Films scripted by Zdeněk Svěrák have been nominated three times at the Academy Awards: the first was the comedy My Sweet Little Village (1985, dir. Jiří Menzel), followed by The Elementary School (1991, dir. Jan Svěrák) and lastly Kolya, which won the Oscar in 1997.
Originally a teacher, Zdeněk Svěrák made his mark on Czech culture not only as a screenwriter, dramatist and author, but also as the co-creator of the fictitious Czech luminary Jára Cimrman, whose name is shared by the theatre he and his colleagues founded and where he continues his work today as a central writer and actor.
Svěrák collaborated on his film and theatre projects with his long-time friend Ladislav Smoljak. From the 1970s they penned a number of Czech comedies together: Jáchyme, hoď ho do stroje! (1974), Marecek, Pass Me the Pen! (1975, both directed by Oldřich Lipský), Seclusion near a Forest (1975, dir. J. Menzel), Ball Lightning (1978, dir. Zdeněk Podskalský and L. Smoljak) and the satirical musical The Hit (1980, dir. Z. Podskalský). The Smoljak-Svěrák creative team was also behind the films Jára Cimrman Lying, Sleeping (1983), Dissolved and Effused (1984) and the theatre “chronicle” An Uncertain Season (1987, all directed by L. Smoljak).
Films that Zdeněk Svěrák scripted independently include the fairytales Long Live Ghosts! (1977), Three Veterans (1983, both directed by O. Lipský) and Ruffiano and Sweeteeth (1997, dir. Karel Smyczek), the comedies Waiter, Scarper! (1980, dir. L. Smoljak), the adaptation of Voinovich’s novel The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin (1994, dir. J. Menzel), and the Oscar-nominated comedies My Sweet Little Village (1985, dir. J. Menzel) and The Elementary School (1991, dir. J. Svěrák).
One of his greatest successes was Kolya (1996), which was directed by his son, Jan Svěrák, and won the Academy Award for best foreign language film and a Czech Lion for best screenplay. For his son he also wrote the story for the epic Dark Blue World (2001) commemorating the Czech wartime pilots who fought in the British RAF. The film was awarded four Czech Lions. The 2007 comedy Empties was the biggest box-office success of that year and brought Zdeněk Svěrák another Czech Lion for best screenplay and a Special Mention for screenwriting at the 42nd Karlovy Vary IFF, where the film also won the Právo Audience Award.
In 2010, the KV IFF International Competition awarded the Special Jury Prize to the children’s film Kooky (dir. Jan Svěrák), in which Zdeněk Svěrák voiced one of the main characters. His most recent collaboration with his son is the fairytale Tři bratři, which will be released in August of this year.
Zdeněk Svěrák has also applied his distinctive comedic talent as an actor in a number of supporting roles, most of which he helped write. His memorable main roles have included the burnt-out dentist Burda and the dangerously infatuated engineer Hnyk in the tragicomic morality plays What´s up, Doc? (1984) and As Good as Poison (1985, both directed by Vít Olmer). His greatest opportunities as an actor were offered by his son Jan in the films The Elementary School (1991), Accumulator 1 (1994), Kolya (1995) and Empties (2007).
In 1994 Svěrák founded the Paraple centre for paraplegic aid. He remains the charity’s public face and promoter today.
Zdeněk Svěrák was the lyricist behind dozens of popular songs made in collaboration with composer Jaroslav Uhlíř. He is also the author of numerous children’s books, as well as the short-story collections Povídky (2008), Nové povídky (2011) and the patchwork memoir Po strništi bos (2013) which became bestsellers.
