- Occupation
Director - Country
Czech Republic
Vihanová Drahomíra
Changes of Friend Eva
An unconventional portrait of singer Eva Olmerová that started a debate on documentary ethics...
Everyday I Step In Front of Your Face
After the "Velvet Revolution" of 1989, a number of previously taboo subjects opened up to Czech documentary filmmaking. One of these was the theme of the post-war resettlement of the Sudeten Germans from Czechoslovakia. Director Drahomira Vihanova made a documentary portrait of "unresettled" German, Eimann, who is almost ninety years old. He now lives alone in the Orlicke mountains. The fate of this man and his family was strongly impacted by the Second World War and by the postwar political situation. The family remained in Bohemia and Eimann, as a German soldier and Russian POW, could not return home for several years. After his return in the mid-fifties, the new reality of totalitarian regime was awaiting him. Vihanova has raised the lifestory of this man above historical particulars. She captures the old man in his daily routine activities, essential for his traditional way of life. She allows her protagonist to speak not only of the past and the suffering which life has dealt him, but also of his relationship with God and other people. Through the great humility with which Eimann expresses himself, the film reflects the lot of these few Germans who stayed here after the war, and it also reflects the fate of those who were forced to leave. The director, by describing this unique fate, in a life permeated with a spirit of reconciliation, attempts to find for herself (and for the viewer) an answer to the question of the meaning of life. It finds him in humble surrender and wise reconciliation to the course of life where this simple man, restrained by history, understands his lot.
A Fleeting Report of the Sojourn of George Soros
A reportage covering the soujourn of George Soros in Czech Republic.
An Interview on the Occasion of the 65s
An interview with Věra chytilová, a director, on the occasion of her birthday.
Fuga na černých klávesách
This film tells the story of an African student who studies the piano in Prague.
24
A documentary collage about the progress of one Czech day, composed by 24 directors. Everyone picked one hour, day or night, and received two minutes of the whole film at his or her disposal. This allowed for the mosaic on genres and topics that portrait the atmosphere of the Czech Republic today. At the same time, this unique project presents various filmmaking styles and approaches of the best contemporary Czech documentarians, all on the reel of one film. The authors accompany teenagers at a discotheque, observe doctors during surgery, laborers in a factory, believers in a synagogue or the descent in a human throat. Olga Špátová records the authentic power of the moment when the child is born. Vít Klusák engages a special camcorder to freeze the time of one tram stop. The flow of time is Helena Třeštíková’s topic – she films Katka taking yet another public bath in a Prague’s fountain. Martin Mareček shows a pair of legs sunk in aquarium, which, backed with a voiceover, illustrates the timeless power of human stupidity. Jiří Krejčík, a significant persona of Czech film, conceived his film hour with a great amount of humor and exaggeration.
An unconventional portrait of singer Eva Olmerová that started a debate on documentary ethics...
Everyday I Step In Front of Your Face
After the "Velvet Revolution" of 1989, a number of previously taboo subjects opened up to Czech documentary filmmaking. One of these was the theme of the post-war resettlement of the Sudeten Germans from Czechoslovakia. Director Drahomira Vihanova made a documentary portrait of "unresettled" German, Eimann, who is almost ninety years old. He now lives alone in the Orlicke mountains. The fate of this man and his family was strongly impacted by the Second World War and by the postwar political situation. The family remained in Bohemia and Eimann, as a German soldier and Russian POW, could not return home for several years. After his return in the mid-fifties, the new reality of totalitarian regime was awaiting him. Vihanova has raised the lifestory of this man above historical particulars. She captures the old man in his daily routine activities, essential for his traditional way of life. She allows her protagonist to speak not only of the past and the suffering which life has dealt him, but also of his relationship with God and other people. Through the great humility with which Eimann expresses himself, the film reflects the lot of these few Germans who stayed here after the war, and it also reflects the fate of those who were forced to leave. The director, by describing this unique fate, in a life permeated with a spirit of reconciliation, attempts to find for herself (and for the viewer) an answer to the question of the meaning of life. It finds him in humble surrender and wise reconciliation to the course of life where this simple man, restrained by history, understands his lot.
A Fleeting Report of the Sojourn of George Soros
A reportage covering the soujourn of George Soros in Czech Republic.
An Interview on the Occasion of the 65s
An interview with Věra chytilová, a director, on the occasion of her birthday.
