Tears of Steel: Vladimír Stehlík Meets Lubomír Krystlík

synopsis

The privatization and bankruptcy of the famous Poldi Kladno steel mill in the 1990s long left its mark on Czech society and the media. The FAMU graduate film returns to the affair many years later from the point of view of its main actors: Poldi Kladno’s CEO Vladimír Stehlík and his personal advisor Lubomír Krystlík. By juxtaposing their remarks with archival television videos, the film provides a humorous look at the ups and downs of two men who contributed extensively to building capitalism in post-1989 Bohemia and who are now learning the art of aging on their meager pensions.

DETAIL:
“You have to turn it into a show. Otherwise nobody will find it interesting. Also, there is no point in returning to the past. Document it and enough.” “And how should we turn it into a show?” “For instance by taking a picture of Stehlík’s teeth.”

biography

Tomáš Potočný (1981) studied sociology at Brno’s Masaryk University, followed by documentary film at FAMU. He has worked for Czech Television, the People in Need Foundation, and the One World Film Festival. The Jihlava IDFF has previously shown his films OO or The Journals of Milada (2008) about a retired woman working as a public toilet attendant and Ice-land (Last Trip) (2009), a meditation on the meaning of traveling to the Nordic island nation.

film details

director:	Tomáš Potočný
producer:	Petr Kubica
editing:	Ilona Malá
sound:	Barbora Hovorková