Documentary Films - Out of Competition 2014 / Olga / Czech Republic 2014
This gently humorous and, above all, understated portrait of Olga Havlová, with the tagline "Observations of a subject who refused to talk and did just what she wanted,” freely interweaves exclusive archive footage and recollections from friends with excerpts from the files the secret police kept on the former first lady.
After the huge success of Citizen Havel, renowned documentarist Miroslav Janek took up the reigns of both director and DOP and launched into a portrait of former First Lady Olga Havlová. The film bearing the subtitle A report on the observation of a subject who refused to talk and did just what she wanted is not, and doesn’t attempt to be, an exhaustive depiction of the life of Olga Havlová featuring a chronological sequence of events and precise biographical data. Filmmaker Janek instead allows previously unreleased archive footage and photographs to speak freely for themselves, placing emphasis on capturing the spirit of the period and aspects of Havlová’s life that were out of the political limelight. Witty recollections from friends and acquaintances are here intriguingly interwoven with excerpts from files the secret police kept on Havlová. This highly original film, skilfully edited by veteran Tonička Janková, offers a portrait of an exceptional individual who would have turned 81 on 11 July this year. And Ms. Havlová would certainly have been pleased with the result: objective, gently, humorous, sincere and, above all, understated.
87 min / Color, DCP
Director Miroslav Janek
/ Screenplay Miroslav Janek
/ Dir. of Photography Miroslav Janek
/ Editor Tonička Janková
/ Producer Jarmila Poláková
/ Production Film & Sociologie
/ Coproduction Česká televize / Czech Television
/ Contact Aerofilms, Film & Sociologie
/ Distributor Aerofilms
www: www.olgafilm.cz
Miroslav Janek (b. 1954, Náchod, Czechoslovakia) began as an amateur filmmaker. In 1980 he emigrated to the USA where he worked with a number of documentarists (e.g. Godfrey Reggio), returning to his native country in the mid-1990s. He enjoyed huge success with The Unseen (1996 – Best Documentary Film Award ex aequo at KVIFF). Janek’s extensive collection of documentaries includes Seven Ten Nečtiny (1993), Baroque Opera (1997), Hamsa, I Am (1999), The Musicians (1999), Crimson Sails (2001), Vierka (2005), Kha-chee-pae (2005), Citizen Havel (2008), The Confessions of Kateryna K. (2008) and Battle for Life (2000), which earned Janek, Roman Vávra and Vít Janeček a special award at Finále Plzeň. In 2012 KVIFF screened his portrait of director Drahomíra Vihanová Burning (2012).
Aerofilms
Milady Horákové 383/79, 170 00, Praha 7
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 224 947 566
E-mail: [email protected]
Film & Sociologie
Pod Zvonařkou 10, 120 00, Praha 2
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 774 986 820
E-mail: [email protected]
Jarmila Poláková
Producer
Miroslav Janek
Film Director
Anna Freimanová
Publicity
Ivo Andrle
Distributor
Zuzana Pudilová
Distributor
Martina Reková
PR & Marketing
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