Archive of films Prominent Patient / Masaryk

Czech Republic / Slovak Republic
2016, 114 min

Section: Czech Films 2016–2017
Year: 2017

Diplomat Jan Masaryk had to confront both his inner demons and major historical events whose severe consequences he tried to overturn in London just before the signing of the Munich Agreement. Employing two different timelines, director Julius Ševčík tells the story of a man who felt betrayed on too many fronts. A Prominent Patient was the recipient of twelve Czech Lions.

Synopsis

“Do I have to keep hearing that name?” asks Czechoslovak diplomat Jan Masaryk when he is once again reminded of the legacy left by his father, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first President of Czechoslovakia. His heritage, however, isn’t the only thing weighing heavily on his mind. In Julius Ševčík’s historical drama Karel Roden’s Masaryk has to confront his inner demons, as well as major historical events whose severe outcome he endeavours to reverse. Ševčík traces Masaryk’s struggle along two narrative lines. After the signing of the Munich Agreement the diplomat retreats to a psychiatric hospital in America and, via a series of flashbacks, we witness his futile attempts to persuade world powers to take Czechoslovakia’s side. The creators of this persuasive film reconstruct fundamental milestones in world history, while also attempting to capture the mental state of a complex man who stood up for his betrayed country while feeling betrayed himself. A Prominent Patient won a record twelve Czech Lion Awards, including Best Film of 2016.

Jan Škoda

About the director

Julius Ševčík (b. 1978, Prague) began to make a name for himself while he was still studying at the New York Film Academy, turning out the four-minute black-and-white film The Spiral (1997), which he also wrote. From 1999 to 2005 he worked as a director of commercials and short films. He completed his feature-film directors’ course at Prague’s FAMU with the formally unconventional Restart (2005). His medium-length college piece 51 Kilohertz (2003) garnered awards at a number of foreign festivals (incl. Rome, Rio de Janeiro, Clermont-Ferrand). His distinctive approach to form is again evident in the 2009 thriller Normal, starring Milan Kňažko and Dagmar Havlová. He lives and works both in the Czech Republic and in Los Angeles.

Contacts

In Film Praha s.r.o.
Žitná 23, 110 00, Praha 1
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 222 515 357
Fax: +420 222 515 613
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.infilm.cz

Beta Cinema GmbH
Grünwalder Weg 28d, 820 41, Oberhaching/Munich
Germany
Tel: +49 896 734 698 828
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.betacinema.com

Bioscop (Magicbox a.s.)
Na Klikovce 7, 140 00, Praha 4
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 221 436 100
Fax: +420 221 436 305
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.bioscop.cz

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About the film

Color, DCP

Section:	Czech Films 2016–2017

Director:	Julius Ševčík
Screenplay:	Petr Kolečko, Alex Koenigsmark, Julius Ševčík
Dir. of Photography:	Martin Štrba
Music:	Michał Lorenc, Kryštof Marek
Editor:	Marek Opatrný
Art Director:	Milan Býček
Producer:	Rudolf Biermann
Production:	In Film Praha s.r.o.
Coproduction:	Česká televize, RTVS, ZDF / ARTE
Cast:	Karel Roden, Hanns Zischler, Oldřich Kaiser, Arly Jover,
Sales:	Beta Cinema GmbH
Contact:	In Film Praha s.r.o.
Distributor:	Bioscop (Magicbox a.s.)

www:	www.aprominentpatient.com