- Occupation
Director - Country
Czech Republic
Kokeš Lukáš
Redemption Attempt of a TV Repairman Josef Lávička in Nine Scenes
The short film recounts the pursuit of redemption of Josef Lávička, a village alcoholic. In its course, Lávička tries to get to grips with the Catholic tenets of a text given to him by a local pastor. Making use of staging and re-enactment, the film goes beyond the trivial day-to-day existence of the main character. In the contextof Christian rhetoric and symbolism present in the film, Lávička's persona is virtually drinking itself towards a spiritual order.
59/184/84
"59/184/84" is a film dating ad of a permanently unhappy man waiting for life to start. Living an empty life of a loner, he nurtures the idea that something must happen; that destiny must grant him an ideal wife fulfilling all his requirements on the basis of the biological right for love. His ever-present thoughts of suicide are temporarily driven away by replies to his new text on the dating website: "Hello, I am a single slim man with a university degree and 184 cm of height between 50 and biological death and I want to get married and have children of my own. Looking forward to your reply. Best regards, Jiří."
Joy
A film on faith, knowledge, passion, love and joy in one day of the life of a hunter. – Department of documentary film, FAMU – 3rd year (film poem).
24
A documentary collage about the progress of one Czech day, composed by 24 directors. Everyone picked one hour, day or night, and received two minutes of the whole film at his or her disposal. This allowed for the mosaic on genres and topics that portrait the atmosphere of the Czech Republic today. At the same time, this unique project presents various filmmaking styles and approaches of the best contemporary Czech documentarians, all on the reel of one film. The authors accompany teenagers at a discotheque, observe doctors during surgery, laborers in a factory, believers in a synagogue or the descent in a human throat. Olga Špátová records the authentic power of the moment when the child is born. Vít Klusák engages a special camcorder to freeze the time of one tram stop. The flow of time is Helena Třeštíková’s topic – she films Katka taking yet another public bath in a Prague’s fountain. Martin Mareček shows a pair of legs sunk in aquarium, which, backed with a voiceover, illustrates the timeless power of human stupidity. Jiří Krejčík, a significant persona of Czech film, conceived his film hour with a great amount of humor and exaggeration.
The short film recounts the pursuit of redemption of Josef Lávička, a village alcoholic. In its course, Lávička tries to get to grips with the Catholic tenets of a text given to him by a local pastor. Making use of staging and re-enactment, the film goes beyond the trivial day-to-day existence of the main character. In the contextof Christian rhetoric and symbolism present in the film, Lávička's persona is virtually drinking itself towards a spiritual order.
59/184/84
"59/184/84" is a film dating ad of a permanently unhappy man waiting for life to start. Living an empty life of a loner, he nurtures the idea that something must happen; that destiny must grant him an ideal wife fulfilling all his requirements on the basis of the biological right for love. His ever-present thoughts of suicide are temporarily driven away by replies to his new text on the dating website: "Hello, I am a single slim man with a university degree and 184 cm of height between 50 and biological death and I want to get married and have children of my own. Looking forward to your reply. Best regards, Jiří."
Joy
A film on faith, knowledge, passion, love and joy in one day of the life of a hunter. – Department of documentary film, FAMU – 3rd year (film poem).
24
A documentary collage about the progress of one Czech day, composed by 24 directors. Everyone picked one hour, day or night, and received two minutes of the whole film at his or her disposal. This allowed for the mosaic on genres and topics that portrait the atmosphere of the Czech Republic today. At the same time, this unique project presents various filmmaking styles and approaches of the best contemporary Czech documentarians, all on the reel of one film. The authors accompany teenagers at a discotheque, observe doctors during surgery, laborers in a factory, believers in a synagogue or the descent in a human throat. Olga Špátová records the authentic power of the moment when the child is born. Vít Klusák engages a special camcorder to freeze the time of one tram stop. The flow of time is Helena Třeštíková’s topic – she films Katka taking yet another public bath in a Prague’s fountain. Martin Mareček shows a pair of legs sunk in aquarium, which, backed with a voiceover, illustrates the timeless power of human stupidity. Jiří Krejčík, a significant persona of Czech film, conceived his film hour with a great amount of humor and exaggeration.
Gottland
Based on stories selected from the bestseller Gottland by Polish author Mariusz Szczygiel, a series of film essays will be made by six FAMU students, describing the Czech national history from the perspective of one who never won. Surrounded by superpowers in its geopolitical space, Czechoslovakia has always had to manoeuvre within the limits set by others (e.g. when fighting for the unwanted Emperor of Austria in World War I, suffering the trauma of the Munich Pact etc.). Unable to decide about their own fate, Czechs had to develop a strategy of constant compromise-seeking behaviour and peaceful solutions, assuming the position of the "absent one", since that was the most advantageous way of defence; minimizing the experience of loss, however, leaving behind a great moral mutilation. In comparison with other nations of the world, nothing much ever happened to Czechs and nothing much ever will.
