- Occupation
Director - Country
Czech Republic
Poltikovič Viliam
A Drop from the Goblet of Immortality
Maha Kumbh Mela, or the great Kumbh Mela, is the largest religious festivity in the world, with up to a hundred million people participating in the event. It takes place in India, at the confluence of the Jammuna and Ganges rivers, and although primarily Hinduistic, people of various creeds gather here in peace from all over India and many parts of the world. Kumbh Mela takes place once every 12 years, but the great Kumbh Mela is held only once in 144 years. The colourful mixture of yogis, spiritual masters, naked Nagas and ascetics who spend years standing on one foot or holding one hand above their head, creates a unique mosaic of these devout people who usually seek solitude. Several Czechs emerged from this ocean of people, and film director Viliam Poltikovič with cinematographer Michal Hýbek lived among them for 2 weeks. They came to capture the atmosphere of this tremendously dynamic gathering of spiritual seekers of peace, and to witness the event from a European perspective.
Soul of the East: From the Buddha to the Dalai Lama
A documentary film about contemporary Buddhism in light of its history.
Sarvamangalam
A film essay about a journey through the Himalayas to the most holy place in India - the source of the River Ganges. The film offers a fascinating testimony to the life and philosophy of India's holy men - the sadhus - who live in high altitudes in order to be closer to God.
The Circle of Rebirth
Tibet, the home of an old nation with a unique culture, surviving under extremely harsh conditions between the mountain ridges. Tibetans are raised with a humble understanding of the meaning of human existence, understanding of the meaning of human actions, the meaning of human journey. This understanding was and still is a vital source of the strength to survive and to keep its own integrity when faced with even harder conditions than the weather. The main theme is a pilgrimage to Kailash which is the most sacred mountain of Tibet and all Asia. The walk around Kailash has several stages that symbolize our journey through life, death, afterlife and rebirth. The pilgrims undertake the most strenuous - 53 km long walk around the holy mountain.
A Touch from the Other Side
The film, shot in Bohemia, Nepal and Tibet uses the story of a Czech woman to reflect upon death, which it views as a major divine within the eternal cycle of change.
The Spirit of East: As Pilgrim in India
Part of the series on India. The Spirit of East endeavours at understanding the spiritual essence of complex Indian society and stresses the importance of Indian culture and philosophy for the entire mankind.
The Spirit of East: The Spirit of India
Part of the series on India. The Spirit of East endeavours at understanding the spiritual essence of complex Indian society and stresses the importance of Indian culture and philosophy for the entire mankind.
Moving a Settlement
A film documenting moving a family of Roms.
The Roma King
The main themes of this documentary are the integration of Roma people into society, racism, usury, unemployment, population explosion, migration to the UK and the influence of the modern Christian Church.
When the Stone Speaks
This philosophically-laden portrait of Jaroslav Dušek looks at his relationship with nature, which this eccentric performer sees as a living creature. It containes excerpts from productions in which the popular actor has taken part with mentally-handicapped and deaf people. The title of the film refers to Dušek´s fondness for communicating with apparently inanimate stones.
Maestra Ayahuasca
Vast land of Amazonia retains many an enigma and local shamans keep on surprising us through their capabilities and the range of their knowledge. Communicating directly with plants and being told by herbs themselves how they affect medically, the shamans manage to heal even so-called incurable diseases. They contrive to leave their bodies travelling both all around the planet and deep in space, they are able to obtain any information of the universal consciousness and learn anything they care about. The key to all of this is ayahuasca, a mysterious liana the decoction of which not only heals through purification on all levels, it also offers the realization and understanding of anything in this world and in the realms experienced by only few people. It opens the door to higher dimensions...
Maha Kumbh Mela, or the great Kumbh Mela, is the largest religious festivity in the world, with up to a hundred million people participating in the event. It takes place in India, at the confluence of the Jammuna and Ganges rivers, and although primarily Hinduistic, people of various creeds gather here in peace from all over India and many parts of the world. Kumbh Mela takes place once every 12 years, but the great Kumbh Mela is held only once in 144 years. The colourful mixture of yogis, spiritual masters, naked Nagas and ascetics who spend years standing on one foot or holding one hand above their head, creates a unique mosaic of these devout people who usually seek solitude. Several Czechs emerged from this ocean of people, and film director Viliam Poltikovič with cinematographer Michal Hýbek lived among them for 2 weeks. They came to capture the atmosphere of this tremendously dynamic gathering of spiritual seekers of peace, and to witness the event from a European perspective.
Soul of the East: From the Buddha to the Dalai Lama
A documentary film about contemporary Buddhism in light of its history.
Sarvamangalam
A film essay about a journey through the Himalayas to the most holy place in India - the source of the River Ganges. The film offers a fascinating testimony to the life and philosophy of India's holy men - the sadhus - who live in high altitudes in order to be closer to God.
