- Occupation
Producer, Director - Country
Czech Republic
Šikl Jan
Private Century - With Kisses from Your Love
With Kisses from Your Love. History is a mosaic of unrepeatable human destinies. Another part of the series Private Century deals with 1940s and 1950s. This film is based on the private film archives of the Šlechtl family. Marie and Josef met at the grammar school in Tabor. Josef was the son of renowned Tabor photographer Šlechtl and Marie got to know the environment of their family studio. Photography and film soon became part of her life. During the second half of 1940s, they rebuilt the studio which they inherited from Josef's father and which included a large photo archive. Their work involved visits to President Beneš who had a villa in nearby Sezimovo Ústí. Josef and Marie felt that they had their destiny in their own hands. After 1948 the relationship of Josef and Maria was still stronger than the politically charged milieu they lived in and which they managed to cut off from their lives. However, in the end the regime ground them down. At first it was the nationalization of their studio, later a staged trial against Josef, because the communists expected to find discrediting material in the family photo archive. Their story is accompanied by affectionate letters which Josef sent from prison. It shows their defiance in the face of Communist absurdity in which Josef and Marie had to live.
Private Century - A Stroke of Butterfly Wings
A Stroke of Butterfly Wings is a view into the family background of composer Václav Felix from the 1930s to 1980s. It shows the sequence of events and context in which Václav's procommunist attitude was formed. Václav's emotional relationship with his parents was extremely strong. He saw his father as a great model which he strove to reach and his mother as a protector from whom he sought understanding. However, from 1948 Václav's personal life began to unwind in connection with the political situation in Czechoslovakia. Václav fully identified with the ideology of the Communist party. His ideology also determined his private, personal decisions, such as the choice of his life partner, and caused a difficult relationship with his father who spent time in a Communist prison. The political ideology also affected his career of a composer. He found refuge in his hobby - collecting butterflies. The ups and downs of his life enable us to observe the roots of Václav's worldview and the reasons behind his lifelong beliefs.
Private Century - Small Russian Clouds of Smoke
Small Russian Clouds of Smoke tells the story of the Popov family who settled in Prague and became one of prominent families of the pre-war Russian emigration in Czechoslovakia. The private and political turmoil which he captured on film offers a unique account of life seventy years ago. Russian emigrant Vladimír Dimitrievič Popov and his family settled in Czechoslovakia in the 1920s. Cigarette machines that were Popov's invention secured a decent living for him. Popov was successful in running his business and he strove to do the same with his family, mainly his daughters Gali and Marusja. The personalities of the two women were as different as were their lives. While the amiable Gali adapted to the Czech environment well and settled there, resistant Marusja sought her own way and in the end returned back to the Soviet Union.
Private Century - Statuary of Granddad Vinda
Statuary of Granddad Vinda is a story of sculptor Vincenc Havel who lived in the Opava region of north Moravia in the 1950s. His film memories are a set of images that nicely depict this interesting personality, which is firmly anchored in the milieu of 1950s. Vincenc was a nonconformist and eccentric who could not get along with anybody and who was always fighting with everyone. He was a sculptor. At the beginning of tje 1950s, he made a sculpture of Klement Gottwald. Besides recognition by the state, the commission also raised envy. Therefore he retired into his house where he also built his studio. His house served him as a fort against the outside world. He was equally uncompromising in the upbringing of his daughter. The discrepancies that had originated in this relationship were a heavy burden for him later on. His whole life was a fight for recognition he would never receive.
The Private Century - A Low-level Flight
Low-level Flight is a story from the 1960s and 70s, following the relationship of Táňa and Václav, a fighter pilot in the Czechoslovak army. Táňa was captivated by Václav. He was an attractive, very determined and ambitious man. She accepted his career in the Czechoslovak army and often travelled with him during his study stays in the USSR. The relationship grew cold due to Václav's alcoholism and the marriage was over. Soon after, Václav's fighter pilot career ended by his tragic death.
Private Century - King of Velichovky
King of Velichovky is an authentic story of Karel Seisser who lived in Velichovky on the Czech-German border in 1930s and 40s. Karel Seisser was a farmer by heart and soul. He owned fields, woods and farmland, reinvesting his money back into the estate. He also knew how to enjoy life: he kept horses for pleasure and made car trips to Prague or Berlin... His life in Velichovky was for him a dream come true. His wife and three daughters: Lila, Edita and Ria, lived happy lives as well. Each of them married according to her wishes. Lila married a Czech doctor, Ria a German clerk, and Edita a German general. Velichovky is situated in the Sudetenland and the Seissers were Germans. Everything in their lives was half Czech and half German. None of them had any problems with that. Until the end of the war. The whole family was deported to Germany.
