Petr Fischer on Film and Czech Television

Petr Fischer on Film and Czech Television

03
FRESH
NEWS
6TH FRESH FILM FEST | FRIDAY AUGUST 14TH, 2009 | KARLOVY VARY | ENGLISH VERSION
Actualities
Fresh Shop
Petr Fischer on Film
and Czech Television
Afro, Sex and Funky.
In Other Words: Blaxploitation
In the fresh festival shop at the
festival centre right next to the
ticket counter, besides FFF T-shirts,
bags and badges you can also
buy books about Petr Lébl, art
magazines, and especially products
of young Czech designers,
for friendly festival prices. Just
a few meters further, more creative
visitors can make their own T-shirts,
bags, or underwear, using original
iron-on patches.
Video Mapping
From 10.00pm the liveliness of the
Thermal hotel will extend even
to the outside, with the “new visual
art style”, video mapping. A 3D light
projection will be screened on the
front side of the hotel, and will add
another, completely new dimension
to it.
Peťo Tázok, a visitor from
a parallel universe.
Attention please, attention please,
tonight at 11.00pm Slovakian rapper
Peťo Tázok will teleport himself from
the town of VP84 into Karlovy Vary.
If you don't know who we’re talking
about, perhaps his aliases, Bene
and Modré hory will tell you more.
Peťo Tázok has been on the rap
scene since 2006, with his album
debut called VP84, with such hits
as Dočasná záležitost (Temporary
Matter). Last year, he released an
album called “Album”, together
with producer Karaoke Tundra,
who is arriving tonight as well. You
can recognize Peťo Tázok by his old
helmet, leopard’s coat and funny
high-pitched voice, with which he's
declaring his lyrics, which will take
you aback. In the annotation to
the album, it says that city VP84
is located in a parallel universe.
So thanks God for Teleport, which
makes travelling so much easier...
Black Hole into Space
No experienced space traveller
wishes to fall into a black hole,
for sure. But “Black Hole” bar, that
is something different! It's at the
same place where the Rec Bar
was last year, so it's easy to find.
For those who haven't been to
the Rec Bar, it's simply on the
groundfloor of the Thermal hotel,
opposite the parking lot. There is
also a sunny terrace, from which
you can watch projections on the
river while drinking coffee, beer
or shots, and eating healthy
homemade meals – e.g. Hummus
or potato soup.
Push Those Peddles!
Or would you rather not? Try
a ride on an electric bicycle, with
an electric engine, where you can
peddle only when you really feel like
it. You can fly up to 25km/h and
no driving license is obliged. You will
have a chance to rent these
on Friday and Saturday in front
of the Thermal hotel.
PETR FISCHER
TRUCK TURNER
One of the three jurors for the Fresh Generation competition section is journalist Petr Fischer, who has
worked for different periodicals and in the editorial office of the Czech BBC. Fresh news is that soon he
will move to Czech television, where he will be directing the editorial office for art and culture. We asked
him several questions about his job as a juror and about his plans within Czech television.
In the early 70’s, the US film industry was in a crisis again. In earlier times,
the industry saved itself by introducing new technological innovations
(colour, wide-screen, 3D projection). But this time, salvation was found in
targeting a new demographic: the African-American urban audience. In
the period of 1971-1978 in American cinema, cheap movies that featured
African-American stars had a leading role in the film industry. These films
in different ways met the definition of the term “exploitation”. These were
B-movies that were sensational, scandalous or had controversial elements
(sex, violence, drugs), which were deliberately highlighted. But there
were also films which attracted the audiences because of topics of racial
emancipation or because of featuring African-American movie stars. These
movies were produced by big Hollywood production companies such as
MGM, Warner Brothers, Paramount or United Artists. These companies also
provided distribution of movies made in smaller production companies, of
which American International Pictures dominated the blaxploitation field.
Why did you accept the role of a juror at FFF and what do you expect from the young directors’ films?
