2018 SFS Guests

Mike Leigh

29. 7. – 3. 8.

One of the most famous European filmmakers, winner of the Golden Palm from Cannes and the Golden Lion from Venice, holder of the Order of the British Empire. Many of his films oscillate somewhere between the British social realism and a distinctive authorial stylisation. Leigh’s compact work is characterized by very sensitive approach towards actors that often engaged improvisation, insights into various family models and an unusual touch of sensitivity and vulnerability. Leigh can also be observed as the finder of many movie stars, including Tim Roth, Gary Oldman and Brenda Blethyn. In Uherské Hradiště, Mike Leigh will present a comprehensive overview of his works and tell us which three films have influenced him the most.

Bahman Ghobadi

27. 7. – 30. 7.

Bahman Ghobadi has become a crucial filmmaker to Kurdish minority in Iran and to the whole Iranian cinema. Many film historians class him among such names as Jafar Panahi or Mohsen Makhmalbaf. The winner of San Sebastian’s Golden Shell will introduce the selection of his features, including the Turtles Can Fly that will open this year’s SFS festival. In his audience discussions, Ghobadi will provide us with a broader context of his latest movie and tell us more about the position of Kurdish filmmakers or collaboration with the world’s movie stars (Monica Bellucci in Rhino Season). Contextual explanation of Bahman Ghobadi’s films will be complemented by Mehdi Abdollahzadeh, a film historian, programmer and a long-term collaborator of Summer Film School.

Roland Klick

1. 8. – 4. 8.

German director Roland Klick is considered to be a legend, a stubborn outsider and an exceptional phenomenon of German post-war cinema. His six feature-length movies, made between 1968 and 1992, are full of energy and fascinating distinctiveness. Klick stood far beyond the average trends of the time – he was too much within the structure of genres for the New German Cinema fans and too weird and ambitious for the mainstream cinema. Although he looked up to the American way of filmmaking, he was a true European. His films won him a number of German annual awards as well as the respect from great personalities, such as Alejandro Jodorowsky, Steven Spielberg or Quentin Tarantino.

Alejandro Fernández Almendras

27. 7. – 30. 7.

This Chilean director is one of the most promising talents of contemporary South-American cinema. His feature-length debut Huacho was screened at the Cannes Film Festival and his most famous “rape and revenge” drama To Kill a Man won the 2014 Sundance’s World Film Grand Jury Prize. Almendras’ films are known for the criticism directed against the social injustice in the Chilean and Latin American regions.

Andrzej Jakimowski

1. 8. – 4. 8.

Andrzej Jakimowski studied philosophy at University of Warsaw and film directing at the Krzysztof Kieslowski Katowice Film School. His earliest films date back to the 1990s. They were mostly short films and documentaries. His feature-length debut Squint Your Eyes is about a ten-year-old girl. Seeing the world through children’s eyes stayed with him even in his second feature Tricks. At SFS, Jakimowski will introduce his complete feature-length filmography, including the latest Once Upon a Time in November.

Mathieu Pradat

27. 7. – 30. 7.

How are the elements of light and darkness and special effects created in virtual reality? How does a director lead an actor in the seemingly never ending space where camera sees almost everything? French director Mathieu Pradat is one of the leading filmmakers incorporating virtual reality. His films were awarded in Venice, Sao Paolo, or Montreal. Pradat will give us a look behind the scenes of his film Proxima and show some of the details from his upcoming project.

Peter Schepelern

27. 7. – 30. 7.

Schepelern, Professor Emeritus at University of Copenhagen, is considered to be the world’s expert on the work of Lars von Trier and therefore a perfect choice for programming this year’s Icon section. Schepelern’s book Lars von Triers film: Tvang og befrielse is actually the only von Trier’s monography that has been published in the Czech translation.

Anders Refn

2. 8. – 3. 8.

Anders Refn is one of von Trier’s close collaborators. He was an assistant director and an editor of many of his recent films. Refn edited more than 70 feature films and collaborated with many other world-renowned directors, including Sally Potter. Added to that, as a director he had a profound influence on the modern Danish film of the 1980s.

Katinka Farago

31. 7. – 4. 8.

When she was seventeen, Farago became Ingmar Bergman’s script supervisor because there was no one else for the position. Their cooperation began with Dreams (1955) and lasted almost three decades, ending with Fanny and Alexander. She moved from a script supervisor to a producer, and despite having worked with many other filmmakers, she will always be remembered as “Bergman’s right hand”. In 2008, she wrote the book Katinka and Directors – 125 Films, 55 Years Behind the Camera.

Mareet Koskinen

27. 7. – 1. 8.

Mareet Koskinen, Professor at the Department of Cinema Studies at Stockholm University, was the first film researcher to receive Bergman’s permission to access his archive. Koskinen also organised the first Bergman Symposium in Stockholm in 2005. Starting with her dissertation Plays and Mirrors: A Study in the Cinematic Aesthetics of Ingmar Bergman, Koskinen has always explored Bergman’s films, theatre and literary outputs from various perspectives.

Siegfried

31. 7. – 4. 8.

Siegfried Debrebant is also known under monikers Siegfried, Sig or Zag. This peculiar French film director and exceptionally talented multi-instrumentalist brilliantly handles keyboard instruments, cello or drums. Besides playing with his trio, he often jams with renowned trumpeter Erik Truffaz or Tunisian singer Mounir Troudi. At SFS, Debrebant will introduce his latest film Riga (Take 1) on which he stood behind the camera, wrote a screenplay, he directed it and made a soundtrack. Added to that, he will also bring his live jazz One Man Show.

Iva Janžurová

31. 7. – 2. 8.

Lovely and ugly. Tough and tender. Humble and clever. A little girl and a lady. A brilliant comedian and a serious actress. That and much more is Iva Janžurová, an actress with an exceptional sense for self-irony, grotesque exaggeration and dramatic contrast. She was born into a family of teachers. It seemed she would become a teacher as well, but finally ended up at Prague’s DAMU. Czech theatre and film got one of the most talented, most distinctive and versatile actresses they have ever had. Iva Janžurová will receive the ACFC Annual Prize.

Josef Somr

28. 7.

Josef Somr will come to Uherské Hradiště for a special screening of the Joke that was shot by Jaromil Jireš in Uherské Hradiště 50 years ago. We will watch the legendary film and walk its locations with the photographs by Jan Kuděla.

Meir Lubor Dohnal

27. 7. – 5. 8.

During the 1960s, Meir Lubor Dohnal co-worked on films by Elo Havetta, Juraj Jakubisko or Juraj Herz. His successful screenwriting career was interrupted in 1971 when he was fired from Barrandov Studios. Dohnal signed Charter 77 and fled from the Czech Republic to carry on his work in Munich. In the 1990s, he returned back home. Dohnal currently teaches screenwriting at Prague’s FAMU and sits on the council of the State Cinematography Fund.