Private Century - Daddy and Lili Marlene
Daddy and Lili Marlene is a loose sequel to the "King of Velichovky" episode. The story is narrated from the perspective of little Eva who recollects her memories of Velichovky farmstead and mainly her parents: daddy and Lili. The family films present us with an intimate view of their life and the relationships within the family. Velichovky is a village on the Czech-German border. Saisser was a successful farmer here. He had three daughters. Lili was the eldest. She was beautiful and vivacious. She fell in love with a young doctor from Prague and spent several happy years with him. Little Eva remembers the years they spent together in Velichovky and Prague to be the happiest time of her life. Even though the war started. During that time Little Eva became very fond of wartime hit "Lilli Marlene" which she associated with her mother. However the sweet life in Praque charmed Lili so much that she became increasingly separated from her family. Eva became closely attached to her father whom she loved dearly and never called him anything but "Daddy." The end of the war and the rule of communism brought yet more turmoil into Eva's life, at times more dramatic than the whole war.
Private Century - See you in Denver
The life story of each of us is unique and unrepeatable. The „Private Century" shows history as intimate human stories. The fate of two generations of Hvanhara family depicted through 1920 - 1970 is an apt reflection of the fate of Czechoslovakia of 20th century. František was born in Žižkov neighbourhood in Prague. His father was the founder of film a distributors company and a network of cinemas. American slapsticks and mainly Westerns formed the world, in which he grew up. The stories from the pre-war cinemas influenced František for his whole life. „See you in Denver" - that was a quotation of their favourite heroes, which they as boys used to say good-bye.
Forever on the Road
This documentary brings the continuation of the stories of several drug addicts whose confession the director recorded in his documentary film back in 1996, On the Road.
On Route - DRUGS
An open testimony of people from various social strata dependet on drugs and the lives of drug addicts trying to find a way to give up.
On the Way - Tomáš and Panky
A three-part document telling six different human stories. Each begins as a hopeless druggie at the beginning. But then their lives took a different course.
On the Way - Láďa and Klára
A three part document telling six different human stories. Each begins as a hopeless druggie at the beginning. But in their lives took a different course.
On the Way - Kališník and Špína
A three part document telling six different human stories. Each begins as a hopeless druggie at the beginning. But in their lives took a different course.
Four Velvet Men Then and Now: Michael Kocáb
Portraits of 4 personalities of the Velvet Revolution captured within the span of twenty years. Director Pavel Koutecký and later director Jan Šikl have been following the lives of four people who were among those who stepped up onto the tribune on Wenceslas Square in Prague in November 1989. Musician Michael Kocáb, dissident Jan Ruml, young participant in the incursion on Národní třída Kryštof Rímský and student leader Martin Mejstřík. The post-November period opened up new possibilities and opportunities for all of them. This unique film project captures their quests, misconceptions, resolutions and doubts on the way to finding their own place in the troubled waters of a transforming society.
Four Velvet Men Then and Now - Jan Ruml
Twenty years ago, filmmaker Pavel Koutecký began following the stories of four people who actively took part in Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution: musician Michael Kocáb, dissident Jan Ruml and students Kryštof Rímský and Martin Mejstřík. After Koutecký's death, the project was taken on by Jan Šikl. These four films, made over an extremely long period, recapitulate the protagonists' ups and downs, and allow the viewer to reflect with them on the developments Czech society has gone through during the last two decades. The part dedicated to Jan Ruml introduces viewers to a well-known politician, who has influenced society as interior minister, party boss and senator. Despite the challenges he has faced, Ruml has lost neither an ability for reflection nor a sense of responsibility for the public sphere.
Four Velvet Men Then and Now - Martin Mejstřík
Twenty years ago, filmmaker Pavel Koutecký began following the stories of four people who actively took part in Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution: musician Michael Kocáb, dissident Jan Ruml and students Kryštof Rímský and Martin Mejstřík. After Koutecký's death, the project was taken on by Jan Šikl. These four films, made over an extremely long period, recapitulate the protagonists' ups and downs, and allow the viewer to reflect with them on the developments Czech society has gone through during the last two decades. The part about Martin Mejstřík can be summed up by the phrase "sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down." Through circumstances and his own decisions, Mejstřík occasionally finds himself at the heart of social affairs, while in other moments he goes through difficult times personally. This is the story of an obstinate activist forever dogged by internal doubts who tries out roles as varied as journalist, gardener, janitor and senator. So far, it doesn't have a happy ending.
