Festival History

Jan Hřebejk began his career while still a student at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). His directorial path started with two short film productions made in collaboration with fellow classmate Petr Zelenka , who later would become an award-winning Czech playwright and director in his own right. For much of Hřebejk's later career, he worked closely with Petr Jarchovský , a well-known Czech screenwriter.

Hřebejk's first big break was a collaboration with Jarchovský done in the early 1990's, a musical called Big Beat ( Šakalí léta , 1993). This duo worked together many times and together they created numerous popular films. They have written and directed Divided We Fall ( Musíme si pomáhat , 2000), Up and Down ( Horem, pádem , 2004), Kawasaki's Rose ( Kawasakiho růže , 2009), Innocence ( Nevinnost , 2011), and more.

Hřebejk’s personal list of accomplishments in film is endlessly impressive and includes a 2000 Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film with Divided We Fall . Recently in 2009, his film Kawasaki’s Rose was also selected as the Czech entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award. His work has won countless Czech Lion nominations, on top of three awards from the Czech Film Academy for Best Director.

Roman Kasparovsky, born in 1975, graduated from the Production Department at the Film Academy in Prague (FAMU) in 2006. He is an experienced production manager and executive producer of many Czech films and international projects such as Wanted , starring Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie . He made is feature film debut as a director and screenwriter with Lousy Bastards ( Všiváci ).

Part of the Czech New Wave era of the 1960's, Jiří Menzel earned an early reputation as one of the forefathers of modern Czech cinema. His work over the years as a theater director, film director, actor and screenwriter solidified him a position at the top of the industry - along with another top Czech filmmaker of the time, Miloš Forman .

With his debut feature film Closely Watched Trains ( Ostře sledované vlaky , 1966), Menzel won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1967. In 1969, he wrote and directed Larks on a String , ( Skřivánci na niti ) considered by many to be his best movie. The controversial film was banned by the authoritarian government of the time, and was not released until after the fall of the Communist regime in 1990, when it won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. Menzel was again nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1986 with his movie My Sweet Little Village ( Vesničko má středisková ).

The Czech Film Academy awarded him a Czech Lion for making a significant and lasting impression on Czech film in 1996. Menzel has also been a teacher at FAMU University in Prague (where he himself was once a student from 1958-1962). His international decorations are significant; he was awarded the French order of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres for artistic importance and, for lifetime achievement, the Akira Kurosawa Prize at the San Francisco Film Festival. Menzel is stylistically renowned for his unique and provocative cinematography, as well as his deep, dark analytical approach to film.

Director and screenwriter Zdeněk Tyc was born on April 16th, 1956. Before taking the director’s chair, Tyc worked as a cable puller for Czechoslovak Television and later as an assistant director at Barrandov studios, amongst other jobs. From 1983 to 1990, he studied directing at FAMU. His graduation film and debut feature was Vojtěch The Orphan ( Vojtěch, řečený sirotek , 1989). Filmed in black and white, it was regarded as one of the most noteworthy films of the time and won the main prize at the Czech and Slovak Film Festival in Bratislava, and was the Czechoslovak entry for the Oscars. It also won the Jury Grand Prix at a festival of debut films in Angers, France.

In 1993, he made Razor Blades ( Žiletky ) starring Filip Topol . Topol is a cult celebrity in Czech Underground and the lead singer of the punk band Psí vojáci. The film won the prestigious French Foundation GAN Pour le Cinema award. It was screened at major festivals in Berlin and Toronto.

Following this critical acclaim, in 1995, Tyc released his third feature film Seize The Day ( UŽ ). He then took a break from feature films and worked for Czech Television again. His fifth feature film, Small Celebrations ( Malé oslavy , 2008), which was a Czech, Slovak and Italian coproduction, is a coming of age tale focusing on the relationship between a mother and her daughter, set against a backdrop of salsa rhythms. His latest film, Like Never Before ( Jako nikdy ) premiered in 2013.

Jan Hřebejk began his career while still a student at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). His directorial path started with two short film productions made in collaboration with fellow classmatePetr Zelenka, who later would become an award-winning Czech playwright and director in his own right. For much of Hřebejk's later career, he worked closely withPetr Jarchovský, a well-known Czech screenwriter.

Hřebejk's first big break was a collaboration with Jarchovský done in the early 1990's, a musical calledBig Beat (Šakalí léta, 1993). This duo worked together many times and together they created numerous popular films. They have written and directedDivided We Fall (Musíme si pomáhat, 2000),Up and Down (Horem, pádem, 2004),Kawasaki's Rose (Kawasakiho růže, 2009),Innocence (Nevinnost, 2011), and more.

Hřebejk’s personal list of accomplishments in film is endlessly impressive and includes a 2000 Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film withDivided We Fall. Recently in 2009, his filmKawasaki’s Rose was also selected as the Czech entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award. His work has won countless Czech Lion nominations, on top of three awards from the Czech Film Academy for Best Director.

