Vera Chytilova, one of the foremost directors of the 60s Czech New Wave, was always closely associated with Prague. Her career from the start was daring and original with an ability to observe ordinary, everyday things in an unconventional way and from unexpected angles. First British retrospective of her work pays a hommage to the range of her abilities.

Films featured in Festival:

Daisies
Flights and Falls
The Fruit of Paradise
The Jester and the Queen
Traps
Apple Game
Prefab Story
Prague – Restless Heart of Europe
Flights and Falls

Biography & Filmography

Daisies | Sedmikrasky
Vera Chytilova, 1966, 74', subtitles

London 28 April
Bristol 6 May
Bradford 15 May
Nottingham 26 May

Daisies concerns the pranks of two girls, Marie I and Marie II, who destroy the life around them. Outrageous decor and dazzling cinematography play integral part in this nihilistic tale of senseless provocation.
Grand Prize in Bergamo 1967

Flights and Falls | Vzlety a pady
Vera Chytilova, 2000, 120', language: Czech

Czech Centre London 09 May 6:45pm

A meeting of three creative lives with the 20th century. From the artistic point of view of the Czech photographers Vaclav Chochola, Karel Ludwig, Zdenek Tmeje and from the point of view of their relatives, lovers and friends we come to the epicentre of intensive experiences. In spite of the time we live in or thanks to it, the epicentre manages to exceed its own existence that was not identified with political or aesthetical regimes as well as with dying human relationships.

The Fruit of Paradise | Ovoce stromu rajskych jime
Vera Chytilova, 1969, 95', subtitles

London 2 May
Bradford 20 May
Brighton 26 May

Chytilova audaciously mixes allegory with the avant-garde in this operatic tale of a girls' attraction to a devilish serial killer. Using the structure of a crime novel, characters symbolizing Adam and Eve and quotations from Genesis, director plays with the notion that to search for truth is to court death. Chytilovais most experimental work is a strikingly beautiful film in which photography and music combine in a unique celebration of form.
1970 Chicago Prize for an experimental film

The Jester and the Queen | Sasek a kralovna
Vera Chytilova, 1987, 111', subtitles

London 2 May

A castle warden dreams about being Jester to a despotic Queen. His dreams penetrate reality and soon he sees in an attractive visitor - his Queen. Chytilova's parable has many layers of meaning; it could be reality and it could be a dream, or perhaps it is reality, and a dream inside of a dream. Deriving inspiration from theatre, the film takes full advantage of Bolek Polivkais unique talent for mime. With Boleslav Polivka, Chantal Poullain, Jiri Kodet and Vlastimil Brodsky
Grand Prize in Mannheim, 1963

Traps | Pasti, pasti, pasticky
Vera Chytilova, 1998, 115‘, subtitles

London 28 April
Bradford 7 May
Stoke-On-Trent 14 May
Nottingham 26 May
Edinburgh 29 and 30 May

A feminist black comedy about a vet who, after being raped by two men, uses her particular expertise to take her revenge. Oscillating between tragedy and comedy with some really hilarious scenes, the film uses rape as the departure for an analysis of morality and power in contemporary society. Life itself and the instinct for self-preservation is the biggest trap of the film. The others are pride, love and the essentially primitive nature of being.
Venezia 1998 Prix Elvira Notari