For me the interesting thing is making up some rules that I can use when looking at films. In my work as
a film critic I’m trying to find and create these measures every day. It’s very interesting when I have the
opportunity to compare them with other jurors. Films within this section are debuts or second films, which is
even more interesting as young directors in their beginnings are trying to break the stereotypes. In this sense
it is probably the most “fresh” stuff that you can see here.
And so what are the criteria that you set for evaluating the films you see here at FFF?
They aren’t set in advance. That’s why working as a juror is so interesting for me. We have to find these
criteria again and discuss them, which is exactly the work I enjoy. Discovering the criteria is always the most
interesting part. It is new all the time, not based on a set criteria or set form. But evaluating according to set
criteria has unfortunately been quite common in Czech film journalism.
Those six films in the Fresh Generation section are quite “genre” typed films, how are you going to
evaluate them?
Each genre film works with a certain code, and this code is partly being confirmed and at the same time partly
overcome. My favourite thesis is of Karel Thein's, a philosopher and a film critic. He says that filming is nothing
more that filling some genre categories, but that in Czech cinematography, since the time of the new wave,
we have seen it differently. Czech filmmakers made a step aside, they started doing social-critique, instead of
doing film. But Thein states that the genre reveals what kind of a filmmaker one is, and that it's not only about
confirming the particular genre, but also about stepping out of it, and redefining it.
And do you think that Czech filmmakers can work within genre categories?
I think they can't that they're still avoiding it, trying to say something about society instead. Actually, the only
genre that Czech directors are trying to perfect is that of the “warm-hearted comedy”, a special genre that has
been “defined” by the Czechs.
So now about your new work for Czech television. What interesting things are you expecting from that?
I don't expect anything at all from Czech television. The only thing I expect is that it will give us space so that
we can do our work differently from how it used to be done there. And I was given such a promise. We can say
that until now, there has never existed a real editorial office for art and culture, that it was only about simple
announcing of events. There was no critical opinion, no endeavour to put things into a broader context, which
is what I hope to change. We want to open up and broaden art and culture on TV, we want to have longer
programmes, thematic blocks, on ČT24 we should be twice a week in the main news. Our aim is to present art
and culture as a part of society, something that we're living, not only watching and consuming.
MP
Cotton Comes to Harlem, a detective comedy presented by United Artists
in 1970, is often considered one of the key films to trigger the blaxploitation
trend. The following year, two more pictures were released which, with their
impertinence and peremptoriness, set the form of this American films genre
(blaxploitation). Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, an underground
movie which was very avant-garde and hence supposedly less attractive
to audiences, showed with its successful sales that nonconformist films
with radical messages do not necessarily have to be non-commercial. On
the basis of Sweet Sweetback's success, the screenplay of Shaft was
rewritten in the very last minute. The self-confidant hero of this film, who
gains the respect of his white colleagues for his professionalism, became a
model for the heroes of blaxpoitation films.
During the following years, this category grew in the diversity of its genres.
It offered horror films, comedies or action movies with martial arts,
featuring African-American actors. Nevertheless, most of the new genres
could not compete in quality with the skillfully made films in the detective
genre, which became the spine of the blaxploitation group of films. Films
starring Pam Gier, the most famous female African-American actress,
brought a message to audiences about not only the African-American
consciousness, but also about gender equality. However, by 1978 the fame
of the blaxpoitation era was already gone and this whole group of films
was fading out. Despite its relatively short duration, this period changed
US cinematography in a crucial way. Above all it changed the amount of
opportunities for African-American actors, who began to be among the
best-paid actors in the industry.