The Circle of Rebirth
Tibet, the home of an old nation with a unique culture, surviving under extremely harsh conditions between the mountain ridges. Tibetans are raised with a humble understanding of the meaning of human existence, understanding of the meaning of human actions, the meaning of human journey. This understanding was and still is a vital source of the strength to survive and to keep its own integrity when faced with even harder conditions than the weather. The main theme is a pilgrimage to Kailash which is the most sacred mountain of Tibet and all Asia. The walk around Kailash has several stages that symbolize our journey through life, death, afterlife and rebirth. The pilgrims undertake the most strenuous - 53 km long walk around the holy mountain.
A Touch from the Other Side
The film, shot in Bohemia, Nepal and Tibet uses the story of a Czech woman to reflect upon death, which it views as a major divine within the eternal cycle of change.
The Spirit of East: As Pilgrim in India
Part of the series on India. The Spirit of East endeavours at understanding the spiritual essence of complex Indian society and stresses the importance of Indian culture and philosophy for the entire mankind.
The Spirit of East: The Spirit of India
Part of the series on India. The Spirit of East endeavours at understanding the spiritual essence of complex Indian society and stresses the importance of Indian culture and philosophy for the entire mankind.
Moving a Settlement
A film documenting moving a family of Roms.
The Roma King
The main themes of this documentary are the integration of Roma people into society, racism, usury, unemployment, population explosion, migration to the UK and the influence of the modern Christian Church.
When the Stone Speaks
This philosophically-laden portrait of Jaroslav Dušek looks at his relationship with nature, which this eccentric performer sees as a living creature. It containes excerpts from productions in which the popular actor has taken part with mentally-handicapped and deaf people. The title of the film refers to Dušek´s fondness for communicating with apparently inanimate stones.
Maestra Ayahuasca
Vast land of Amazonia retains many an enigma and local shamans keep on surprising us through their capabilities and the range of their knowledge. Communicating directly with plants and being told by herbs themselves how they affect medically, the shamans manage to heal even so-called incurable diseases. They contrive to leave their bodies travelling both all around the planet and deep in space, they are able to obtain any information of the universal consciousness and learn anything they care about. The key to all of this is ayahuasca, a mysterious liana the decoction of which not only heals through purification on all levels, it also offers the realization and understanding of anything in this world and in the realms experienced by only few people. It opens the door to higher dimensions...
Viliam Poltikovič (born in 1958) is a director of documentaries devoted to spiritual, philosophical, psychological, sociological, ethnographic, aesthetic issues and music. He finished his studies at the Prague Film and Television Faculty (FAMU) in 1984 and since then he has produced more than 120 documentaries both for cinema and TV. Up till now his films have been awarded at Czech Republic and at international film festivals and have been praised by film critics. His films have been selected for festivals in Cannes, Moscow, Karlovy Vary, Amsterodam, Paris, Berlin, Bratislava, Göttingen, Barcelona, Vienna, Belgrade, Prague and others. He is free lancer and mostly he works for public Czech Television. He works also as a writer, photographer and cinematographer. He lives at very small village near Prague.
1990 Apostle of Faith, Hope and Love (festival in Bolzano Italy), The Possibilities of Psychotronics
1991 Yoga in Daily Life, Mozart in Prague
1992 The Resettlement (main award at Etnofilm Čadca 1992, award of the jury in Göttingen, Germany 1993)
1992 Mysterious Gamelanland
1993 The Soul of The East – seven part series from India (Czech Literary Fund prize),
1993 Traditional Chinese Medicine
1994 The Motives from Thailand – four part series (festival in Paris), The Power of Mind
1995 Jah love forever (festival in Prague)
1996 The Dalai Lama Birthday Wishes, Emaho (festival in Prague)
1997 Karmapa – Two Ways of Divinity (awarded in Barcelona Spain and Vienna Austria, festival in Amsterodam and Prague)
1997 Ashin and Mandala
1998 The Memories of The Mystic - fifteen part series, Thailand: The Country of Buddhism
1999 Sarvamangalam (festival in Čadca Slovakia), Between The Muslims of Sudan
2000 How is The Life of The Vegetarians (diploma at festival in Nitra Slovakia, festival in Brno)
2000 Two Helenas
2001 A Drop from The Cup of Immortality (Grand Prix in festival Belgrade, award in Ústí nad Orlicí and in Čadca Slovakia, diploma of Unesco in Ohrid Macedonia)
2011 The Light of The Rainbow
2002 Philippines: With The Smell of Blood, USA: The Hawaii Paradise
2003 Bhutan: The Last Fairy-tale Kingdom, The Heritage of Mother Teresa
2004 The Circle to be Reborn Within (Grand Prix Ekofilm Český Krumlov 1994, diploma Tourfilm Karlovy Vary 1994, diploma Trilobit 1994, Grand Prix Ohrid Macedonia 2005, Ekotopfilm Bratislava 2005 – price of Ministry of Social Affairs)
2005 Bali: Between gods and demons
2006 Touching the Other Shore (Best Screenplay ECO Ohrid Macedonia 2007, Award of Český Krumlov City, Ekofilm 2007)
2006 Sumba: The Island of Spirits, Invisible Worlds
2007 The Russian ancestry school
2008 Crop Circles, Golem
2009 The Romany King
2010 When the Stone Speaks