Papa

Colour, DVD
Czech Republic, 2004, 92 min
Section: Czech Films 2004-2005
Oficiální stránky: www.sverak.cz

Synopsis

This artistic documentary about the director’s father Zdeněk Svěrák marks Jan Svěrák’s return to documentary filmmaking. Co-written and co-directed by documentarist Martin Dostál, the bio rounds out the partnership between father/screenwriter and son/director, which peaked with the Oscar-winning Kolya (1996). But the familial relationship forms only one strand of a narrative conceived as a loving (though objective) tribute to a multifaceted artist: an excellent screenwriter, children’s singersongwriter, film actor and founder of the Jára Cimrman Theatre. Indeed, the protagonist himself (b. 1936) serves as our guide. His son captures him on celluloid in the places that have been important in his professional and private life, and interviews his colleagues too. This tribute to an active life full of hope, humour and optimism drew upon eighty hours of footage filmed over a period of more than a year. In Czech distribution the film is presented on DVD.   

About the director

Jan Svěrák (b. 1965, Žatec, Czechoslovakia), son of screenwriter and actor Zdeněk Svěrák graduated in documentary filmmaking from Prague’s Film Academy (FAMU) in 1988. He started his career with successful school films: Space Odyssey II (1986), and Oil Gobblers (1988; student Oscar). He debuted with the family comedy The Elementary School (1991; nominated for an Oscar). Then followed the action comedy Accumulator 1 (1994), the road movie The Ride (1994; Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary), the highly-awarded tragicomedy Kolya (1996; Best Foreign Language Film Oscar) and the war drama Dark Blue World (2001). He is cofounder of Luxor productions and owner of Biograf Jan Svěrák Pictures.

Martin Dostál, a graduate of film production at FAMU and art history at Charles University, worked with Jan Svěrák on the film The Ride (1994) and made commercial spots. He has directed a series of documentaries, e.g. biographical films for the GEN television series.