JF
6FFF KARLOVY VARY
Magical Petr Lébl
FRESH NEWS 03
FRIDAY AUGUST 14TH, 2009 ENG
Fresh Ambient
JUROR LARRY SIDER
SJÓN SIGURDSSON AND AIDA ABBASOVÁ
OPENING GRANDE
DANCING IN TELEPORT
PETR LÉBL, PHOTO: BOHDAN HOLOMÍČEK
When he tapped on my shoulder, and on my life, in1992, it did not take him long to
persuade me to cooperate with him and some others on a project called Kroměříž
Studio (I think the director Potužil was there with him, too). Immediately I felt
comfortable, open and in a friendly connection with him. He was pulsing with
intensive energy and with a specific kind of tenderness. And so then we gradually
started shooting Studio K. A bizarre community started around it, which was its
core, but other people were catching up, according to the themes of particular
parts. Lébl knew that in the Bílé Divadlo theatre company, acting improv was being
cultivated and that I admired and used it. And since improvisation was one of the
dominant elements of Studio K., this work immediately became a pleasure for my
soul. Doing that was joy and playfulness and wit and imagination.
What was the greatness and charm of Studio K.?
Mystification.
Parodying gibberish discussions about something and nothing, as we know them
intimately from today’s screen.
Conceiving of ideas on the spot – from a topic chosen by Lébl.
School of interaction.
Language esprit and inventiveness.
Flashes of wisdom within stupidities.
Seriousness within irony, the grotesque within the sublime.
Finding bits of gold within the blather to make our thoughts sparkle.
The spirit and sense of nonsense.
The strength and clearness of spontaneously spoken text.
The magic of the odd, and of intentional and unintentional humour.
Poetry, a very distinctive poetry…
Some young people from FFF asked me to help them after they decided to do Petr
Lébl’s filmography at this year’s FFF. Namely, Jakub Felcman, the programme
director of FFF, as well as Eliška Nováková, from the Faculty of Theatre Production
at JAMU, and Vojtěch Mašek, from the Department of Screenwriting and
Dramaturgy at FAMU (who was just finishing his theses on Lébl and Studio K.). I
was very pleased by their idea. I’m glad that they accepted him, almost in a cultish
way. But it’s right that they should do so. Lébl is irreplaceable, after him there is a
10 years gap. But thankfully he left us a wide and genius collection of works.
Prof. Miloš Horanský
Fresh Audio – tune
your ears!
This year’s FFF considers those whose eyes are weary with watching. And so as a
part of the program there are many opportunities to listen to radio plays presented
by FFF in cooperation with Vltava station, Czech Radio. Three radio plays will be
played in the Thermal hotel and Elko club in Karlovy Vary. The high quality of sound
will be enriched by the uniqueness of sharing the experience.
The key feature of this programme will be the premiere of the radio play
Salzburg Goulash, by Petr Pýcha and Jaroslav Rudiš, directed by Aleš Vrzák,
featuring Josef Somr and Martha Issová. This production will take place in the Hall
C at the Thermal hotel, today at 4.30pm.
Within this programme, Fresh Film Fest will also present the most famous works
of legendary radio director Jiří Hrdlička. Samuel Beckett’s All That Fall and Ludvík
Askenazy’s It Was on Your Account, were written in the 60’s, and the most
important personalities of Czech theatre performed as main characters (e.g. Karel
Höger, Zdeňek Štěpánek, Vlasta Chramostová, Olga Scheinpflugová and Josef
Kemr). The play It Was on Your Account can be heard on Saturday, August 15th at
1.30pm in Elko club.
