Prague, Oct 18 (CTK) – The 15th film festival in Lisbon to be held on October 19-29 will present more than 30 films by Czech director Vera Chytilova (1929-2014), which will be one of her biggest retrospectives abroad, Hedvika Petrzelkova, from the Czech Film Centre, has told CTK.
The DocLisboa festival will screen both short and full-length feature films as well as documentaries by Chytilova, who was a leading representative of the Czech New Film Wave of the 1960s, along with the Oscar-winning directors Milos Forman and Jiri Menzel.
“After the death of this icon of the Czech cinema in 2014, several retrospectives of Chytilova’s work took place in the world, for instance, the Defiance and Compassion event presenting 13 of her films in London two years ago,” Petrzelkova said.
However, none of them has been as comprehensive as the event planned within the Lisbon festival, she added.
It will offer Chytilova’s first student film from 1960 as well as her last feature film Hezke chvilky bez zaruky (Pleasant Moments, 2006).
“Chytilova was an uncompromising and stubborn film-maker who distinguished the real value of freedom under all circumstances,” Lisbon festival curator Boris Nelepo said.
Chytilova brought her idea of morality and its failure into the Czech film along with her original style seeking new ways of film expression.
Her distinctive film language, ideas and formal means foresee the future to such a high extent that they help understand the current world of the cinema, Nelepo added.
Chytilova has shot dozens of feature films and documentaries. Her most famous live-action films are O necem jinem (Something Different, 1963), Sedmikrasky (Daisies, 1966), Hra o jablko (The Apple Game, 1976) and Panelstory (Prefab Story, 1979). In her last years, she mainly devoted her time to shooting documentaries.
She received a number of awards for her work, including the French Order of Arts and Literature, the Czech Lion award for life achievement in Czech cinematography and a state silver medal of merit.
