- Occupation
Director - Country
Czech Republic
Rychlík Břetislav
A Scout Has Bare Knees
The impulse for the making of this documentary was a 30-year-old amateur film from the life of the Junák organisation of Czech Scouts that was found in a remarkably good condition. The director, a former member of the troop, who had the identity card no.021515, decided to find out what happened to his childhood friends. 35 years after the last camp, he decided to invite all the former participants to the original campsite near the Eliáš weir on the Oslava river, build a camp and live the Scout life for several days, trying out various skills and games. Once again they wear Scout uniforms and, in compliance with the Junák rule - to always tell the truth - tell each other the truth about their lives... There is a top medical doctor, an athlete, a summer film school director, Communist army political leaders and the homeless. We can follow the history of this country through the lives of boys from a little Moravian town.
One Year
In the White Carpathian mountains on the edge of Europe people continue to live the lifestyle and culture that still retains something of the 19th century. For a period of one year, the filmmakers visited several old people who live their everyday lives and celebrate church holidays.
God's Stone Quarry (One Year In North Bohemia)
"For someone, it's Gott, for another, it's Satan. I put sugar in my coffee. Each has his own truths, even the crystalline rock in the Krušné Hory mountains. The buzzard snatched the young hare and the spider lies in wait for the fly. Bulls will end up in the goulash. The sportsman wants to win, the horse wants to win, vineyard farmers want to win, and President Klaus wants to win. I'll tell on the birds in the heavens, but the energy industry must always remain a serious issue. You let someone into your home, you don't even know who they are, and they cause you harm. The devil manipulates people, but crystalline rock is everlasting." God's Stone Quarry is similar in form to Rychlík's older film, One Year, which focused on people long settled in the Horňácko region straddling the Moravian-Slovak border. At first sight, the interconnectedness of the Carpathian highlanders' lifestyle, culture, and economy with their environment, their respect for nature and the natural and divine orders of the world vastly differ from the lives of the people inhabiting Northern Bohemia's "lunar" landscape. But human dreams and desires are the same everywhere, even in a region which seems to have been written off. The film takes us on a search for happiness in a hapless land.
Shaking the Bones
The film focuses on the way of a human being towards his dream. It shows a unique performance of a multiple world champion in riding the historic high bike, Josef Zimovčák. Last year he covered the track of the Tour de France. After a fall, he successfully finished the race with a broken rib, cracked shoulder bone, broken jaw, without several teeth and with many abrasions. The film covers the time span starting with his rehabilitation and his decision to cover the track of Giro d´ Italia in 2006. Josef Zimovčák would have been the first person that might have managed it, though he lost one eye in an accident in his childhood. The point is not only the sports performance itself. It is about a human being in an absolutely peak situation, in a unique situation worldwide which tests all his physical and mental capacities. It is about a human struggle that transcends itself. It reflects "an eternal aspect" of a human being that makes us fight with our own limits, overcome rooted norms and break clichés. After 3.300 kilometres, the ride turned into a tragedy. In the penultimate stage, Josef Zimovčák was 226 kilometres far from his destination - Milan. Forty kilometres from the ruck of cyclists the tragedy happened. A car driven by a member of the supporting team had a crash with a German motor-biker who died. Josef Zimovčák immediately decided to give up and terminated the race. He did not give precedence to his dream over a human life and over the tragedy of his friend.
Black Hearts (…the Earth isn’t Round)
Four Roma families, four lives in four countries during four seasons through the eyes of four people. This is the third of a series of year-long observational documentary films by Břetislav Rychlík that explores human communities. After his internationally recognized films One Year (about the lives of seven elderly people from the highland villages and secluded dwellings of the Horňácko Region who were born in the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) and God's Quarry (one year in North Bohemia), the two directors, Monika Rychlíková and Břetislav Rychlík, and two photographers, Jindřich Štreit and Marie Zachovalová, present their joint view of four Roma families. The film was made from December 2006 to December 2007 in the following locations: a Roma settlement in Slovakia; a traditional Roma village community in Hungary; an industrial area in Poland, and a suburban Roma community in the Czech Republic. Roma museums and organizations from all Visegrad countries cooperated during the development of this film and during the selection of the protagonists.
Foreigners in the Czech Republic: Like a Russian...
Life of minoriteis in Czech republic.
Under the Roof?
The work of the ombudsman is illustrated in the case of 20 Romany families from the town of Hrušov who were affected by the floods in 1997 and still lived in 2001 in damp flood-damaged flats.