Four Velvet Men Then and Now - Kryštof Rímský
Twenty years ago, filmmaker Pavel Koutecký began following the stories of four people who actively took part in Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution: musician Michael Kocáb, dissident Jan Ruml and students Kryštof Rímský and Martin Mejstřík. After Koutecký's death, the project was taken on by Jan Šikl. These four films, made over an extremely long period, recapitulate the protagonists' ups and downs, and allow the viewer to reflect with them on the developments Czech society has gone through during the last two decades. Last story from this unique longitudinal documentary is dedicated to Kryštof Rímský, who was in 1989 a secondary-school pupil and the youngest witness of the brutal police incursion on Národní třída.
With Kisses from Your Love. History is a mosaic of unrepeatable human destinies. Another part of the series Private Century deals with 1940s and 1950s. This film is based on the private film archives of the Šlechtl family. Marie and Josef met at the grammar school in Tabor. Josef was the son of renowned Tabor photographer Šlechtl and Marie got to know the environment of their family studio. Photography and film soon became part of her life. During the second half of 1940s, they rebuilt the studio which they inherited from Josef's father and which included a large photo archive. Their work involved visits to President Beneš who had a villa in nearby Sezimovo Ústí. Josef and Marie felt that they had their destiny in their own hands. After 1948 the relationship of Josef and Maria was still stronger than the politically charged milieu they lived in and which they managed to cut off from their lives. However, in the end the regime ground them down. At first it was the nationalization of their studio, later a staged trial against Josef, because the communists expected to find discrediting material in the family photo archive. Their story is accompanied by affectionate letters which Josef sent from prison. It shows their defiance in the face of Communist absurdity in which Josef and Marie had to live.
Private Century - A Stroke of Butterfly Wings
A Stroke of Butterfly Wings is a view into the family background of composer Václav Felix from the 1930s to 1980s. It shows the sequence of events and context in which Václav's procommunist attitude was formed. Václav's emotional relationship with his parents was extremely strong. He saw his father as a great model which he strove to reach and his mother as a protector from whom he sought understanding. However, from 1948 Václav's personal life began to unwind in connection with the political situation in Czechoslovakia. Václav fully identified with the ideology of the Communist party. His ideology also determined his private, personal decisions, such as the choice of his life partner, and caused a difficult relationship with his father who spent time in a Communist prison. The political ideology also affected his career of a composer. He found refuge in his hobby - collecting butterflies. The ups and downs of his life enable us to observe the roots of Václav's worldview and the reasons behind his lifelong beliefs.
Private Century - Small Russian Clouds of Smoke
Small Russian Clouds of Smoke tells the story of the Popov family who settled in Prague and became one of prominent families of the pre-war Russian emigration in Czechoslovakia. The private and political turmoil which he captured on film offers a unique account of life seventy years ago. Russian emigrant Vladimír Dimitrievič Popov and his family settled in Czechoslovakia in the 1920s. Cigarette machines that were Popov's invention secured a decent living for him. Popov was successful in running his business and he strove to do the same with his family, mainly his daughters Gali and Marusja. The personalities of the two women were as different as were their lives. While the amiable Gali adapted to the Czech environment well and settled there, resistant Marusja sought her own way and in the end returned back to the Soviet Union.
Private Century - Statuary of Granddad Vinda
Statuary of Granddad Vinda is a story of sculptor Vincenc Havel who lived in the Opava region of north Moravia in the 1950s. His film memories are a set of images that nicely depict this interesting personality, which is firmly anchored in the milieu of 1950s. Vincenc was a nonconformist and eccentric who could not get along with anybody and who was always fighting with everyone. He was a sculptor. At the beginning of tje 1950s, he made a sculpture of Klement Gottwald. Besides recognition by the state, the commission also raised envy. Therefore he retired into his house where he also built his studio. His house served him as a fort against the outside world. He was equally uncompromising in the upbringing of his daughter. The discrepancies that had originated in this relationship were a heavy burden for him later on. His whole life was a fight for recognition he would never receive.
