- Occupation
Director - Country
Czech Republic
Špidla Šimon
Josef Božek
This film poem is derived from a recording of normal events from 2005 in Prague and follows the movement of the moon and a port with the boat named Josef Božek. The film gradually leads to a philosophical acknowledgement of the lower truth of the visible in the higher truth of the invisible. Bachelor degree film (FAMU, Department of Editing)
For Internal Use Only
A film that interprets a Handbook for Non-commissioned Officer, primarily a sectioon the method for aiming the machine gun Sa 58 from the lying position. - Department of editing, FAMU - 5th year (special exercise)
Into Oblivion
Stalin grasps a pencil in his hand as he prepares to draw a line on a map of the Soviet Union. Where the graphite touches paper, some 80,000 people - almost all of them gulag inmates - will build a railroad in the gruelling conditions of the polar taiga. It is a railway line of almost no strategic importance, built on permafrost and polar marshes, using limited technology and equipment. For four years, they will slave away, succumbing to exhaustion, illness, cruelty, and solitary confinement before, finally, the death of Stalin himself. In just a few weeks, there will be nothing left of their hectic activity except for empty camp barracks, old locomotives, bits of track, embankments, telegraph wires, all left to slowly return to the taiga.
This film poem is derived from a recording of normal events from 2005 in Prague and follows the movement of the moon and a port with the boat named Josef Božek. The film gradually leads to a philosophical acknowledgement of the lower truth of the visible in the higher truth of the invisible. Bachelor degree film (FAMU, Department of Editing)
For Internal Use Only
A film that interprets a Handbook for Non-commissioned Officer, primarily a sectioon the method for aiming the machine gun Sa 58 from the lying position. - Department of editing, FAMU - 5th year (special exercise)
Into Oblivion
Stalin grasps a pencil in his hand as he prepares to draw a line on a map of the Soviet Union. Where the graphite touches paper, some 80,000 people - almost all of them gulag inmates - will build a railroad in the gruelling conditions of the polar taiga. It is a railway line of almost no strategic importance, built on permafrost and polar marshes, using limited technology and equipment. For four years, they will slave away, succumbing to exhaustion, illness, cruelty, and solitary confinement before, finally, the death of Stalin himself. In just a few weeks, there will be nothing left of their hectic activity except for empty camp barracks, old locomotives, bits of track, embankments, telegraph wires, all left to slowly return to the taiga.
Šimon Špidla (1980) studied cinematography at the Zlín Film School (2001) and editing at Prague’s FAMU (2007). His works include a series of contemplative films called Na náplavce (At the Rafting Yard, 2003) and Posun (Shift, 2004), which was presented at festivals in Angers and Clermont-Ferrand. Other films include Josef Božek (2005) and Jen pro vnitřní potřebu (For Internal Use Only, 2006), a short study of the Sa 58 automatic rifle. In 2011, he will present his latest film, Mrtvá trať.
* Filmography (EN)
As editor, Špidla has worked with many leading Czech filmmakers, including Věra Chytilová, Jan Němc, Lucie Králová, Erika Hníková and many others. Many of the films that he edited have received awards: for instance, Bába (2008, Zuzana Špidlová) was the winning entry in the Cinéfondation section at Cannes, Marta (2005, Marta Nováková) was named best debut in Cottbus, Nízký let (A Low-Level Flight, 2005, Jan Šikl) was named best Czech film at the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival, and Česká RAPublika (Czech RAPublic, 2008, Pavel Abrahám, Tomáš Bojar) was named best Czech documentary at Finále Plzeň.
Catalogue of Upcoming Czech Documentary Films - 2012