- Occupation
Director - Country
Czech Republic
Svozílek Martin
A Man Against the Hysteria
Martin Svozílek's debut documentary focuses on Odry, a town whose once rich social life was long ago disrupted by political events. After WWII, the Germans who had lived there for generations were forcibly expelled from the town which became symbolic of places where friendship turns to hate. Zdeněk Mateiciuc was born in Odry in 1946 and became an electrician. Following the Velvet Revolution, he turned his hand to business. When he rented an old factory for his enterprise, he became curious about its former German owners. This sparked his general interest in the history of his hometown and he began to search for its former inhabitants, making contacts, setting up meetings and giving back various small possessions they had left behind. He assembled a considerable archive and published a book featuring photographs by Gustav Ulrich which he'd discovered and put on a series of exhibitions. Svozílek weaves together interviews with this historical researcher and humanist with statements and recollections of senior citizens and short interviews with current inhabitants. The documentary mostly testifies to the fact that only friendly relations can install real values and reveals the lingering danger that is present whenever political strife becomes personal, forcing former neighbours into direct and uncompromising conflict.
Martin Svozílek's debut documentary focuses on Odry, a town whose once rich social life was long ago disrupted by political events. After WWII, the Germans who had lived there for generations were forcibly expelled from the town which became symbolic of places where friendship turns to hate. Zdeněk Mateiciuc was born in Odry in 1946 and became an electrician. Following the Velvet Revolution, he turned his hand to business. When he rented an old factory for his enterprise, he became curious about its former German owners. This sparked his general interest in the history of his hometown and he began to search for its former inhabitants, making contacts, setting up meetings and giving back various small possessions they had left behind. He assembled a considerable archive and published a book featuring photographs by Gustav Ulrich which he'd discovered and put on a series of exhibitions. Svozílek weaves together interviews with this historical researcher and humanist with statements and recollections of senior citizens and short interviews with current inhabitants. The documentary mostly testifies to the fact that only friendly relations can install real values and reveals the lingering danger that is present whenever political strife becomes personal, forcing former neighbours into direct and uncompromising conflict.