Zdeněk Svěrák

Zdeněk Svěrák

Born: March 28, 1936
in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zdeněk Svěrák (born 28 March 1936 in Prague) is a Czech actor, humorist and scriptwriter. He is one of the most popular Czech cultural personalities. In 1989, he was a member of the jury at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival.

In 1958, he graduated in Czech language and literature at the Faculty of Education of Charles University in Prague. He has worked in a wide variety of capacities. His work contains more than 300 musical texts, plays and more than ten movies. Among his film scripts are Kolya (Czech: Kolja, Academy Award winning film) and The Elementary School (Czech: Obecná Škola, nomination for Academy Award), both directed by his son Jan Svěrák. With his close friend Ladislav Smoljak, he created the fictional personality (universal genius, inventor, sportsman, criminalist, poet, writer and philosopher) Jára Cimrman who won the voting for The Greatest Czech in 2005 (only the fact that Cimrman is fictional prevented him from actually winning). Zdeněk Svěrák also founded a charity organization Paraple (in English, "Umbrella") which focuses on helping paralyzed individuals.

Movies for Zdeněk Svěrák...

Cimrmani zblízka
Title: Cimrmani zblízka
Released: February 21, 2024
Type: Movie
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Kouzelný kopec
Title: Kouzelný kopec
Character: Self
Released: September 9, 2023
Type: Movie
Documentary about Barrandov studios.
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Perspektiva Ivana Mládka
Title: Perspektiva Ivana Mládka
Character: Self
Released: March 22, 2023
Type: Movie
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Léta s Jaromírem Hanzlíkem
Title: Léta s Jaromírem Hanzlíkem
Character: Self
Released: February 11, 2023
Type: Movie
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Chinaski: Každej ví kulový
Title: Chinaski: Každej ví kulový
Character: Self
Released: May 26, 2022
Type: Movie
Documentary about the Czech band Chinaski.
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Bethlehem Light
Title: Bethlehem Light
Character: Karel Šejnoha
Released: March 10, 2022
Type: Movie
A well-known writer now aged 75 is aware of his increasing age and the risk that his literary style will grow worn. His everyday existence is enlivened by characters from his stories, who tend to enter reality in unexpected ways, at various stages of completeness and with all kinds of strange demands.
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Title: Minišou Karla Šípa
Character: Self
Released: March 27, 2021
Type: TV
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Psaní do nebe
Title: Psaní do nebe
Released: October 4, 2017
Type: Movie
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Barefoot
Title: Barefoot
Character: Headmaster
Released: August 17, 2017
Type: Movie
Story of a small boy is forced to move out of Prague during World War 2 to a small village of Slavonice where he meets the rest of his family. He needs to make new friends and get used to a new life which is immensely different from what this city boy was used to.
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Operky
Title: Operky
Released: March 18, 2016
Type: Movie
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Three Brothers
Title: Three Brothers
Character: Vypravěč
Released: August 14, 2014
Type: Movie
Three brothers leave their home to see the world. During their journey, young men as by miracle enter into famous fairy tales (Little Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Twelve Months) and face traps, unexpected moments and even love in a story full of humor and songs.
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Title: Zpátky se Sobotou
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: September 7, 2012
Type: TV
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Kooky
Title: Kooky
Character: Hergot (voice)
Released: May 19, 2010
Type: Movie
Young Ondra has asthma and so his parents throw away his favourite toy: a musty old stuffed bear named Kooky. That night Ondra dreams that Kooky is determined to find his way back home from the dump. In the boy's fantasy, the bear gets lost in a forest occupied by strange animals and remarkable beings that he never heard of while living on the toy shelf in Ondra's room. And of course even in this small imaginary world, true good exists as does real evil, which Kooky must face up to in order to become a real hero.