Zdeněk Jiráský first entered the film industry as a photographer’s assistant for the filmLea (1996). After graduating with a degree in screenwriting and script editing from the Czech Film Academy (FAMU) in 2004, he focused on documentaries for Czech Television. Soon after he began working for the popular International Film Festival in Prague, FEBIOFEST, producing travel documentaries. Most recently Jiráský wrote and directedFlower Buds (Poupata, 2011), his first feature film. It was released to critical acclaim and won the Czech Lion for Best Director, among many other awards at the Chicago International Film Festival, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and Pusan International Film Festival. Jiráský integrates a serious, engaging tone in his work for an audience that wants to learn from often painfully realistic situations.

There have not been many films written and directed by Zuzana Liová, but her work is already noted as being some of the highest caliber in Europe. Her 2011 filmThe House (Dom, 2011) won international awards for best screenplay, including prizes from the audience for her unique vision. The Variety Magazine recently named her one of the top ten European directors to watch, and executive editorSteven Gaydosclaims:Today, the small, adventurous, often groundbreaking works of these Euro talents are watched by agents, producers and execs in Hollywood with great interest and urgency. In the pages of Variety you now see a rush to represent and employ new European filmmakers and you see the announcements of new Hollywood films that are in the dynamic, creative hands of these new European directors.

Liová studied screenwriting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, where she currently teaches. She launched her career in the film industry with script-editing, eventually helping produce several documentaries for television. The first feature for Liová as writer and director was titledSilence (Ticho), made for television in 2005.

Tomáš Luňák, since studying animation direction at the Zlín Film School and at Prague Film Faculty (FAMU), has created many short films and music clips. WithAlois Nebel, however, he has ventured into feature films and already seen success with a prestigious European Film Award for Best Animated Film; the film was also selected as the Czech entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award in 2012. The production process took more than two years because of the extensive collaboration between Luňák and the creators of the original graphic novel, authorsJaroslav Rudiš andJaromír 99. He toured across the United States withAlois Nebel during the 2012 Czech Film Festival. Luňák’s style is a self-proclaimed combination of “austerity and pragmatism,” embodied in his favorite film moment – when a character looks out of a window – because the viewer is simply forced to imagine what the scene outside might be.

Part of the Czech New Wave era of the 1960's, Jiří Menzel earned an early reputation as one of the forefathers of modern Czech cinema. His work over the years as a theater director, film director, actor and screenwriter solidified him a position at the top of the industry - along with another top Czech filmmaker of the time,Miloš Forman.

With his debut feature filmClosely Watched Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky, 1966), Menzel won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1967. In 1969, he wrote and directedLarks on a String, (Skřivánci na niti) considered by many to be his best movie. The controversial film was banned by the authoritarian government of the time, and was not released until after the fall of the Communist regime in 1990, when it won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. Menzel was again nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1986 with his movieMy Sweet Little Village (Vesničko má středisková).

The Czech Film Academy awarded him a Czech Lion for making a significant and lasting impression on Czech film in 1996. Menzel has also been a teacher at FAMU University in Prague (where he himself was once a student from 1958-1962). His international decorations are significant; he was awarded the French order of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres for artistic importance and, for lifetime achievement, the Akira Kurosawa Prize at the San Francisco Film Festival. Menzel is stylistically renowned for his unique and provocative cinematography, as well as his deep, dark analytical approach to film.

Najbrt graduated from FAMU, as a student of documentary filmmaking. He initially focused on multimedia performances at the Archa Theatre in Prague. As he grew more experienced, Najbrt began creating documentaries and eventually worked on the popular Czech television seriesTherapy (Terapie, 2011), starringKarel Roden. A decorated veteran filmmaker, Najbrt has since been nominated for various international film awards, winning many including Best Director and Best Screenplay forProtector (Protektor). He won the Critics' Award forChampions (Mistři, 2004), which was nominated for nine Czech Lion awards and won four. Writing and directing since 1993, he has also appeared in a few films, including famed Czech directorPetr Zelenka'sButtoners (Knoflíkáři, 1997), which won 18 international awards. HisPolski Film (2012) was nominated for Best Director, as well as other Czech Lions.

Before film, Alice Nellis worked as a theater director, flutist, web designer, teacher, and more. Eventually Nellis worked on small television documentaries for Czech TV and other sort films. When she found her passion in writing and directing, critics recognized her talent immediately. Her filmEeny Meeny (Ene Bene, 2000) won nine international awards, including a Czech Lion and the screenplay award at the FAMU Festival. Two years later withSome Secrets (Výlet, 2002), Nellis’ work won two Czech Lions and the Critics’ Award, among many other festival decorations for other films throughout her extensive career. Her ability to repeatedly capture universal values in personal moments has catapulted her to fame. In 2007 she co-founded MeetFactory, an international center for contempory art. Now she actively translates, screenwrites, directs, and teaches at FAMU, on top of her presence in the theatre community.

