany. The festival screened new feature and documentary films, short films and a retrospective of the work of Bohdan Sláma. It opened with Robert Sedláček’s black comedy Men in a Rut (Muži v říji, 2009). It also included the films Walking Too Fast (Pouta, 2010) by Radim Špaček, Eighty Letters (Osmdesát dopisů, 2011) by Václav Kadrnka and Kawasaki’s Rose (Kawasakiho růže, 2010) by Jan Hřebejk. The section Focussed on Czech Documentary Film featured a presentation of the young generation of Czech documentary filmmakers including Erika Hníková and the film Matchmaking Mayor (Nesvatbov, 2010) and Linda Jablonská and her film Welcome to North Korea! (Vítejte v KLDR, 2009).
23. 6. - 2. 7.
The main competition programme of the 33rd International Film Festival in Moscow presented 17 films including Leaving (Odcházení, r. Václav Havel, 2011, CR) that was screened at the opening evening. Also taking part in the competition programme of the ten-day festival was Czech Peace (Český mír, 2010) by director Vít Klusák and Filip Remunda.
24. 6.
The National Film Archive (Národní filmový archiv) presented at its Ponrepo screening hall at Bio Konvikt in Prague a portal of European film archives – the European Film Gate. Information on this project, which also included samples, was presented by Tomáš Lachman, M.A., the head of the department of the written records NFA (Národní filmový archiv – Oddělení písemných archiválií). The project was initiated by the Association des Cinemathèques Européennes (ACE) and the EDL Foundation and co-financed by the European Commission. This web portal provides on-line access to over 700,000 digitised items. Part of the National Film Archive (Národní filmový archiv)’s project was also the presentation of digital forms of the Film Yearbook 2007 on the NFA’s website. Until and including 2006 the Film Yearbook was published in book form. It first came out in digitised form of CD-ROM in 2007. In addition to the Film Yearbook 2007, the website also featured the Film Yearbook 2010 and those attending the presentation were briefly acquainted by chef-aditor Ivana Tibitanzlová, M.A., with the inception and development of one of the NFA (Národní filmový archiv) information systems – the FARIS database, which is used to create the Film Yearbook .
24. - 25. 6.
As part of A Night of Film Hopes, TV NOVA (Noc filmových nadějí – TV NOVA) provided a screening of student films, by which this private TV station supports the work of students of Czech film schools. Viewers were treated to thirty-one films by students of three secondary and six tertiary schools. The best of these were awarded on the Breakfast with NOVA show. For awarded films see Noc filmových nadějí – TV NOVA.
25. 6. - 2. 7.
The international festival of archive films – Il Cinema Ritrovato 2011, organized each year by the Cineteca di Bologna and regularly attended by the National Film Archive (Národní filmový archiv) in Prague, was held in the Italian city of Bologna. Czech films in the festival included The Shaft of Buried Ideas (Šachta pohřbených idejí, dir. Antonín Ludvík Havel, Rudolf Myzet, 1921), Gypsies (Cikáni, dir. Karel Anton, 1921), The Kreutzer Sonata (Kreutzerova sonáta, dir. Gustav Machatý, 1926), Battalion (Batalion, dir. Přemysl Pražský, 1927), Such Is Life (Takový je život, dir. Carl Junghans, 1929), and also a fragment of the French action series Zigomar (dir.Victorin Jasset, 1911) restored by National Film Archive (Národní filmový archiv) workers and the NFA (Národní filmový archiv) restored silent French film Monte-Cristo from 1928 by Henri Fescourt, accompanied by the music of Czech composer Jan Klusák.