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Czech Heaven
Title: Czech Heaven
Character: Jan Ámos Komenský
Released: October 28, 2008
Type: Movie
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40 let Divadla Járy Cimrmana aneb Ze hry do hry
Title: 40 let Divadla Járy Cimrmana aneb Ze hry do hry
Released: October 24, 2007
Type: Movie
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Long, Broad and Nearsight
Title: Long, Broad and Nearsight
Character: Clever-eyesighted
Released: May 28, 2007
Type: Movie
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Empties
Title: Empties
Character: Josef Tkaloun
Released: March 8, 2007
Type: Movie
Czech literature teacher Josef Tkaloun, who is past retirement age, realises one day that he no longer understands his pupils, and so he quits… dramatically. What he does not predict is that in doing this he will lose his sense of place in society.
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Cimrman in the World of Music
Title: Cimrman in the World of Music
Character: colonel "Colonel"
Released: December 31, 2006
Type: Movie
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Title: StarDance
Character: Special Judge
Released: November 4, 2006
Type: TV
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Title: Největší Čech
Character: Zdeněk Svěrák
Released: May 5, 2005
Type: TV
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Pocta V+W
Title: Pocta V+W
Character: Self
Released: February 5, 2005
Type: Movie
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Daddy
Title: Daddy
Character: Self
Released: September 30, 2004
Type: Movie
This film is a documentary-style look at the life of the beloved Czech actor, Zdeněk Svěrák.
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Title: Kam zmizel ten starý song
Character: Self
Released: January 11, 2004
Type: TV
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Africa
Title: Africa
Character: Dr. Emil Žába
Released: October 5, 2002
Type: Movie
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Investigation of the Loss of a Class Book
Title: Investigation of the Loss of a Class Book
Character: Teacher
Released: December 31, 1998
Type: Movie
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The Nude
Title: The Nude
Character: Dr. Turnovský
Released: December 27, 1998
Type: Movie
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Cimrmani
Title: Cimrmani
Character: Self
Released: December 27, 1997
Type: Movie
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The Stand In
Title: The Stand In
Character: Vavroch
Released: November 12, 1997
Type: Movie
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Ruffiano and Sweeteeth
Title: Ruffiano and Sweeteeth
Character: vypravěč
Released: September 11, 1997
Type: Movie
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Lijavec
Title: Lijavec
Character: Inspektor starobinců
Released: January 1, 1997
Type: Movie
When late in life was presenting Cimrman his artistic activity, came arresting knowledge: none of the works he had signed, not recognition. And so he decided to retreat to the anonymity of the author and become folklore. Clairvoyantly recognized that the modern era marked for extinction of folk creativity in areas such as the national song, story, legend, proverb or weather lore. The only thing from the oral folklore of die and stay alive is an anecdote. And she plays a significant role in his play Lijavec.
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Pub in the Glade
Title: Pub in the Glade
Character: Taverner
Released: January 1, 1997
Type: Movie
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Dumb Bobes, or Czech Tarzan
Title: Dumb Bobes, or Czech Tarzan
Character: Physician
Released: January 1, 1997
Type: Movie
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Kolya
Title: Kolya
Character: František Louka
Released: May 15, 1996
Type: Movie
After a fictitious marriage with a Russian emigrant, Cellisten Louka, a Czech man, must suddenly take responsibility for her son. However, it’s not long before the communication barrier is broken between the two new family members.
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Title: Úsměvy
Character: Host
Released: January 1, 1996
Type: TV
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Accumulator 1
Title: Accumulator 1
Character: Fišárek
Released: March 24, 1994
Type: Movie
In this movie, TV sets are full of life. If a person is in TV (e.g. because it was filmed on the street) it has a double that's right in the TV set. This double needs energy from the true character to survive. Each time, the real human watches TV, his Double will pull life energy from him. So there's a mysterious Death-serial. Many persons die in front of their TV set and nobody knows why. Olda, the main character, is one of the persons, that get more and more weak. He is near death, till Fisarek, the natural healer appears. He teaches Olda how he can resist this magic force and how he can fight it.