David Ondříček first captured Czech audiences with his feature film debutWhisper (Šeptej, 1996). Soon he founded his own production company, Lucky Man Films, and produced the hit comedyLoners (Samotáři) in 2000. Nominated for ten Czech Lion awards and winning one, the film also galvanized the careers of now-famous Czech actorsIvan Trojan andJiří Macháček. With Macháček, Ondříček co-wrote his next filmOne Hand Can’t Clap (Jedna ruka netleská, 2003), and later with the help of authorJaroslav Rudiš (Alois Nebel), created the filmGrandhotel (2006). Numerous international film festivals have awarded Ondříček mutiple distinctions for his films, especiallyLoners, while his filmIn the Shadow (Ve stínu, 2012) was entered in the 85th Academy Awards in the Foreign Language Film category. He is also son of renowned Czech Cinematographer and Oscar-winnerMiroslav Ondříček (Amadeus, 1984). David Ondříček studied documentary filmmaking at the Film and TV School at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU).

Born in 1987 and in the filmmaking scene since 2009, Řehorek has a youthful, multifaceted approach to many film production steps. This gives him a fresh perspective and a vitality that has won him awards at amateur film festivals. He has worked as an actor, music editor, cinematographer, editor, writer, and director, and in his feature film debutChanges (Proměny, 2009), he accomplished all six roles.Changes was also screened at international festivals in Paris, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Brussels. In 2010, hisOne Way Ticket (Piko, 2010) was nominated for the Czech Film Critics' Award. He was writer and editor inEye in the Wall (Oko ve zdi) in 2009, which featured talented Czech actor Karel Roden. He spends much of his time reviewing and editing his work, and has worked with Czech Television on a number of TV documentaries.

Řeřicha studied cinematography in Prague at FAMU. Over his career he has shot over 200 commercials, mainly from 1997–2007. He has also worked on numerous short films, and collaborated closely with Czech directorDavid Ondříčekon films such asGrandhotel (2006) andLoners (Samotáři, 2000), for both of which Řeřicha was nominated as Best Cinematographer at the annual Czech Lion awards. They also worked together on Czech Lion-winnerOne Hand Can't Clap (Jedna ruka netleská) in 2003. Known mostly as a cinematographer,Don't Stop is Řeřicha's first venture into writing and directing. Since 1999 he has been a member of the Art Directors Club (ADC).

Ladislav Rychman (October 9, 1922 - April 1, 2007) graduated in 1941 at the Prague high school and began studying at a language school. At the end of the war he was imprisoned in a concentration camp (1944 - 1945) and was nearly executed. After the war he studied aesthetics at the Faculty of Arts and professors at FAMU in the class of professorsElmar Klos andBořivoj Zeman. But he did not finish the school. He also acted and was a program director at the Theatre of Satire (1946). He became an assistant director of Bořivoj Zeman, then program director, screenwriter and director of the Studio for Popular and Science Films (1949-1955). Ladislav Rychman was principally known as the director of music films and musicals, psychological stories, criminal movies and comedies. He was a Czech film director who filmed famous Czechoslovak musical comediesThe Hop Pickers (Starci na chmelu, 1964) andLady on the Tracks (Dáma na kolejích, 1966).

Martin Šulík is a Slovakian filmmaker - actor, screenwriter, producer, and director. He earned a TV and film directing degree from the Academy of Performing Arts (VŠMU) in Bratislava in 1986, and has been creating films for over twenty years. Initially and throughout his career Šulík has worked on TV films and documentaries. His breakout filmThe Garden (Zahrada, 1995) written and produced by Šulík himself, garnered major international acclaim and won five Czech Lions in 1996. Over his career six of Šulík’s films have been selected as the Slovakian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film, includingEverything I Like (Všetko čo mám rád, 1992),The Garden,Orbis Pictus (1997),Landscape (Krajinka, 2000),City of the Sun (Sluneční stát, 2005), and most recently his 2011 filmGypsy (Cigán). He currently works as head of the film and television department of directing at VŠMU. Šulík’s father,Anton Šulík, was a popular Czechoslovak actor.

Jiří Vejdělek is an up-and-coming Czech screenwriter and director. He belongs to the youngest generation of Czech filmmakers and has been garnering worldwide attention since the TV seriesThe Editorial Staff (Redakce) in 2004-2005. In 2006 Vejdělek directed and co-wroteHoliday Makers (Účastníci zájezdu, 2006) – in collaboration with bestselling Czech authorMichal Viewegh’s book of the same name – which was seen in theaters by over 800,000 moviegoers. His filmVáclav (2007), was nominated for Best Film, Best Music, and Best Screenplay by the Czech Film Academy and won Czech Lion awards for actorsIvan Trojan andJan Budař.Women in Temptation (Ženy v pokušení, 2010) also won two Czech Lions, including the Audience Award. Vejdělek is known for his ability to closely work with the cast of his productions, possibly one of the reasons so many of them have won awards in his films.