Golden Sixties

Episode 17: Jan Němec

May 16, 2009 • 57 min

Enfant terrible of the Czechoslovak New Wave. With his material he had problems already at FAMU, however, just with the first feature film, existentially tormenting Diamonds of the Night (Démanty noci, 1964), he won respect at home and abroad. The allegory The Party and the Guests (O slavnosti a hostech, 1966), conversely attracted stiff opposition of the communist regime, which amplified after the Soviet occupation in August 1968. After fifteen years spent in exile, even there he had not stop as a filmmaker, a new artistic era began after his return home In the Light of the King's Love (V žáru královské lásky, 1990). Using new technologies, he also used as a source his own bohemian life (Late Night Talks with Mother /Noční hovory s matkou/, 2001–2002; The Ferrari Dino Girl /Holka Ferrari Dino/, 2009). With his formed subjectivity, production and distribution ingenuity, he is even now well beyond his generation.