HLAVNÍ
SÁL / MAIN
HALL
SÁL / HALL
A
SÁL / HALL
B
SÁL / HALL
C
KINO / CINEMA
ČAS
KINO / CINEMA
PANASONIC
KLUB / CLUB
ELKO
HOTEL
THERMAL
FASÁDA/
FACADE
9.00
11.00
10.45
10.00
9.15
14.30
15.00
Kinorama
Fresh Generation
Fotojatka
Projekce / Screening
Weitertanzen
Projekce školních filmů /
School Films Screening
Centropa
2/2
Petr Lébl
Retrospektiva / Retrospective
22.00
Hlavní soutěž /
Main Competition
3/4
Petr Lébl
Retrospektiva / Retrospective
Zvláštní uvedení /
Special Event
11.00
12.45
Hlavní soutěž /
Main Competition
4/4
13.00
Fresh Classics
(500) Days of Summer
15.30
Fresh Classics
Film With Me In It
PREMIÉRA / PREMIERE
SOUTĚŽNÍ SNÍMKY /
FILMS IN COMPETITION
18.00
Hlavní soutěž /
Main Competition
3/4
20.00
Theatre Optique
2/2
21.30
Hlavní soutěž /
Main Competition
4/4
23.30
Mimo soutěž /
Out of Competition
3/4
Projekce školních filmů /
School Films Screening
12.30
Zvláštní uvedení / Special
Event
Filmy / Films
Visegradská
karavana / Visegrad
Caravan
14.00
16.15
Den Danske Filmskole
Workshopy / Workshops
3D Animace /
Animation
16.30
Panorama
Rozum a Cit / Sense
and Sensibility
22:15
Panorama
Obyčejné šílenství /
Ordinary Madness
Petr Lébl
Retrospektiva / Retrospective
Filmakademie
Baden-Württemberg
Filmy / Films
11.00
11.15
Theatre Optique
2/2
13.15
Zvláštní uvedení / Special Event
Na Blaník!
...téma: Franz Kafka
Peter Kršák
Studentské filmy /
Student films
18.15
14.45
Petr Lébl
Retrospektiva / Retrospective
Mimo soutěž /
Out of Competition
2/4
Egon Tobiáš: Jak je
sladké tvoje žvanění
Strážce kouzel
20.15
Petr Lébl
Retrospektiva / Retrospective
Revizor
Das Mädchen mit den gelben
Strümpfen
16.30
Fresh Audio
Petr Pýcha, Jaroslav
Rudiš: Salcburský
guláš
Fresh Generation
Truffe*
13.30
Fresh Generation
Sauna*
PREMIÉRA / PREMIERE
SOUTĚŽNÍ SNÍMKY /
FILMS IN COMPETITION
17.00
Osma
České debuty a druhé filmy /
Czech First and Second Films
Výběr z TV pořadů /
Selection from TV
shows
Petr Lébl
Retrospektiva / Retrospective
19.30
Studio Kroměříž I.
Osma
České debuty a druhé filmy /
Czech First and Second
Films
Děti noci
Centropa
2/2
Video Mapping
Světelná show / Light Show
16.00
Sestra
16.00
17.30
Petr Lébl
Retrospektiva / Retrospective
Studio Kroměříž II.
19.00
Petr Lébl
Retrospektiva / Retrospective
FOYER
DISKUSNÍ
KOUTEK /
Q&A
CORNER
Studio Kroměříž III.
14.00, 15.00
Petr Lébl
Retrospektiva / Retrospective
Setkání s tvůrci / Meeting
With the Film Makers
Fresh Generation
Andělé tě hlídají
Rozhovor s účastníky
soutěže / Interview
with Competitors
21.00
18.30
Fresh Generation
Black
22.00
Visegrad Cocktail
16.00
ARLT
21.00
Sex Galaxy
14.30
Koncert / Concert
19.00
Rozhlasová hra / Radio Drama
Kontakt
Žiletky
BAR
ČERNÁ
DÍRA /
BLACK
HOLE
Petr Lébl
Retrospektiva / Retrospective
...téma: Franz Kafka
20.30
Divadelní představení /
Dramatic Performance
Théâtre de la Liberté
Paix intergalactique
KLUB /
CLUB
TELEPORT
23.00
Peťo Tázok +
Karaoke Tundra
DJ Robot
19.45
Mimo soutěž /
Out of Competition
Elkland
23.59 BLAXPLOITATION
NIGHT
Sweet Sweetback’s
Baadasssss Song
Foxy Brown
Truck Turner
*Projekce budou překládány do češtiny do sluchátek
Comix
TEXT: ANNA KOPECKÁ, MARKÉTA POKORNÁ | FOTO: JAN KUDĚJ | TOMÁŠ DURŇÁK | TYPO: MATĚJ ČECH | COMICS: FI3ER.COM | STE.PAN | MARHLAD
VYTIŠTĚNO ZA PODPORY