When David Ondříček’s feature-length debut, Whisper, was screened for the first time at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, it was 1997 (see the photographs accompanying this article, which the director himself has kindly shared with us). Since then, the film’s makers have become friends of the festival and screened their other films here. This year, they returned to present Whisper once again in Karlovy Vary, to mark the 30th anniversary of its theatrical release.
“The nineties were fantastic. I'm glad we were able to live through that decade. It brought us freedom, with all its pros and cons. At the same time, I’m so grateful that we’re standing here today,” recalled Ondříček, who was joined on stage by nine of his colleagues, including cast members Tatiana Dyková, Martin Myšička and Jan P. Muchow.
“I haven’t seen the film since then, because I don’t like watching my own work. So I’m a bit worried about what’s actually in there. If I’d known the film was going to be screened here today, with the First Lady and the President in attendance, I probably wouldn’t have included a lot of those things,” the director confided before taking his seat in the auditorium to watch his debut film for the first time in three decades.
First, however, the Karlovy Vary theatre audience was treated to a mini-concert by the band Colorfactory, who reunited to mark the anniversary and performed three songs from the film.