Watchman of the Lost Heron
The story of a newly construated baroque organ in Humpolec that Czech-American Stanislav Kotyza bought for his native town. He managed to inspire all entrepreneurs and companies from the town and its surrounding who contributed to the general repairs of the dilapidaetd church. This is a sory of patronage, culture and the ability to view wealth as a gift that must be returned to others. The watchman of the lost heron is Stanislav Kotyza, who in his youth caught and took care of a tame heron.
Havel Circus
Vaclav Havel personally returns to the stage – half-year lasting social-stage project of the theatre called Husa na provazku, with the programme culminating in scenic filming of Vaclav Havel’s dramas from Garden party to Leaving. Film version of the project opens a great topic of culture and history, power and outsidership, theatre and life, dream and reality and their mingling; it aims to be a return of artistic roots of Vaclav Havel, the play writer.
Karel Schwarzenberg: History of Mumbling
A portrait of Karel Schwarzenberg, introduced by an animated passage in which the Czech politician recapitulates the history of his aristocratic family. The current foreign minister (born 1937) describes his life, including his childhood on the family's Czech estate, and their move to Austria after the Communist revolution. A number of his colleagues then discuss Schwarzenberg's remarkable personality, including the director of his Vienna office. Martin C. Putna casts light on the meaning of the nobility's existence, while Ivan M. Jirous expresses, in eccentric style, his gratitude to the prince for his cheap accommodation. At the close of the film, the charismatic politician with strong social feelings considers the subject of European integration.
Evropa jedna báseň
Documentary series that maps contemporary European poetry. 27 European poets will be presented in 27 episodes (1 country = 1 poet).
I See It That Way
A cycle of documentary films following the often complicated stories of children. 1. Jáchym D: Břetislav Rychlík, 2009 At the start of summer holidays in 2005 school pupil Jáchym Rejžek was hit by a car. He was in a coma for over a month. He stopped speaking. He gradually started to speak and his memory came back. He went through a number of operations which he’s still feeling the effects from. After returning to school a shocking situation arose. He was bullied. The story of psychic bullying, manipulation by a collective of children and a struggle to return to a normal life. 2. Michaela a Liliana (Michaela and Liliana) D: Veronika Sobková, 2009 A documentary on the sisters Michaela and Liliana living in an SOS Children village in Brno. A story of children's joy of life that isn't even destroyed by tragic events. 3. Filip (Filip) D: Monika Rychlíková, 2009 The world through the eyes of an eight-year-old Romany who realises the power of education and, despite the complicated social environment at home, pursues his goal. 4. Stázka D: Adéla Sirotková, 2009 Stázka likes bike riding, skiing and even rock climbing. Her eyes are full of adventure and a longing for knowledge. But her eyes are empty... Stázka is blind. 5. Jája (Jája) D: Theodora Remundová, 2009 From the life of eight-year-old Jája – skateboarder, spray-painter and rapper from Český Krumlov or ”Český Krumlov is the Best – AHA, AHA, AHAAHAAHA!” 6. Káťa (Káťa) D: Adrian Kukal, 2009 A documentary on the Russian teenage girl Katya, who at the start of adolescence had to move to a different country and deal with the cultural and language barriers. The story of a child’s courage and unceasing joy from life that couldn't be diminished even under trying circumstances. 7. Lucie (Lucie) D: Monika Rychlíková, 2009 From the life of thirteen-year-old Lucie-the Magician or Abracadabra! 8. Amia (Amia) D: Břetislav Rychlík, 2010 Six-year-old Amia lives with her parents and younger brother Schiva on a farm amidst the solitude of the mountainous Šumava region. She is surrounded by nature and helps her parents look after the farm animals. She would like to be a mare or a fairy.
The impulse for the making of this documentary was a 30-year-old amateur film from the life of the Junák organisation of Czech Scouts that was found in a remarkably good condition. The director, a former member of the troop, who had the identity card no.021515, decided to find out what happened to his childhood friends. 35 years after the last camp, he decided to invite all the former participants to the original campsite near the Eliáš weir on the Oslava river, build a camp and live the Scout life for several days, trying out various skills and games. Once again they wear Scout uniforms and, in compliance with the Junák rule - to always tell the truth - tell each other the truth about their lives... There is a top medical doctor, an athlete, a summer film school director, Communist army political leaders and the homeless. We can follow the history of this country through the lives of boys from a little Moravian town.
One Year
In the White Carpathian mountains on the edge of Europe people continue to live the lifestyle and culture that still retains something of the 19th century. For a period of one year, the filmmakers visited several old people who live their everyday lives and celebrate church holidays.