The Private Century - A Low-level Flight
Low-level Flight is a story from the 1960s and 70s, following the relationship of Táňa and Václav, a fighter pilot in the Czechoslovak army. Táňa was captivated by Václav. He was an attractive, very determined and ambitious man. She accepted his career in the Czechoslovak army and often travelled with him during his study stays in the USSR. The relationship grew cold due to Václav's alcoholism and the marriage was over. Soon after, Václav's fighter pilot career ended by his tragic death.
Private Century - King of Velichovky
King of Velichovky is an authentic story of Karel Seisser who lived in Velichovky on the Czech-German border in 1930s and 40s. Karel Seisser was a farmer by heart and soul. He owned fields, woods and farmland, reinvesting his money back into the estate. He also knew how to enjoy life: he kept horses for pleasure and made car trips to Prague or Berlin... His life in Velichovky was for him a dream come true. His wife and three daughters: Lila, Edita and Ria, lived happy lives as well. Each of them married according to her wishes. Lila married a Czech doctor, Ria a German clerk, and Edita a German general. Velichovky is situated in the Sudetenland and the Seissers were Germans. Everything in their lives was half Czech and half German. None of them had any problems with that. Until the end of the war. The whole family was deported to Germany.
Private Century - Daddy and Lili Marlene
Daddy and Lili Marlene is a loose sequel to the "King of Velichovky" episode. The story is narrated from the perspective of little Eva who recollects her memories of Velichovky farmstead and mainly her parents: daddy and Lili. The family films present us with an intimate view of their life and the relationships within the family. Velichovky is a village on the Czech-German border. Saisser was a successful farmer here. He had three daughters. Lili was the eldest. She was beautiful and vivacious. She fell in love with a young doctor from Prague and spent several happy years with him. Little Eva remembers the years they spent together in Velichovky and Prague to be the happiest time of her life. Even though the war started. During that time Little Eva became very fond of wartime hit "Lilli Marlene" which she associated with her mother. However the sweet life in Praque charmed Lili so much that she became increasingly separated from her family. Eva became closely attached to her father whom she loved dearly and never called him anything but "Daddy." The end of the war and the rule of communism brought yet more turmoil into Eva's life, at times more dramatic than the whole war.
Private Century - See you in Denver
The life story of each of us is unique and unrepeatable. The „Private Century" shows history as intimate human stories. The fate of two generations of Hvanhara family depicted through 1920 - 1970 is an apt reflection of the fate of Czechoslovakia of 20th century. František was born in Žižkov neighbourhood in Prague. His father was the founder of film a distributors company and a network of cinemas. American slapsticks and mainly Westerns formed the world, in which he grew up. The stories from the pre-war cinemas influenced František for his whole life. „See you in Denver" - that was a quotation of their favourite heroes, which they as boys used to say good-bye.
Forever on the Road
This documentary brings the continuation of the stories of several drug addicts whose confession the director recorded in his documentary film back in 1996, On the Road.
On Route - DRUGS
An open testimony of people from various social strata dependet on drugs and the lives of drug addicts trying to find a way to give up.
On the Way - Tomáš and Panky
A three-part document telling six different human stories. Each begins as a hopeless druggie at the beginning. But then their lives took a different course.
On the Way - Láďa and Klára
A three part document telling six different human stories. Each begins as a hopeless druggie at the beginning. But in their lives took a different course.
On the Way - Kališník and Špína
A three part document telling six different human stories. Each begins as a hopeless druggie at the beginning. But in their lives took a different course.
Four Velvet Men Then and Now: Michael Kocáb
Portraits of 4 personalities of the Velvet Revolution captured within the span of twenty years. Director Pavel Koutecký and later director Jan Šikl have been following the lives of four people who were among those who stepped up onto the tribune on Wenceslas Square in Prague in November 1989. Musician Michael Kocáb, dissident Jan Ruml, young participant in the incursion on Národní třída Kryštof Rímský and student leader Martin Mejstřík. The post-November period opened up new possibilities and opportunities for all of them. This unique film project captures their quests, misconceptions, resolutions and doubts on the way to finding their own place in the troubled waters of a transforming society.
