Plešák Pavel

Venture of Life
Personal and social connections of betting and gambling.

Legion - Patria Nostra
In February 2007, Czech Televion broadcast an annoucement in an effort to find men who served in the French Foreign Legion after 1989. Director Lucie Králová chose several men who were willing to share their experiences. The film explores their motivation and, based on personal accounts, uncovers the stories, images and contexts of internal and external conflicts surrounded by myths.

History of Jaroslav Šabata
The film features the psychologist, politician and journalist Jaroslav Šabata (*1927) who symbolizes half a century of Czech history. The film explains the traces left by left-wing intelligentsia who first served the communist regime (Mr Šabata started giving lectures at the Department of Marxism-Leninism in 1953), then tried to reform it (as an active politician during the Prague Spring of the late 1960s), and later still opposed it (as early as 1971 he was sentenced to six and a half years in prison), eventually to see it collapse and help build a new democratic country.

Continuous appeal - Johann Gregor Mendel
Though it may be hard to believe, more than one hundred years after the so-called "Mendel rediscovery," there is still a lot to be explored and added. Rather than being put aside and covered with dust, the volume of Mendel's work seems to be expanding. Genetics that was established thanks to his work is the most dynamic scientific field; some people even refer to the current century as the Mendel century. Further explorations of his scientific work and philosophy force us to reevaluate our existing concepts of evolution, science, technology and epistemology. Mendel designed the first live model that managed to transfer genetic information from one generation to the next. In brief, Mendel in many ways goes beyond the fields of inheritance principles, breeding or botanics. Today, his significance is apparent in bio-information technology and evolutionary genetics. This film aims to raise general awareness of Mendel's contribution in these fields and stress the continuing currency of his work.

Landa´s elixir of love
A drama called The Secret of the Golden Dragon (Tajemství Zlatého draka) premiered at the National Theatre in Brno in Autumn 2008. This documentary film is not focused on the evaluation of the play or its artistic merit. The filmmakers try to look into the transformation of Daniel Landa - one of the play's authors - from his status of a "skinhead bard" in the early nineties up to the present when he acts as one of the co-founders of the Golden Dragon Legion. Does his immense energy still involve some latent menace from his dark past or is he merely a showbiz star?

Doctor´s Round Between Life And Death Or Who Will Cure Psysician Duška a His Friends
A documentary film about a group of young czech psysicians who just started their career. They compare their student`s ideas with the reality they now face in czech health care system [only two left that system: first went to a pharmacy industry, second works as cardiologist in Germany]. Some scenes of the material were shot in 2003, so the characters now can comment themselves in their years in faculty and campus-dormitory. Main character Dr. Frantisek Duska works at emergency department{urgent care unit} and likes his job very much, he also teaches biochemistry at the university. He is a big fan of a czech novelist Bohumil Hrabal therefore he makes annual literary walks through favourite Hrabal`s places in Prague for his students.

Flushing of Eternity
Creative documentary decribing a toilet as a place and as a symbol of human need to purge soul and to express itself in more specific flow of mind.

Janáček by Mackerras
In September 2009 will happen a historical musical event in Brno. At a special concert by Brno Philharmonics in Wannieck Gallery will be introduced the magnificent Janáček´s master piece, Glagolitic Mass. The conductor Sir Charles Mackerras is one of the leading personalities of world-wide conducting and also the most important expert od Janáček´s music. He was able to achieve popularity for his music in Great Brittain and otherwhere. Born in Australia, studied with Vaclav Talich in Prague in 1947 and after meeting with Janáček´s music he became the expert and also Czech language speaker. The film tries to catch up the athmosphere of the finale of his career and at one of his probably last concerts in Brno.

Coal in the Soul
A documentary portrait of two women playing a very personal game with the fate of Horni Jiretin, a town endangered by the coal-mining industry. With their typical mixture of a sensitive approach and irony, the filmmakers present the case under the guidance of the two women; press agent of the mining company and chatelaine/eco-activist. Their personal stories mirror the current danger of total liquidation of Horni Jiretin, a small town that stands in the way of the coalmining process.

DJs
Dance music today and its development in the Czech Republic in the past twenty years represent a variety of styles, trends and individualities. Just like a remix of a music piece can be different, the individualities of Czech DJs - Lucca, Jiří Neumann, Pixie, Orbith and others - are different as well. Director Jan Motal looks for the transformation of the Czech DJ in the development of technologies, the transformation of music trends and the creative approaches of the DJs themselves. A visual continuation of the dance aesthetic, the documentary represents a search for the soundtrack of the post-revolution generation.

Driving School
An untraditional portrait of 4 directors on the theme of automobiles, theatre and film direction. At the beginning of 2010, script writer and director Petr Minařík managed to persuade 4 directors - Arnošt Goldflam, J.A. Pitínský, Břetislav Rychlík and Vladimír Morávek - to apply for a driving licence in front of the documentary camera of the Czech Television.