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Title: Cimrman sobě
Released: October 16, 1991
Type: TV
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The Elementary School
Title: The Elementary School
Character: Fan Souček, Eda's dad
Released: August 2, 1991
Type: Movie
The time is 1945-46. 10 year old Eda and his friend Tonda live in a small village outside Prague. In school, their class is so wild and indisciplined that their teacher quits and is replaced by the militant Igor Hnidzo. He is very strict – but also very fair. His weakness though, is his interest in young women.
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Larks on a String
Title: Larks on a String
Released: February 1, 1990
Type: Movie
In post-WWII Communist Czechoslovakia, several characters considered bourgeois are sentenced to work in a junkyard for rehabilitation. Among them is a young man who pines for a female convict.
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An Uncertain Season
Title: An Uncertain Season
Released: April 1, 1988
Type: Movie
The small group of actors have to face many problems while preparing a new performance.
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Title: Veselé příhody z natáčení
Released: January 1, 1988
Type: TV
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Narostl mu hřebínek
Title: Narostl mu hřebínek
Character: Vypravěč
Released: January 1, 1987
Type: Movie
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The Horns
Title: The Horns
Released: January 1, 1986
Type: Movie
A humorous modern fairy tale for adults about the life of devils. This is the story of a young couple in love: two devils named Artur and Blanka. Happiness for the young devil couple is disturbed and eventually destroyed by Artur's longing to keep up with others.
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As Good as Poison
Title: As Good as Poison
Character: Pavel Hnyk
Released: December 22, 1985
Type: Movie
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The Conquest of the North Pole
Title: The Conquest of the North Pole
Character: Underground Teacher
Released: October 17, 1985
Type: Movie
Cimrman's play about Czech expedition to north pole.
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My Sweet Little Village
Title: My Sweet Little Village
Character: Malíř
Released: August 1, 1985
Type: Movie
The movie's main storyline follows the life of Otík, a young man, in a tight-knit village community. The sweet-tempered Otík works as an assistant truck driver with Mr. Pávek, his older colleague and practical-minded neighbor. Pávek's family takes care of Otík, whose parents are dead. However, the two coworkers become at odds over Otík's inability to perform even the simplest tasks. Pávek demands that Otík be transferred to assist another driver, who happens to be a choleric and suspicious man named Turek (Turk in Czech). Rather than work with Turek, Otík decides to accept an offer of employment in Prague, but finds he does not fit in to the city life. After discovering that the transfer of Otík to Prague was a trick by a crooked politician to get a deal on Otík's large inherited house, Pávek agrees to give Otík a second chance and retrieves him from the city to resume their work together.
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Dissolved and Effused
Title: Dissolved and Effused
Character: Jelínek
Released: December 31, 1984
Type: Movie
A police inspector and inexperienced trainee search for a mysteriously disappeared manufacturer of ointments for hair growth.
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Bridal Tour to Jilji
Title: Bridal Tour to Jilji
Character: průvodčí
Released: December 29, 1984
Type: Movie
A scientist meets a nice girl and they start dating. He decides the only way to find out for sure if she’s the one is to take a long trip with her, but things don’t go quite as he’d hoped.
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The Three Veterans
Title: The Three Veterans
Character: ministr
Released: July 1, 1984
Type: Movie
It is a story of three veterans released from the army. During one night spent camping in the country they one by one wake up and meet three elvish brothers. Each of the veterans is given a magic item - one gets magic harp that provides him with servants by wish, other one endless pouch of gold and the last one owns magic hat that can create all the staff excluding money and people.
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Inzerát
Title: Inzerát
Released: April 22, 1984
Type: Movie
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What's Up Doc?
Title: What's Up Doc?
