A cinema usher, projectionist, photo factory trainee, film laboratory technician – all this was Otto Heller before he became a cinematographer. He worked on more than 200 films and became one of the most acclaimed directors of photography. During the silent and interwar periods, Heller enriched Czechoslovak film with many original or adopted innovative features. Being of Jewish origin, he escaped from the Nazis and, passing the Netherlands and France, finally settled in the UK where he found his second home. Through the selection of sixteen films and together with Professor Duncan Petrie from University of York, we will study Heller’s impact on both Czechoslovak and British cinema. After all, he’s the only Czech cinematographer who can boast two BAFTAs.
Programmers:
Aleš Říman, a high school teacher who keeps returning to his original profession at Summer Film School, fan of genre film, lovingly made trash cinema and everything Italian, being in a lifelong complicated but fruitful relationship with Czechoslovak cinema.
Jan Jendřejek focuses on the history of Czech and Czechoslovak cinema. He likes to discover its unexplored realms and hidden gems. He never condemns Czech cinema and respects the filmmakers who were able to make their marks abroad.
Programme sections
