Czech Films 2009-2010 2010 / Zítra se bude ... / Czech Republic 2010
Jan Hřebejk is presented here as a documentarist, capturing on film a modern opera by Aleš Březina and Jiří Nekvasil about Dr. Milada Horáková, member of parliament for the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party, who became a victim of Communist tyranny and was sentenced to death during a show trial. The opera was premiered in Prague’s Kolowrat theatre on 9 April 2008 and both audiences and critics hailed the production for its topical theme and suggestive performance by Soňa Červená.
The Communist putsch in February 1948 sounded the death knell for hundreds of people. Among those who became victims of the Communist totalitarian regime and were sentenced to death during the show trials was Dr. Milada Horáková, a member of parliament for the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party. Horáková, however, isn’t the only protagonist in Aleš Březina and Jiří Nekvasil’s opera. Its modern musical concept allows the lead performer periodically to transform herself into the court prosecutor and commentator as well. The opera was premiered at Prague’s Kolowrat theatre in April 2008, acclaimed by both audiences and critics for its topical theme and the suggestive performances of Jan Mikušek and Soňa Červená, for whom Aleš Březina expressly wrote the part. The production was filmed by Jan Hřebejk, whom Březina has worked with on the majority of the director’s features. The original plan to film only a few shots for his drama Kawasaki’s Rose was soon abandoned: the opera, one of the most fascinating domestic music productions in recent years, required a more complex approach.
75 min / Color, DCP
Director Jan Hřebejk
/ Dir. of Photography Jan Malíř, Martin Šácha
/ Music Aleš Březina, Jiří Nekvasil
/ Editor Vladimír Barák
/ Producer Rudolf Biermann, Tomáš Hoffman
/ Production In Film Praha s.r.o
/ Cast Soňa Červená, Jan Mikušek
/ Contact Aerofilms
/ Distributor Aerofilms
Jan Hřebejk (b. 1967, Prague) has been asserting his position as a commercially successful and critically acclaimed Czech director since his feature debut, the retro-musical Big Beat (1993). His films have won him a series of Czech and international awards. Filmography: the family tragicomedy Cosy Dens (1999 – FIPRESCI Award and Special Mention at KVIFF), the bitter-sweet tale set during the Nazi occupation Divided We Fall (2000 – Czech Lion for Best Director, Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film), the "normalisation” tragicomedy Pupendo (2003), the tear-jerking comedy set in the present Up and Down (2004 – Czech Lions for Best Director and Best Film, among others), the love story Beauty in Trouble (2006 – three Czech Lions, Special Jury Prize at KVIFF), the generational tragicomedy Teddy Bear (2007), the acerbic comedies I’m All Good and Shameless (both 2008), and the drama Kawasaki’s Rose (2010).
Aerofilms
Milady Horákové 383/79, 170 00, Praha 7
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 224 947 566
E-mail: [email protected]
Jan Hřebejk
Film Director
Zuzana Pudilová
Distributor
Soňa Červená
Actress
Aleš Březina
Music Composer
Ivo Andrle
Distributor
Josefína Borecká
Martin Šácha
Director of Photography
First-hand brews throughout the year.
Be among the first to learn about upcoming events and other news. We only send the newsletter when we have something to say.
