Archive of films Through the Eyes of the Photographer / Očima fotografky

Czech Republic / Slovak Republic
2015, 81 min

Section: Documentary Films - Out of Competition
Year: 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.


Synopsis

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

About the director

Matej Mináč

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.

Contacts

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
Tel: +420 602 320 465
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.miriusfd.cz

About the film

Color, DCP
World premiere

Section: Documentary Films - Out of Competition
   
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

Guests

Matej Mináč

Film Director

Dana Voláková

PR & Marketing, Producer


Michaela Flenerová

Producer

YouTube

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