Character: Bohouš Burda
Released: January 1, 1984
Type: Movie
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Title: Galasuperšou
Released: January 1, 1984
Type: TV
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The Snowdrop Festival
Title: The Snowdrop Festival
Character: řidič trabanta
Released: January 1, 1984
Type: Movie
This movie is based on texts of Bohumil Hrabal, world-known Czech prosaic. It's a story (in a form of a mosaic of short episodes and pictures) about the sadness and happiness of inhabitants of Kersko (Kersko is a small woody area full of cottages and roods). These people are both simple and sensitive, they have their own pleasures (e.g. Leli is a collector of cheap, but inutile things) and the greatest delight of all of them is a hunting. Crude poetics of amateur hunting is screened by dreamy pictures of this area. Menzel mixes sentimental lyricism and rough (but not vulgar!) humor and the outcome is the never-ending landscape of continuous life in the proximate nearness of nature. The performances of actors are brilliant. Both Rudolf Hrusinsky as a Franz and Jaromír Hanzlik as a Leli have nonrecurring charm bottomed on a pain and inebriation. Only the music is not perfect: Jiri Sust usually assembled his film music from his older works and in this movie there is many quotations.
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Jára Cimrman Lying, Sleeping
Title: Jára Cimrman Lying, Sleeping
Character: Jára Cimrman
Released: October 1, 1983
Type: Movie
Czechoslovak comedy film directed by Ladislav Smoljak, about the fictional national hero Jára Cimrman (universal genius, inventor, sportsman, criminalist, poet, writer and philosopher).
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Hearty Greetings from the Globe
Title: Hearty Greetings from the Globe
Released: July 1, 1983
Type: Movie
​Two aliens stir up trouble on Earth in order to study humans. Misunderstandings ensue.
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Like Rabbits
Title: Like Rabbits
Character: otec Dusek
Released: September 24, 1982
Type: Movie
A story of two boys who during the summer at a recreation area become best friends despite being enemies at first.
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V podstatě jsme normální
Title: V podstatě jsme normální
Released: March 12, 1982
Type: Movie
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Calamity
Title: Calamity
Character: učitel
Released: January 29, 1982
Type: Movie
Funny banter about love, sex, social status, and other ideals, while a new railway employee is trained and sent on his first run as driver.
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Chain
Title: Chain
Character: Mikeš (voice)
Released: November 20, 1981
Type: Movie
Carefree young nurse Marta learns upon her husband's death that he was involved in all manner of criminal activity, which puts her life in danger.
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The Hit
Title: The Hit
Character: scénárista Jíša
Released: March 13, 1981
Type: Movie
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Run, Waiter, Run!
Title: Run, Waiter, Run!
Character: Pařízek
Released: January 9, 1981
Type: Movie
A comedy concerning a down on his luck bookshop owner with a penchant for women who decides to make some money by pretending to be a waiter and collecting cash from unsuspecting diners.
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Brontosaurus
Title: Brontosaurus
Character: Bobr
Released: August 22, 1980
Type: Movie
Tomás lives in a very small Czech town and is a nature lover and a birdwatcher. He struggles to keep the forests he loves clean and constantly fights his "archenemy" whose sister and Tomás's classmate is secretly in love with him.
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Silvestr 79 aneb Hrajeme si jako děti
Title: Silvestr 79 aneb Hrajeme si jako děti
Character: Self
Released: December 31, 1979
Type: Movie
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Ball Lightning
Title: Ball Lightning
Character: Dr. Ječný
Released: August 10, 1979
Type: Movie
A comedy about exchange of 12 apartments , which, its organizer, lawyer Radosta, rightly called Action Ball Lightning. To prepare, organize and execute the exchange of twelve apartments is a work worthy champions. Radosta, who was excellently played by Rudolf Hrušínský, solved all sudden difficulties and complications on the fly and with grace. To be sure that the on the D-day everything goes well he prepares a little rehearsal, which reveals many minor issues caused for example by wedding ordered to inappropriate term or hesitation of some participants. Last but not least a night exercise announced by drunk psychologist Knotků, creates a lot of confusion that nearly sabotaged the whole operation.
