Through the Landscape of Literature

Petr Smělík / Czech Republic / Czech Premiere / 67 min.

synopsis

The bilingual documentary Through the Landscape of Literature / Tschechische Literaturlandschaften explores Czech writers and the places that inspired their work. The German version is intended for the Frankfurt Book Fair, while the Czech version is made for Czech Television’s streaming platform, iVysílání. The filmmakers drew on footage shot for the 13-part documentary series Literární místopis, currently airing on ČT art. While the series takes a geographical approach, with each episode devoted to a particular region, the documentary follows a thematic structure. It aims to revisit celebrated names such as Bohumil Hrabal, Milan Kundera and Josef Škvorecký, as well as German-language writers including Franz Kafka, Gustav Meyrink and Otfried Preußler. Above all, it seeks to showcase contemporary writers such as Jiří Hájíček, Radka Denemarková, Miřenka Čechová, Alice Horáčková and Jan Novák. As in the series, viewers are guided through Czech literary landscapes by Jaroslav Rudiš, a prominent author who writes in both Czech and German.

biography

Petr Smělík (born 1985) graduated from Zlín Film School. The puppet animation Tokio Brothers, on which he worked as production manager and editor, received an award at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2006 and the Grand Prize at the Tokyo Anime Fair in 2007. In 2009, he edited the documentary mystery Přízrak svobody II, a co-production between Endorfilm, Czech Television and ARTE. At the 23rd Finále Plzeň festival in 2010, it received a Special Award “for boldly crossing the boundaries of the documentary genre and experimenting with cinematic time”. His editing experience ranges from auteur documentaries to television shows, fiction films for television and a documentary presentation accompanying an exhibition devoted to František Vláčil. The series Uzamčený svět, which he edited, won the Czech Joy Award at the 2018 Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival. He made his directorial debut with the medium-length documentary Rok na dědině.