Documentary Films - Out of Competition 2015 / Očima fotografky / Czech Republic, Slovak Republic 2015
Slovak photographer Zuzana Mináčová is a recognised professional in her field who has influenced the shape of Slovak and Czech photography. She has earned admiration and respect for her artistic experimentation, and her photos of domestic and international film stars immortalised during her many years working with the Karlovy Vary IFF are simply legendary. Matej Mináč’s partly staged documentary about his mum.
Slovak photographer Zuzana Mináčová is a well-respected professional who has influenced the Czech and Slovak photographic scene. She has earned admiration and respect for her artistic experimentation, and the photographs of domestic and international movie stars taken during her many years of working with the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival are legendary. In this film, she speaks with her typical sense of humour about the turbulent events of the 20th century that she personally experienced, and about her life under fascism, communism and capitalism. She reveals the principles behind her work, gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to photograph movie stars, and is candidly open about her personal life. Ever since childhood, however, this successful and always optimistic woman has carried an agonising secret around with her. Multifaceted filmmaker Matej Mináč’s documentary about his mother, which includes staged elements as well, is based on A Photographer’s Life – a book full of pictures whose stories he tries to reconstruct – and also on his feature film All My Loved Ones (1999), which was inspired by his mother’s childhood.
Karel Och
81 min / Color, DCP
World premiere
Director Matej Mináč
/ Screenplay Matej Mináč
/ Dir. of Photography Jan Drnek, Peter Zubal, Antoan Pepelanov
/ Music Miloš Krkoška
/ Editor Robert Cuprík
/ Art Director Jitka Matiášková
/ Producer Matej Mináč
/ Production W.I.P. s.r.o.
/ Coproduction Mazl s.r.o., Česká televize, RWE, Fénix Film, Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska / Radio and Television of Slovakia, Trigon Production s.r.o., Slovenský filmový ústav / Slovak Film Institute, Bessel Kok, Evan Lazar
/ Cast Júlie Ondráčková, Zdeněk Piškula, Lukáš Král
/ Contact W.I.P. s.r.o.
/ Distributor Mirius Film Distribution
Matej Mináč (b. 1961, Bratislava) studied directing at Bratislava’s Academy of Performing Arts (1987). He has worked primarily on documentary films: for the GEN and GENUS television series, he filmed portraits of Tomáš Baťa, Emil Zátopek and Břetislav Pojar, but he has had a long-standing interest in the Holocaust, which also affected his own family. Examples include the documentary films I Was Born Jewish in Prague (Narodila jsem se v Praze jako Židovka, 1995), Hebrew Meditation (Hebrejské meditace, 1995), and Reconstructing a Family Album (Rekonstrukce rodinného alba, 1996). He achieved widespread acclaim with his trilogy of films about Sir Nicholas Winton, who saved nearly 700 children from certain death at the hands of the Nazis: All My Loved Ones (1999), The Power of Good – Nicholas Winton (2001) and Nicky’s Family (2011). His films have won more than 70 awards, including an Emmy and KVIFF’s Audience Award. He has had his own production company, W.I.P., since 1997.
W.I.P. s.r.o.
Na Petřinách 2, 162 00, Praha 6
Czech Republic
Fax: +420 241 770 396
E-mail: [email protected]
Mirius Film Distribution
V Jámě 1, 101 00, Praha 1
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 602 320 465
E-mail: [email protected]
Matej Mináč
Film Director
Dana Voláková
PR & Marketing, Producer
Michaela Flenerová
Producer
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