SPECIAL EDITION OF KVIFF’s MAIN MEDIA PARTNER 1 1/7 2016 FREE INSIDE Anna Geislerová on Czech heroism English Section, page 2 Otto Preminger: Anatomy of an auteur English Section, page 3 Official Selection: new voices, top talents English Section, page 4 Photo: Petr Hloušek Czechoslovakia’s greatest WWII coup, “Operation Anthropoid,” gets a fresh look from English director-scribe Sean Ellis SEAN ELLIS: INTERWEAVING DRAMA AND FACT By Veronika Bednářová I finished Metro Manila, and I was look- erally why it took 15 years. What part of comes the one who’s almost about to give noyed me at first was why they weren’t ing for another film to make. And I felt that story do you tell? You could do an everything up and just go out, guns blaz- together when they died, like in the 1975 and Will Tizard a similarity in themes – because Metro is eight-part TV series about that whole ing. There’s an interesting crossover be- film Operation Daybreak. But when about a man who sacrifices himself for thing. tween the two. I started to look at that, I thought each KVIFF opener Anthropoid, which has his family. But this is about two men – character is going to get his own ending. its world premiere tonight, is the first fea- seven men – who sacrifice their lives for And you portray Jan Kubiš as strug- What else did you want to handle dif- You get two pieces of cake in that respect. ture film to take on the assassination of their country. gling to find his courage at the start – ferently than the previous films have? Things start to just talk to you in Reinhard Heydrich since 1975’s Operation I suppose because otherwise you’d In Atentát, the Kubiš character comes a weird way. How did it happen? We were Daybreak. Director-scribe Sean Ellis re- So this is a theme that’s compelling have two stale heroes. down from the nave and tells Gabčík that able to see through the interviews and counts how he developed his characters us- to you – along with that of doing bad Atentát (the 1965 Czech drama) did the church is surrounded. He goes down through research – we had the Gestapo ing scraps of historic documentation from things with good intentions? that. Stoic, stone-like soldiers. In Atentát, to the crypt and he says goodbye to him. autopsy reports – and by reading those which much nuance was missing. I think it’s a theme that I’m quite ob- I didn’t know which one was Kubiš and I just thought, actually, I think it’s and going to the church you could piece sessed about – which is: We’re only here which one was Gabčík. When you’ve got stronger if they’re not together, if they together where they died and how they The film had a 15-year genesis, start- for such a short time and some people live two protagonists, they can’t be doing the don’t get a chance to say goodbye. died. ing when you came across a TV story in such extremes and it’s like, ‘What do same thing. If you open a film with the Because then you really see that Kubiš is of the British-trained Czech assassins you do? What’s the human psyche and Kubiš character, who can’t shoot anybody fighting for his life up there. And when And the development of the female [Jan Kubiš (Jamie Dornan) and Jozef what’s it capable of doing at extreme – and then you find out they’re there to he cries his name, you realize that an- characters and the romances are quite Gabčík (Cillian Murphy), who killed points?’ You kind of know there’s no way assassinate someone – you go, ‘This is guish. new in Anthropoid... Heydrich in 1942. How did your ver- out and it’s the end – it’s kind of how you not going to end well.’ It’s well known that those boys...were sion of the story develop in that time? face the end. In Anthropoid, they face the But he’s the one who comes good on And where did you find the line be- being boys. Knowing that they would It was a file that kept growing – when- end with such a roar of life that it’s still the day. He’s able to deal with his fear and tween the requirements of film struc- probably not come out alive, they had lots ever I had some spare time, I would do resonating today. complete his mission. Gabčík’s arc is an ture and the historical reality, which and lots of girlfriends. As a piece of en- some research. Then I remember doing interesting one as well. He’s a man on you painstakingly researched? tertainment, I think we can be protected some commercials in Prague around So how did you choose to focus the a mission. Nothing’s