Prague, September 24, 2012 - The Czech Film Center and the Institute of Documentary Film are preparing their annual presentation of Czech documentary production for the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival (October 23-28), the biggest documentary event of the year. The presentation, which has taken place regularly since 2005, aims to highlight the successes of recent Czech documentaries and to familiarise audiences with the current state of documentary production.
A new catalogue of documentary films will be presented September 25 at 10 a.m. at Kino Světozor. Filmmakers there will present 10 selected documentary projects which will begin their journey to viewers later this year or early next year.
“The catalogue includes 101 documentary films in development, production or post-production. Among them there are portraits, investigative reports, socially engaged documentaries, authors’ testimonies, personal chronicles, documentary novels and thrillers,“ says Magda Španihelová from the Institute of Documentary Film. “The formal heterogeneity of Czech documentary film comes from a strong tradition of an auteur approach to recording and interpreting reality. Perhaps thanks to this, Czech documentaries enjoy a stable and highly appreciated position in the cultural and social context of our country.”
“It’s the most complex and actually the only annual summary of the state of Czech documentary production, and years of experience have convinced us of its usefulness for filmmakers, journalists and anyone interested in documentary production,“ adds Jana Cernik from the Czech Film Center.
Czech documentaries have been a successful film sector for several years. In recent years, they have earned more awards at international forums than Czech features. Since last September, 19 new documentaries have been presented in Czech cinemas. In addition to Matěj Mináč’s commercially successful Nicky’s Family, the highest admissions for this period belonged to Martin Mareček’s Solar Eclipse, Helena Třeštíková’s Private Universe and Olga Sommerová’s portrait of Olympic athlete Věra Čáslavská, Věra 68.
In the past year, more than 40 documentaries were presented at international film festivals and exhibitions. The most successful documentary of the concluded season was Solar Eclipse,which screened at 10 festivals.
The most successful document in terms of festival participation in the last 12 months was Chronicle of Oldřich S. Rudolf Šmíd’s animated short documentary was presented at 12 festivals and won special recognition at two. Helena Třeštíková’s Private Universe and Šimon Špidla’s Into Oblivion also received great acclaim.
Among the 10 documentaries that will be presented September 25 are many which have the potential to appeal to audiences at home and abroad.
The latest project from established filmmakers Vít Klusák and Filip Remunda concerns all citizens of the Czech Republic. Czech President follows Václav Klaus’s last year as president, the nuances of the election of the next head of state, and focuses on the story of a bus driver who stood up to the elites.
Pecking Order, created by participants of the Inventura film workshop, offers an original glimpse into the world of mentally disabled and follows on the success of the workshop’s previous film Earthlings, Who Are You Voting For? Little Hanoi offers an intimate glimpse into the world of two Vietnamese girls struggling with their future in the ‘exotic’ Czech Republic.
Among other upcoming documentaries are portraits of figures from politics, culture and art: Václav Havel, Ivan ‘Magor’ Jirous, Bořek Šípek, Karl Reisz and H. Gordon Skilling. Havel’s death created a wave of a filmmaking interest. Petr Jančárek comes with Part 2 of his intended trilogy, Václav Havel, Prague – Castle 2,in which the filmmaker will map Havel’s early activity as president. Helena Třeštíková will present portraits of two artists, Vojta Lavička: Up and Down.cz and Jakub Špalek: A Life With the Jester. Jan Gogola, jr.’s film Mythmaking is a personal portrait of Kateřina Šedá.
Adolf Zika’s film The Czech Land, Your Home! is a domestic analogy of the global Week of Life project. The creators of the Czech film, which will be released November, asked citizens of the Czech Republic to record one day in May. At the same time, Zika’s crew were mapping life around the country.
Contact:
The Institute of Documentary Film
Phone: +420 224 214 858
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Czech Film Center
Phone: +420 221 105 398
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