Jana Ševčíková
section: Opus Bonum
edition: 2025
country: Czech Republic
Jana Ševčíková is a renowned Czech documentary film director, screenwriter, and producer. She graduated from FAMU in Prague in 1983. Her documentary Old Believers (2001), portraying a Russian Orthodox community in Romania, received a Special Commendation from the Ecumenical Jury at the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival and the FICC Don Quijote Award at the Kraków Film Festival. At the Ji.hlava IDFF, she presented her feature-length films The Rite of Spring (2002) and Gyumri (2008). In 2021, the festival honored her with the Award for Contribution to World Cinema. Ševčíková typically spends several years developing each of her films, striving to get as close as possible to the lives of her protagonists. Her works resemble poetry or meditation, filmed over many years, observing transformation and allowing viewers to perceive the continuity of human life. She demonstrates that film can serve as both an image of time and a form of contemplation.