going to come be- It’s a very tricky line. You’re weaving from that. And we can make them a little 2005, 2006 and 2007 and every time story with so much material to work tween him and what he wants to do. And yourself between film structure and that bit more politically correct. A bit more I came I was like, ‘Take me to the church’ from? then he meets Lenka [Anna Geislerová; particular set of rules that you can follow heroic, in some respects. [where the assassin paratroopers hid]. But It’s a tricky story because it’s so big. see interview on p.2]. And it upsets him. or break. And you’re trying to be true to It doesn’t take away from what they did I think it really became a project after There’s so much. And I think that’s gen- When Lenka dies, he spirals. And he be- the historical facts. One thing that an- – and what they did is incredible. z SEE YOU THERE EXPLAINER KVIFF ARTISTIC KVIFF GETTIN’ JINGLEY WITH IT KAREL OCH DIRECTOR The first film of the 51st KVIFF brothers estimate that the num- I’d recommend Roger Ross Williams’ Life, screens at 8:30am today, but the ber of folks working on the cer- Animated, an amazing documentary about the festival will officially open at emony at around 50. “Marek power of film; about an autistic boy whose fa- 6pm at the Grand Hall of Hotel Eben might be the 51st,” quips ther discovers, after years of no communication, Thermal preceded by the red Photo: Petr Hloušek Michal, riffing on the edition that he’s repeating lines from Disney movies on- carpet promenade welcoming number of this year’s KVIFF. ly. The family learns to interact with him through honored guests such as Willem The short film which precedes them. It’s an uplifting tearjerker and won Best Dafoe, who will be awarded the the features, known in Czech as Director at Sundance. Also, Pietro Marcello’s Crystal Globe for Outstanding “the jingle,” also includes Lost and Beautiful, the best Italian film of 2015. Contribution to World Cinema. a swimming sequence not meant Grand Jury member Maurizio Braucci co-wrote The evening will be hosted, as an invitation to dive into the the script. It blends fiction and documentary in just as it has been for two closed pool above the Hotel an incredibly poetic way. (BK) decades, by actor, moderator and musician Marek Eben Thermal, which is reserved for industry events this year. while the artistic design, scenography and choreography are But KVIFF’s gala will not be rolling out only behind the Life, Animated screens today at 1pm (Pupp), July again in the hands of creative brothers Michal and Šimon closed doors of the Grand Hall. The opening film 3 at 10:30pm (Cinema B), July 5 at 10:30pm Caban. And what can you look forward to? “We’re returning Anthropoid will screen at three other cinema halls tonight (Drahomíra), and July 7 at 10pm (Národní dům). to the classical jingle this year, which is inspired by the lat- and celebrations will continue outside the Thermal, where Lost and Beautiful shows today at 6:30pm (KV est technology but also reflecting the work of renowned a concert of famous film melodies organized in collabora- Municipal Theatre), July 2 at 2pm (Drahomíra), July British photographer Eadweard Muybridge,” Michal says, tion with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra kicks off 4 at 11:30am (Grand Hall), and July 7 at 1pm recalling the pioneer of stop-motion photography. at 10:45pm. And yes, fireworks will light up the sky to wrap (Congress Hall) z A team of nine dancers will take the stage and the Caban it all up! (HG) z strana 2 / page 2 FESTIVAL DAILY Friday, July 1, 2016 ANNA GEISLEROVÁ: ‘WE STILL NEED HEROES’ Kateřina Kadlecová life models, put everything on the not, no big deal. I’ve benefited line to stand up to evil and fight a lot as it is. I took part in the A former model, the waifish for freedom from the fascists. filming of something that had al- ginger-haired Anna Geislerová This is all we know about Lenka. ways intrigued me – we played made her silver screen debut at I think it’s quite enough. soldiers as children all the time, the age of 12, and over the past You’re an avid reader of shooting the Nazis. Now I have few decades has appeared in Memory of the Nation project this powerful experience and scores of Czech television series stories, the database of memo- I was able to meet incredible peo- and feature films, including inter- ries of survivors of great histor- ple on the set.