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30 Maidens and Pythagoras
Title: 30 Maidens and Pythagoras
Character: profesor (uncredited)
Released: September 16, 1977
Type: Movie
A musical starring Jiří Menzel (whose part is sung by Achilles Michailidis) as a math and physics teacher employing innovative teaching methods.
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Marecek, Pass Me the Pen!
Title: Marecek, Pass Me the Pen!
Character: Šlajs
Released: October 8, 1976
Type: Movie
This comedy is about one average family. The father works as master in the factory and his son is studying on high school. One day father must start to visit the evening school. It's the same school as his son visiting. The lives both students are connecting together. The son must teach the math and physics his own father. The father getting to know, that the life of the students is not simple as he supposed.
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Secluded, Near Woods
Title: Secluded, Near Woods
Character: Lavička
Released: September 10, 1976
Type: Movie
The Lavicka's, a Czech family from the city, rents a house in the country with the option to buy. However, old Mr Komarek seems reluctant to sell the house as they agreed.
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Joachim, Put It in the Machine
Title: Joachim, Put It in the Machine
Character: podnikový psycholog Klásek
Released: August 30, 1974
Type: Movie
A sincere provincial young man, Frantisek Koudelka leaves to work in Prague. For the trip he buys a computer made horoscope with biorhythms charts, marked according to his date of birth, there are trappy, precarious, unsuccessful and even critical days and few successful days. The clumsy luckless person Frantisek has finally a guidance for his life.
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Silvestr 71
Title: Silvestr 71
Character: Self
Released: December 31, 1971
Type: Movie
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Lucie and the Miracles
Title: Lucie and the Miracles
Character: Constable (voice)
Released: June 18, 1971
Type: Movie
The harsh reality of a home for abandoned children blends with episodes of youthful fantasy and slapstick comedy in this story of an orphan girl. Lucy's fondest wish is to find new parents and leave an orphanage. She befriends a man who can create doors from paint. He gives her a stuffed dog that magically comes alive when placed on the ground, and he and his wife end up adopting the little girl. After finding parents of her own, Lucy sets out through fantasy to find parents for her orphan friends. All of the people Lucy meet during her remarkable make believe wanderings end up taking children home.
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You Are a Widow, Sir
Title: You Are a Widow, Sir
Character: kritik v divadle
Released: January 15, 1971
Type: Movie
After a soldier cuts off the arm of king's cousin, king decides to deactivate the army. Of course, generals don't like it at all and they try to kill the king. The assassin should be artificial body in the shape of actress Evelina Keleti and with brain of psychotic serial killer Fany Stubová. They also manage to kill king's astrologer Stuart Hampl, who warns the king. Accidentally, Hampl's brain is implanted into assassin's body, actress Keleti is killed and chaos begins.
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Moderní byt
Title: Moderní byt
Released: January 1, 1971
Type: Movie
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Stopa vede do Liptákova
Title: Stopa vede do Liptákova
Released: January 1, 1969
Type: Movie
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Crime in the Night Club
Title: Crime in the Night Club
Character: Prokurátor
Released: December 20, 1968
Type: Movie
A black comedy set in a Prague cabaret.
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The Presence of Arnošt Lustig
Title: The Presence of Arnošt Lustig
Character: Self
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: Movie
"A man is immortal as long as he lives in the memory of others,” said well-known Czech writer Arnošt Lustig with a wry smile. In December 2006 when her father turned 80, filmmaker Eva Lustigová began to see just how closely his words applied to himself personally. Her method involved recording their meetings and personal interviews together, until Lustig’s death in February 2011. Employing his notorious sense of humor, the film presents the world-renowned author as he recalls a carefree childhood cut short by the Nazi occupation, the horror of life in a concentration camp, the beginnings of his writing career, living in Israel and the USA, and his lifelong friendship with Ota Pavel. Geneva-based Eva Lustigová’s documentary is not a traditional portrait compilation of a famous writer that chronologically investigates his life, but rather a loosely assembled, lively movie about a person with an eternal love for life as it is.