Four Velvet Men Then and Now - Jan Ruml
Twenty years ago, filmmaker Pavel Koutecký began following the stories of four people who actively took part in Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution: musician Michael Kocáb, dissident Jan Ruml and students Kryštof Rímský and Martin Mejstřík. After Koutecký's death, the project was taken on by Jan Šikl. These four films, made over an extremely long period, recapitulate the protagonists' ups and downs, and allow the viewer to reflect with them on the developments Czech society has gone through during the last two decades. The part dedicated to Jan Ruml introduces viewers to a well-known politician, who has influenced society as interior minister, party boss and senator. Despite the challenges he has faced, Ruml has lost neither an ability for reflection nor a sense of responsibility for the public sphere.
Four Velvet Men Then and Now - Martin Mejstřík
Twenty years ago, filmmaker Pavel Koutecký began following the stories of four people who actively took part in Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution: musician Michael Kocáb, dissident Jan Ruml and students Kryštof Rímský and Martin Mejstřík. After Koutecký's death, the project was taken on by Jan Šikl. These four films, made over an extremely long period, recapitulate the protagonists' ups and downs, and allow the viewer to reflect with them on the developments Czech society has gone through during the last two decades. The part about Martin Mejstřík can be summed up by the phrase "sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down." Through circumstances and his own decisions, Mejstřík occasionally finds himself at the heart of social affairs, while in other moments he goes through difficult times personally. This is the story of an obstinate activist forever dogged by internal doubts who tries out roles as varied as journalist, gardener, janitor and senator. So far, it doesn't have a happy ending.
Four Velvet Men Then and Now - Kryštof Rímský
Twenty years ago, filmmaker Pavel Koutecký began following the stories of four people who actively took part in Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution: musician Michael Kocáb, dissident Jan Ruml and students Kryštof Rímský and Martin Mejstřík. After Koutecký's death, the project was taken on by Jan Šikl. These four films, made over an extremely long period, recapitulate the protagonists' ups and downs, and allow the viewer to reflect with them on the developments Czech society has gone through during the last two decades. Last story from this unique longitudinal documentary is dedicated to Kryštof Rímský, who was in 1989 a secondary-school pupil and the youngest witness of the brutal police incursion on Národní třída.
Born in 1957, Prague. Graduated from FAMU in 1982. From 1984 to 1990 he was employed as a director at Krátký film Praha (5 documentary films, 13 commissions, 11 screenplays for the TV series Adventures of Criminal Science. In 1991 he founded his own production company, Pragafilm. Selected filmography: 30 short documentary films (15 mins.), 16 documentary films as director for Czech Television (30-60 mins.), 14 documentary films as director and producer (in co-production with European TV companies), e.g., 10 Centuries of Architecture (1997-2001), On the Road I-III (2003), Winning Your Heart (2004), Private Century I-VIII (2004-2007).
Born in 1957, Prague. Graduated from FAMU in 1982. From 1984 to 1990 he was employed as a director at Krátký film Praha (5 documentary films, 13 commissions, 11 screenplays for the TV series Adventures of Criminal Science. In 1991 he founded his own production company, Pragafilm. Selected filmography: 30 short documentary films (15 mins.), 16 documentary films as director for Czech Television (30-60 mins.), 14 documentary films as director and producer (in co-production with European TV companies), e.g., 10 Centuries of Architecture (1997-2001), On the Road I-III (2003), Winning Your Heart (2004), Private Century I-VIII (2004-2007).
Awards: 2007 - Best of Winners - Syracuse, USA - Best Short Documentary, Crossroads of Europe - Lublin, Poland - 2nd Prize Trilobite Award - Czech Film and Television Association (FITES), Pavel Koutecký Award, Czech Republic - Original Achievement in Documentary Film, Na dotek - Ústí nad Orlicí, Czech Republic - Grand Prix, ELSA Award, Czech Republic - Czech Film and Television Academy. 2006 Czech Joy - Jihlava IDFF, Czech Republic - Award for Best Czech Documentary Film. Best of Winners - Syracuse, USA - Best Short Documentary. 2005 - Czech Joy - Jihlava IDFF, Czech Republic - Award for Best Czech Documentary Film. 2003 - Na dotek - Ústí nad Orlicí, Czech Republic - 3rd Prize - On the Road. 1999 - Grand Prix, MEFEVA Poděbrady, Czech Republic - On the Road. 1989 - Cacho de Oro at Santarem IFF, Portugal - Daň za světlo.
Pragafilm
Pod Havránkou 15a
171 00 Praha 7
Pod Havránkou 15a
171 00 Praha 7