The Power of Female Perspective: a new section shows why it matters

In the 37th Finale programme, we will present a brand-new section, Women and Film, in collaboration with Girls in Film Prague platform. In four programme blocks, we will introduce interesting female filmmakers of different professions - cinematographer Klára Belicová, director Diana Cam Van Nguyen, actress Alžběta Malá and producers Julia Marková Žáčková and Dagmar Sedláčková, who founded the Czech branch of the Girls in Film platform, and their inspirations in Czech and Slovak cinema.

The selected women filmmakers were free to choose one Czech or Czechoslovak film each, in which another woman that inspired them, influenced them in some way or they simply appreciated her work, participated.

Cameraman Klára Belicová will introduce Adéla Babanová and her three short films, Neptune; The Law of Time; and Back to Adriaport: “I am attracted to the work of Adéla Babanová because of its subject matter, whether it is the absurdity of communist propaganda in the short mystery film, Neptune, or the theme of personal and artistic integrity in a partnership with another artist, developed in a multi-screen art project, The Law of Time. Moreover, her films are characterized by a unique narrative and a refined visual style," says Klára.

Director and visual artist, Diana Cam Van Nguyen, chose as her inspiration producer Pavla Janoušková Kubečková and the film The Intensive Life Unit, which she produced. "Pavla Janoušková Kubečková is an inspiration for me not only because of her film production career. She is behind highly successful projects, such as The Wasteland; Suspicion; The Burning Bush; and the selected documentary film, The Intensive Life Unit. Pavla is a role model for me, especially as a person. I admire her decision not to continue with her career as a producer, when the predatory film environment was taking more from her rather than giving. For me, Pavla embodies the idea that producers don't have to be pushy to achieve their goals, and that it's worth doing things that make sense, even if it takes years. I respect her fragility and strength and, at the same time, her courage to speak out about important issues. The Intensive Life Unit is an example of a meaningful film full of sensitivity to its chosen subject. In addition, the director of this feature-length documentary is Adéla Komrzý, whom I also respect immensely," Diana sums up.

Actress Alžběta Malá is inspired by Tatiana Dyková and will present the film Indian Summer, in which she made her acting debut. "For me, Tatiana Dyková represents absolutely believable, civil and extraordinary acting. Each of her characters for me has always carried inner contradictions and something unspoken. She can be strong, but somewhere inside she is fragile. Deceptive, but also wounded. Every time I watch her, I feel like I'm close to her, and I'd like to know what's going on deep inside her. She has an appeal as an actress that I think moves any story along. Plus, her acting isn't generic, it's always specific and deep. I'm curious to know what it was like working on the set of Indian Summer, for example, and how she felt as a woman in the film environment when she was starting out," says Alžběta. And why did she choose Tatiana's acting debut? "Indian Summer is a film that stands out for me in several ways. It is a coming-of-age story dominated by two female protagonists - very sensitively and civilly portrayed by Klára Issová and Tatiana Dyková. And director Sacha Gedeon follows them with great sensitivity, respect and intuition. He does so with ease and gives the situations time. I admire the poetics of this film - its poignant summer feel, its youthful atmosphere, its simplicity yet precision, its sense of colour and overall visuals. I think Indian Summer is an extraordinary film not only for its time, but it can also be inspiring for today's filmmakers. Its images have resonated with me for several years, and I would love to see more ordinary stories, which are the truest ones in the end,” she adds.

Producers Julie Marková Žáčková and Dagmar Sedláčková from Girls in Film will introduce director Eva Sadková and her Transformations Of A Knife. "Our initial idea was to find an unknown female producer who worked in the 1960s-70s. But we weren't very successful in this (producers then were mostly men). But during our research, we came across Eva Sadková, a director who worked mainly as a TV director and made over 150 TV productions (!). We were struck by the fact that despite her activity, we had hardly heard of her during our studies at FAMU or Film Science - she is not part of the permanent curriculum like her male contemporaries. We chose her film, Transformations Of A Knife (1969), starring the great Iva Janžurová, because we found it very topical - it tells the story of a waitress in a roadside inn who dreams of a better life and, above all, of a great love. Through situations she experiences in the roadside inn (mainly thanks to annoying male visitors who won't leave her alone), the film thematizes the position of women in society, which is still relevant fifty years after its creation," they said.