Fuga na černých klávesách
This film tells the story of an African student who studies the piano in Prague.
24
A documentary collage about the progress of one Czech day, composed by 24 directors. Everyone picked one hour, day or night, and received two minutes of the whole film at his or her disposal. This allowed for the mosaic on genres and topics that portrait the atmosphere of the Czech Republic today. At the same time, this unique project presents various filmmaking styles and approaches of the best contemporary Czech documentarians, all on the reel of one film. The authors accompany teenagers at a discotheque, observe doctors during surgery, laborers in a factory, believers in a synagogue or the descent in a human throat. Olga Špátová records the authentic power of the moment when the child is born. Vít Klusák engages a special camcorder to freeze the time of one tram stop. The flow of time is Helena Třeštíková’s topic – she films Katka taking yet another public bath in a Prague’s fountain. Martin Mareček shows a pair of legs sunk in aquarium, which, backed with a voiceover, illustrates the timeless power of human stupidity. Jiří Krejčík, a significant persona of Czech film, conceived his film hour with a great amount of humor and exaggeration.
Born in Moravský Krumlov. In 1955, she graduated from the Brno Conservatory (piano) and from the J. E. Purkyne University (aesthetics and music studies). After briefly working for television, she enrolled in FAMU, Department of Editing and Direction, graduating in 1965 with the film Fugue on Black Keys, awarded in Marseille, Tours and Dakar. She worked as the first assistant director for Otakar Vávra's Romance for Bugle and The Thirteenth Chamber. In 1969 she made her feature debut Squandered Sunday (censored; released only in 1990). Banned from filmmaking until 1976; from 1977, she was a director, screenwriter and editor at Krátký film. From 1990 - present, lecturer at FAMU, first as an Associate Professor and since 2004 as a Professor. In the 1990s, she directed two feature films: The Fortress, 1993, and The Pilgrimage of Students Peter and Jacob, 2000. Member of the Czech Film and Television Academy, member of the European Film Academy.
Born in Moravský Krumlov. In 1955, she graduated from the Brno Conservatory (piano) and from the J. E. Purkyne University (aesthetics and music studies). After briefly working for television, she enrolled in FAMU, Department of Editing and Direction, graduating in 1965 with the film “Fuga na černých klávesách“ (Fugue on Black Keys), awarded in Marseille, Tours and Dakar. She worked as the first assistant director for Otakar Vávra's “Romance pro křídlovku“ (Romance for Bugle) and “Třináctá komnata“ (The Thirteenth Chamber). In 1969 she made her feature debut “Zabitá neděle“ (Squandered Sunday, censored; released only in 1990). Banned from filmmaking until 1976; from 1977, she was a director, screenwriter and editor at Krátký film. From 1990 - present, lecturer at FAMU, first as an Associate Professor and since 2004 as a Professor. In the 1990s, she directed two feature films: “Pevnost“ (The Fortress, 1993) and “Zpráva o putování studentů Petra a Jakuba“ (The Pilgrimage of Students Peter and Jacob, 2000). Member of the Czech Film and Television Academy, member of the European Film Academy.
Filmography:
Feature films:
Zabitá neděle (Squandered Sunday) – 1969
Pevnost (The Fortress) – 1993
Zpráva o putování studentů Petra a Jakuba (The Pilgrimage of Students Peter and Jacob) – 2000
Documentary films:
Poslední z rodu
2 týdny se správnými chlapy
Dalešická suita
Hledání
Počítané dny
Hudební mládež
Život jako krásné pole
Otázky pro dvě ženy (A Question for Two Women)
Rozhovory
Zahrada plná plenek (The Garden Full of Diapers)
Radotín sound
Za oknem
Proměny přítelkyně Evy
Denně předstupuji před Tvou tvář
Den hlavního inženýra
Tři životy Vlasty Chramostové
Rafael Kubelík
Život ve světle
Short films for Febio – TV programmes: Jak se žije, Zpověď, Gen
Festivals and Awards:
All national festivals, Trilobite Award 1991
International: Krakow, Oberhausen, Tours, Marseille, Dakar, Bilbao, San Sebastian, St. Therese, Figueroi da Foz, Ankara, Geneva, St. Etienne, Houston, Torino, San Remo, Bratislava, Casablanca, Čadca, Riga, Milan Maryška Award, Vladislav Vančura Award.