God's Stone Quarry (One Year In North Bohemia)
"For someone, it's Gott, for another, it's Satan. I put sugar in my coffee. Each has his own truths, even the crystalline rock in the Krušné Hory mountains. The buzzard snatched the young hare and the spider lies in wait for the fly. Bulls will end up in the goulash. The sportsman wants to win, the horse wants to win, vineyard farmers want to win, and President Klaus wants to win. I'll tell on the birds in the heavens, but the energy industry must always remain a serious issue. You let someone into your home, you don't even know who they are, and they cause you harm. The devil manipulates people, but crystalline rock is everlasting." God's Stone Quarry is similar in form to Rychlík's older film, One Year, which focused on people long settled in the Horňácko region straddling the Moravian-Slovak border. At first sight, the interconnectedness of the Carpathian highlanders' lifestyle, culture, and economy with their environment, their respect for nature and the natural and divine orders of the world vastly differ from the lives of the people inhabiting Northern Bohemia's "lunar" landscape. But human dreams and desires are the same everywhere, even in a region which seems to have been written off. The film takes us on a search for happiness in a hapless land.
Shaking the Bones
The film focuses on the way of a human being towards his dream. It shows a unique performance of a multiple world champion in riding the historic high bike, Josef Zimovčák. Last year he covered the track of the Tour de France. After a fall, he successfully finished the race with a broken rib, cracked shoulder bone, broken jaw, without several teeth and with many abrasions. The film covers the time span starting with his rehabilitation and his decision to cover the track of Giro d´ Italia in 2006. Josef Zimovčák would have been the first person that might have managed it, though he lost one eye in an accident in his childhood. The point is not only the sports performance itself. It is about a human being in an absolutely peak situation, in a unique situation worldwide which tests all his physical and mental capacities. It is about a human struggle that transcends itself. It reflects "an eternal aspect" of a human being that makes us fight with our own limits, overcome rooted norms and break clichés. After 3.300 kilometres, the ride turned into a tragedy. In the penultimate stage, Josef Zimovčák was 226 kilometres far from his destination - Milan. Forty kilometres from the ruck of cyclists the tragedy happened. A car driven by a member of the supporting team had a crash with a German motor-biker who died. Josef Zimovčák immediately decided to give up and terminated the race. He did not give precedence to his dream over a human life and over the tragedy of his friend.
Black Hearts (…the Earth isn’t Round)
Four Roma families, four lives in four countries during four seasons through the eyes of four people. This is the third of a series of year-long observational documentary films by Břetislav Rychlík that explores human communities. After his internationally recognized films One Year (about the lives of seven elderly people from the highland villages and secluded dwellings of the Horňácko Region who were born in the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) and God's Quarry (one year in North Bohemia), the two directors, Monika Rychlíková and Břetislav Rychlík, and two photographers, Jindřich Štreit and Marie Zachovalová, present their joint view of four Roma families. The film was made from December 2006 to December 2007 in the following locations: a Roma settlement in Slovakia; a traditional Roma village community in Hungary; an industrial area in Poland, and a suburban Roma community in the Czech Republic. Roma museums and organizations from all Visegrad countries cooperated during the development of this film and during the selection of the protagonists.
Foreigners in the Czech Republic: Like a Russian...
Life of minoriteis in Czech republic.
Under the Roof?
The work of the ombudsman is illustrated in the case of 20 Romany families from the town of Hrušov who were affected by the floods in 1997 and still lived in 2001 in damp flood-damaged flats.
Watchman of the Lost Heron
The story of a newly construated baroque organ in Humpolec that Czech-American Stanislav Kotyza bought for his native town. He managed to inspire all entrepreneurs and companies from the town and its surrounding who contributed to the general repairs of the dilapidaetd church. This is a sory of patronage, culture and the ability to view wealth as a gift that must be returned to others. The watchman of the lost heron is Stanislav Kotyza, who in his youth caught and took care of a tame heron.
Havel Circus
Vaclav Havel personally returns to the stage – half-year lasting social-stage project of the theatre called Husa na provazku, with the programme culminating in scenic filming of Vaclav Havel’s dramas from Garden party to Leaving. Film version of the project opens a great topic of culture and history, power and outsidership, theatre and life, dream and reality and their mingling; it aims to be a return of artistic roots of Vaclav Havel, the play writer.
Karel Schwarzenberg: History of Mumbling
A portrait of Karel Schwarzenberg, introduced by an animated passage in which the Czech politician recapitulates the history of his aristocratic family. The current foreign minister (born 1937) describes his life, including his childhood on the family's Czech estate, and their move to Austria after the Communist revolution. A number of his colleagues then discuss Schwarzenberg's remarkable personality, including the director of his Vienna office. Martin C. Putna casts light on the meaning of the nobility's existence, while Ivan M. Jirous expresses, in eccentric style, his gratitude to the prince for his cheap accommodation. At the close of the film, the charismatic politician with strong social feelings considers the subject of European integration.