Czechia on a String
A situational essay on the Czech identity on the backdrop of the Goose on a String theatre in Brno. The seriously playful collage consists of stage-managed documentary, theatre and discussion fragments, presenting among others: Václav Bělohradský, Stanislav Bernard, Petr Fiala, Jiří Gruša, Helena Illnerová, Václav Havel, Vladimír Just, Vladimír Morávek, Tomáš Mozga, Jiří Peňás, Martin C. Putna, Martin Reiner, Tomáš Sedláček, Olga Sommerová, Ludvík Vaculík, Maxim Velčovský, Michal Viewegh and others. The film is based on the discussion cycle Czech Dawn of the Goose on a String theatre and on the theatre trilogy Czech Perversion. The film chapters include the following topics: Czech women, Czech language, Czech enterprise, Czech landscape, Czech thought and Czech vision.

I-dentity
The internet is a social space offering instant communication, entertainment to your liking, ready information, new ways of making money, easy starting and maintaining of interpersonal relationships or, possibly, anonymous sex. The internet represents a space for a second life. It highlights one's (dis)abilities: a talented person will attract attention, a lecher will have more dates while a dating loser will be alone on the internet as well. However, there is the question as to what degree do the possibilities of the internet change the lives of the internet users and influence social relationships of the "internet" generation? Are values like friendship, love, fidelity and responsibility deformed or accomplished by the internet?

Earthlings, Who Are You Voting for?
The film shows that even mentally handicapped people can get their bearings in public spaces and have a political opinion. The crew followed a phenomenon which affects all of us; elections to the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic. They participated in pre-election meetings, recording surveys of unusual topics with citizens as well as politicians. External cameras captured everything; the reactions of the security personnel, the supporters as well as opponents of particular political parties. The film crew also investigated whether pre-election promises are but empty slogans, attempting to reveal to which extent the prejudice against everything that is not "completely normal" is still rooted in the Czech society 20 years after the revolution.

The Epochal Trip of Mr. Tříska's to Russia
Few years ago teacher Jaroslav Tříska found his grandfather's legionary diary. His grandfather spent several years in a russian captivity during the First World War. Jaroslav takes grandpa's diary and sets out on his life journey. The route goes exactly in the footsteps of grandfather's journey, following the axis Prague – Moscow – Yekaterimburg – Novosibirsk – Chita. On his journey he reveals not only external changes that have occurred during the time. He also tries to find answers to the questions - Is Russia a democratic state? What form of democracy is it, where journalists are beeing shot and Putin still seems to be dangerous. A feature-length version of the film will be available.

Race to the Bottom
Capital mobility vs. people who stay behind. The end of human labour - a flaw in the system, design of the elites, or a new opportunity? Are labour unions a thing of the past? Have the unemployed become heroes of the 21st century? This complex if not exhaustive documentary film captures various aspects of labour in several companies, multinationals and plants that produce various objects ranging from textiles and glass to cars, matches and IT. Why is the gap between work efficiency and wage costs getting bigger? Work, theory and practice within the context of major global trends.

Drin Was Killed
50 years of Hornacke slavnosti, a unique folklore festival, through rehearsals and staging of an amateur theatre production. People and their life roles.

We'll Be Stumbling, Brother
Emigration through the eyes of children. The life stories of people who fled from their countries for economical reasons or because of various kinds of discrimination have been richly described. However, how does emigration influence the lives of those who have not fled voluntarily but were fully dependent on their parents? How are such crucial moments perceived by children who appeared in a foreign country out of the blue and not of their own accord? The transition to the new and unknown environment, usually an absolutely unexpected one, necessarily brings about traumas that must be overcome later. The sudden change in the lives of these children frequently led to long-term feelings of confusion and rootlessness. Ripped from the security of childhood, they were forced to grow up overnight. In the documentary, the children of emigrants are portrayed as victims of the regime their parents were fleeing from. This radical change has influenced their lives. How have they coped with it? How do they judge their parents who have exposed them to such situations? The documentary deals with egoism and forgiveness, the question of fault and responsibility of the parents and the society as well as with the ability to cope with such a past.

My Last 14 Thousand Cigarettes
This infotainment documentary tackles the politics and business behind the most widespread addiction. The filmmakers travel to Kutna Hora to explore the state-tolerated drug in terms of the business it generates. Kutná Hora with its cigarette factory becomes a microcosm that represents the vicious circle of making money off human weakness. A long-time heavy smoker, the director of the film will undergo a yearlong tobacco addiction rehab that will start around the time he starts shooting the film. His rehab experience will be recorded in a personal video diary that will serve as a time frame for the main storyline of the film featuring managers, developers and marketing specialists of Phillip Morris, deputies and senators living in Kutna Hora, owners of local pubs and bars, local psychologists, doctors and quacks of various species who specialize in smoking cessation and, of course, ordinary smokers from Kutná Hora.

Pecking Order
This rather unusual documentary film is made by a group of mentally handicapped participants of the film workshop run by Inventura, an association for the integration of mentally handicapped people into society through art. They are coached by Ivo Bystričan, author and director of the film. Pecking Order is inspired by the protracted government crisis in 2012, the escalation of corruption cases and ongoing civil protests. Mentally handicapped filmmakers are trying to find their own solutions to the crisis of governance. They are trying to find a new model of the functioning of government also into communities of a variety of animals. The crew conducts a dialogue with leading ethologist and sociobiologist Daniel Frynta of the Faculty of Science, and Mark Spinka of the Research Institute of Animal Production in Uhříněves.

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.

Born in 1975 in Brno. Since 2007, head commissioning editor, Current Affairs and Documentary Programming, Czech TV, Brno Studio. Graduated in Theatre Management from JAMU Brno.

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