Nicholas Winton attends premiere of Nicky's Family

Prague, Jan 20 (CTK) - Sir Nicholas Winton, 101, of Britain attended Thursday the premiere of Slovak director Matej Minac's documentary Nicky's Family on how he saved the lives of 669 Jewish children from then Czechoslovakia just before World War Two broke out.

The film was presented by Czech Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg and Defence Minister Alexandr Vondra.

Former Czech president Vaclav Havel was also present at the premiere.

Winton told the audiences that the film was a strong experience for him too. He pointed out two words: ethics and compromise.

Czech Senate deputy chairman Premysl Sobotka proposed Winton for Nobel Peace Prize Thursday following the screening.

Sobotka handed the letter nominating Sir Winton for the prize to Jens Eikaas, Norwegian Ambassador to the Czech Republic.

A petition signed by more than 100,000 Czech children supports Winton's nomination.

"It is a great honour for me to hand this nomination letter and it is also great satisfaction. Last year I signed a nomination letter for Sir Nicholas and the signatures under the petition were a great support to me," Sobotka said.

"Actions of people like him prove to us that an individual may do a great deal for peace, freedom and democracy and that an active life with a clean sheet is meaningful," he said.

To save the children, Winton had to secure departure permits for all children from Germans, entry permits from the British authorities and admission to British families. These children would have otherwise ended up in concentration camps, having a small chance of surviving.

Winton arrived in Prague on Wednesday afternoon to attend the premiere of Nicky's Family.

Some of "Winton's children" attended the premiere of Minac's film in Prague's Congress Centre Thursday. Ten of them also appeared in the film.

Nicky's Family is a documentary with acted sequences, including facts and testimonies about Winton's rescue plan that have not been made public so far.

The film shows how Winton's act of courage positively influenced tens of thousands of young people all over the world, Minac said on Wednesday.

Thursday's screening was also attended by young people from all over the Czech Republic involved on the Lottery of Life international educational programme, who were inspired by Winton.

The audience gave Winton standing ovations when he entered the hall.

On the scene, Winton met pupils from a school bearing his name in Kunzak, south Bohemia, who initiated the petition for awarding Nobel Peace Prize to him.

Asked why his story inspires young people, Winton said it can give them a certain instruction and stimulus to what they should do in the future.

Minac said he was fascinated by Winton's story. This is why he has made already three films based on it.

Minac shot the feature film All My Loved Ones (1999) telling the story of one boy rescued by Winton and the Emmy-awarded documentary Power of Good: Nicholas Winton (2001).

The new film Nicky's Family will be released to Czech cinemas on February 3. It will also be presented in the United States, Britain and Slovakia as well as at international film festivals.

"During the shooting of the film we flew around the Earth six times and visited some 20 countries. We spent unbelievable 4000 hours in the editing room," said Patrik Pass, the script co-author, co-producer and editor of the documentary.

Winton was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002.

In 1998, Winton received a high Czech state decoration, the Order of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk from then Czech president Vaclav Havel.