Czech Film in the Past and Present
The Beginning
The history of Czech cinema has its roots in the Austro-Hungarian empire. A feature film was shot in Bohemia in 1896. The Czech movie industry, already influenced by Hollywood, flourished after World War I. Extasy (Extase, 1933) directed by Gustav Machatý, and River (Řeka, 1933) directed by Josef Rovenský were the first Czechoslovak movies that had success reaching an audience abroad. The Barrandov Studios, founded by Miloš and Václav Havel (the father of former president Václav Havel), were completed in 1933. It did not take long for the studios to ramp up production to 80 films a year.
The Golden Age of the 1960s
The golden age of Czechoslovak film took place in the 1960s, during the era of increased political and cultural freedom. The top directors of the time included Miloš Forman, Jiří Menzel, Ján Kadár, Elmar Klos, Vojtěch Jasný, Jan Němec, Věra Chytilová, and Ivan Passer. Most of them studied at Prague’s Film and Television School of the Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU), one of the oldest film schools in Europe.
Kadár and Klos’s The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na korze, 1965) and Menzel’s Closely Watched Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky, 1966) both won Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film. Closely Watched Trains was based on a novel written by the Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal whose other works that were made into films include Larks on a String (Skřivánci na niti, 1969) and later Cutting It Short (Postřižiny, 1980), The Snowdrop Festival (Slavnosti sněženek, 1983), Tender Barbarian (Něžný barbar, 1989), and I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále, 2006). Other Czech films that were nominated for the Oscar in the 1960s are The Loves of a Blonde (Lásky jedné plavovlásky, nominated in 1967) and The Firemen’s Ball (Hoří, má panenko, nominated in 1969). The Soviet invasion in August 1968 brought the era to an end.
Post-Communist Era
The Czech movie industry changed dramatically after the Velvet Revolution and the fall of communism in 1989. Barrandov Studios were privatized and were no longer guaranteed productions and funds from the government. Foreign film studios discovered the Czech Republic and the dramatic increase in foreign productions more than made up for the decrease in local films. The Czech Republic became an attractive location for foreign film makers thanks to its historical beauty and well preserved architecture that was not damaged in the world wars. Lower filming costs, coupled with the long history of the Czech film industry and the resulting expertise of local crews are also a factor. To support the growing number of foreign film projects, local production companies as well as companies providing casting, lighting, editing, and special effects services were established – most of them in Prague.
The beloved Czech film My Sweet Little Village (Vesničko má středisková), directed by Jiří Menzel, was nominated for the Academy Award in 1987.
The 1990s saw the rise of a new generation of Czech film makers, including Jan Svěrák, Jan Hřebejk, Saša Gedeon, Petr Zelenka, and David Ondříček. Svěrák’s Elementary School (Obecná škola, 1991) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, and his movie Kolya (Kolja, 1996) won the award. The screenwriter and leading actor of Kolja (aside from Kolja himself), Zdeněk Svěrák, is the father of the film’s director Jan. Hřebejk’s Divided We Fall (Musíme si pomáhat, 2000) also received an Oscar nomination.
The Future of Czech Film
There are still questions about the future direction of Czech cinematography. Raising funds for Czech movies is as challenging as ever. Many directors need to earn their living by making commercials. Finding foreign distribution for Czech films remains difficult. The Czech Republic however, continues to develop new film talent through FAMU, and the overall movie industry keeps gaining expertise through the foreign productions that have been flocking to the country.
Czech Film Festivals
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
One of the most prestigious international film festivals in Europe. It is classified as a “Category A” festival, which puts it in the same class as festivals in Cannes, Berlin, Venice, and Tokyo. The Karlovy Vary festival presents over 200 new films from around the world at the beginning of July each year.
Febiofest
The largest non-competing audiovisual festival in Central Europe. The main part of the festival takes place in the center of Prague where approximately 4000 feature-length, short, documentary, experimental and animated films are screened regularly over a period of nine days.
Academia film Olomouc (AFO) International Film Festival
An international festival of documentaries that has been running for more than 50 years and ranks among the film events with the longest tradition not only in the Czech Republic, but also in Central Europe. The festival primarily focuses on popular-science film, presenting film as a medium of education, an event addressing not only academicians and film professionals but students and the general public as well.
Finále Plzeň
A comprehensive and competitive festival devoted exclusively to Czech film. During one week, the complete full-length feature film production and a selection of the most successful and interesting documentaries is screened in traditional screening venues. The whole film week is completed by screenings of further Czech films in various sections and retrospectives, accompanied by discussions with interesting filmmakers.
Anifilm
International festival of animated films held annually in Třeboň.