Fortress
Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. Imagine a space where the time has frozen. The time's stopped and life's been stuck in a shape resembling the era of Soviet Union. Somehow, people got used to the reign of the secret police and the fear of being spied on. Soviet-style propaganda of the authoritative, power-based regime of the president Igor Smirnov turns most of the PMR residents into simple workmen, without any will to understand how unbearable their situation is. Smirnov has been leading this non-existing country for as long as twenty years. The film focuses on a couple of characters being stuck in this geo-political gap, in between the European Union and Russia, in between the present and the past, crime and decency, decadence and hope for change. Framed by the time of presidential election, the film analyzes the organization of “no-state” and the rules of a regular life within.
V.I.P.
Self-discipline, confidence and fascination for a life of success and wealth. High-end handbag as a ticket to a better society. It depends on how you look, what perfume and what brand of shoes you put on tonight. Another reason to reinvent yourself is that they always call you names and when you meet someone, you are immediately labeled as a vendor, greengrocer or a convenience store owner who cannot even say “Hello“ in Czech without sounding ridiculous. To escape prejudices associated with the Vietnamese community becomes the most important thing.
Czech Journal
A five-part series of socially critical, truly “public service” documentaries made over the course of one year. Each film deals with a compelling social issue and its broader context. Each topic is tackled without bias, presumptions and without sentimentality. Rather than to scare or move the viewer, this thought-provoking series wants to stir up debate on stereotypes in our approach to reality. Topics will include current events that are in the headlines, e.g., racism, corruption, organized crime, civic initiatives, public institutions, lobbying and other important events related to politics, sports or culture.
Based on stories selected from the bestseller Gottland by Polish author Mariusz Szczygiel, a series of film essays will be made by six FAMU students, describing the Czech national history from the perspective of one who never won. Surrounded by superpowers in its geopolitical space, Czechoslovakia has always had to manoeuvre within the limits set by others (e.g. when fighting for the unwanted Emperor of Austria in World War I, suffering the trauma of the Munich Pact etc.). Unable to decide about their own fate, Czechs had to develop a strategy of constant compromise-seeking behaviour and peaceful solutions, assuming the position of the "absent one", since that was the most advantageous way of defence; minimizing the experience of loss, however, leaving behind a great moral mutilation. In comparison with other nations of the world, nothing much ever happened to Czechs and nothing much ever will.
Fortress
Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. Imagine a space where the time has frozen. The time's stopped and life's been stuck in a shape resembling the era of Soviet Union. Somehow, people got used to the reign of the secret police and the fear of being spied on. Soviet-style propaganda of the authoritative, power-based regime of the president Igor Smirnov turns most of the PMR residents into simple workmen, without any will to understand how unbearable their situation is. Smirnov has been leading this non-existing country for as long as twenty years. The film focuses on a couple of characters being stuck in this geo-political gap, in between the European Union and Russia, in between the present and the past, crime and decency, decadence and hope for change. Framed by the time of presidential election, the film analyzes the organization of “no-state” and the rules of a regular life within.
V.I.P.
Self-discipline, confidence and fascination for a life of success and wealth. High-end handbag as a ticket to a better society. It depends on how you look, what perfume and what brand of shoes you put on tonight. Another reason to reinvent yourself is that they always call you names and when you meet someone, you are immediately labeled as a vendor, greengrocer or a convenience store owner who cannot even say “Hello“ in Czech without sounding ridiculous. To escape prejudices associated with the Vietnamese community becomes the most important thing.
Czech Journal
A five-part series of socially critical, truly “public service” documentaries made over the course of one year. Each film deals with a compelling social issue and its broader context. Each topic is tackled without bias, presumptions and without sentimentality. Rather than to scare or move the viewer, this thought-provoking series wants to stir up debate on stereotypes in our approach to reality. Topics will include current events that are in the headlines, e.g., racism, corruption, organized crime, civic initiatives, public institutions, lobbying and other important events related to politics, sports or culture.
Born August 28, 1983 in České Budějovice. He organized a film festival during his studies in Osbevern, Germany. Student at the film studies dept., Charles University, and documentary department, FAMU. He won a special jury award at the 2008 Jihlava IDFF for his film Redemption Attempt of a TV Repairman Josef Lávička in Nine Scenes. He also won a special audience prize award at Famufest 2009. Contributes to the film magazine Cinepur. Filmography: Safety Grounds (2007), Irene (2007), Mittweidekabarett (2008), Redemption Attempt of a TV Repairman Josef Lávička in Nine Scenes (2008), Joy (2009), 59/184/84 (2009).
Catalogue of Upcoming Czech Documentary Films - 2012