Czechtember
Dir. Miroslav Janek, 53 mins, Czech Republic, 1996, Cert 18 (CTBA)
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Sun 14 September // 14:00
Tickets: £6
“A small wonder… takes hold of the heart immediately and never loosens it grip… a brilliantly conceptualized and immaculately crafted piece of filmmaking.” Variety
„People imagine, that the blind live in darkness and know nothing about the things around them. But they have a concrete image of everything.“ says photographer Daniela Horníčková, who led blind children from the Prague Jaroslav Ježek School to capture their surroundings on still camera.
The children took pictures at school, on field trips, at home or the dormitory mostly focusing on things they knew by touch.
In 1995, director Miroslav Janek entered the project and shot a documentary stimulating comprehension of the issues and uniqueness of the creative process.
Miroslav Janek began as an amateur filmmaker. In 1980 he emigrated to the United States where he worked with a number of documentarists (e.g. Godfrey Reggio).
Janek and his wife Tonička Janková, the film’s editor, have been making television documentaries since their return to the Czech Republic.
This film is a modest but powerful gem. It is a witty and heart-warming portrayal of humble existence that extends itself beyond the visible as we know it.
The Unseen is a celebration of life in which these delightful children attest that creativity and joie de vivre have no boundaries.
(1996 – Best Documentary Film ex aequo at KVIFF)
Timings
13:30 - Doors open
14:00 - Screening starts