Evropa jedna báseň
Documentary series that maps contemporary European poetry. 27 European poets will be presented in 27 episodes (1 country = 1 poet).
I See It That Way
A cycle of documentary films following the often complicated stories of children. 1. Jáchym D: Břetislav Rychlík, 2009 At the start of summer holidays in 2005 school pupil Jáchym Rejžek was hit by a car. He was in a coma for over a month. He stopped speaking. He gradually started to speak and his memory came back. He went through a number of operations which he’s still feeling the effects from. After returning to school a shocking situation arose. He was bullied. The story of psychic bullying, manipulation by a collective of children and a struggle to return to a normal life. 2. Michaela a Liliana (Michaela and Liliana) D: Veronika Sobková, 2009 A documentary on the sisters Michaela and Liliana living in an SOS Children village in Brno. A story of children's joy of life that isn't even destroyed by tragic events. 3. Filip (Filip) D: Monika Rychlíková, 2009 The world through the eyes of an eight-year-old Romany who realises the power of education and, despite the complicated social environment at home, pursues his goal. 4. Stázka D: Adéla Sirotková, 2009 Stázka likes bike riding, skiing and even rock climbing. Her eyes are full of adventure and a longing for knowledge. But her eyes are empty... Stázka is blind. 5. Jája (Jája) D: Theodora Remundová, 2009 From the life of eight-year-old Jája – skateboarder, spray-painter and rapper from Český Krumlov or ”Český Krumlov is the Best – AHA, AHA, AHAAHAAHA!” 6. Káťa (Káťa) D: Adrian Kukal, 2009 A documentary on the Russian teenage girl Katya, who at the start of adolescence had to move to a different country and deal with the cultural and language barriers. The story of a child’s courage and unceasing joy from life that couldn't be diminished even under trying circumstances. 7. Lucie (Lucie) D: Monika Rychlíková, 2009 From the life of thirteen-year-old Lucie-the Magician or Abracadabra! 8. Amia (Amia) D: Břetislav Rychlík, 2010 Six-year-old Amia lives with her parents and younger brother Schiva on a farm amidst the solitude of the mountainous Šumava region. She is surrounded by nature and helps her parents look after the farm animals. She would like to be a mare or a fairy.
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.
50 years of Hornacke slavnosti, a unique folklore festival, through rehearsals and staging of an amateur theatre production. People and their life roles.
Director, actor, scriptwriter and journalist. After graduating from grammar school he attended technical university but did not complete his studies. He subsequently took many different jobs including labourer on a duck farm, and scene shifter, prompter and actor in various provincial theatres. Since 1982 he has worked as an actor and director at HaDivadlo, one of the leading alternative theatre companies. He regularly collaborates with other alternative theatrical companies, such as Husa na Provázku in Brno and Prague’s Archa theatre. From 1990 to 1994 he taught at the Academy of Performing Arts.in Brno. Since 1992 he has had his own regular radio show Břetislav Rychlík’s Used-Book Store . In 1993, he was awarded the Quails Prize for achievements in journalism. In 1994, he was a prizewinner in the European Feuilleton competition. From 1997 to the end of 2000 he worked as a script editor for Czech Television in Brno (working on 40 episodes of the series Intolerance?), where he raised such issues as racism, domestic violence, battered children, ecology, human intolerance, etc. Since the second half of the 1990s he his devoted himself almost exclusively to his own documentary films, writing and writing the scripts for such films as “Oh, you black bird”, “The Valachian Dreamer”, “Golden Brothers”, “The Seven Elements of Ludvík Kundera”, “Painted Swain”, , “Distant Worlds”, People Seeking People”, “In the Global Bazaar”, “Marie, Mařa, Mařka, Maryša”, “Motorway”, “Ravens Are Songbirds Too”, as well as a series of 60-minute documentaries about non-conformist artists “Close-up” (Jáchym Topol Jiří Kratochvil, Ivan Wernisch, Jan Steklík, and the gypsy musican Jozka Kubík). He has received many awards at home and abroad (Moscow, Warsaw, Academia Film Olomouc, the main Pierrot Prize, and a commendation from FITES). His documentary film about the lives of seven elderly people in the Slovak White Carpathian mountains “One Year” was awarded one of the main prizes at the Kraków Festival in 1999 and in the same year the Vox Humana prize awarded to the artist who in a given year has shown the greatest moral and artistic endeavour in promoting the idea of humanisation in the world we live in.