30-10-2011

Obsurantist Wins FNE Visegrad Prix at Jihlava

By Cathy Meils

    JIHLAVA, CZECH REPUBLIC: Obscurantist and His Lineage or the Pyramids' Tearful Valleys (Tmář a jeho rod aneb Slzavé údolí pyramid, Czech Republic/Slovakia, 2011) by legendary Czech experimental documentary filmmaker Karel Vachek won the second annual Film New Europe Visegrad Prix for the best Central European documentary coproduction at the 15th Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival (www.dokument-festival.com).

    {mosimage}The jury, consisting of Paolo Benzi (Producer, Italy), Pavel Jech (Screenwriter and Dramaturgist, Czech Republic), Necati Sönmez (Documentary film festival director, Istanbul, Turkey), and Aida Vallejo (Film historian, Spain) awarded the film with the following statement: "By engaging enduring philosophical themes and by constantly tinkering with the crafts of cinema the filmmaker courageously demonstrates how cinema can contribute and enrich the modes of human perception and thinking. The film reveals an uncompromising faith in humanity - especially when recognizing its innumerable failings - and an enthusiastic personal belief in cinema as an inexhaustible form of expression and experience."

    The film had its world premiere at Jihlava IDFF. The film is a coproduction with Atelier.doc (Slovakia) www.atelierdoc.sk and supported by the Slovak Audiovisual Fund (www.avf.sk )

    The FNE Visegrad Prix 2011 with a cash award of 1,000 euros went to the Czech production company, Produkce Radim Prochazka (www.radimprochazka.cz). Director Karel Vachek was present at the Jihlava IDFF closing ceremony on 29 October 2011 to accept the award.

     The FNE Visegrad Prix for best documentary film coproduction from a Visegrad country is an initiative of Film New Europe and backed by the International Visegrad Fund (www.visegradfund.org). The prize is awarded to recognize the artistic achievements of filmmakers in the Visegrad countries and to encourage cultural co-operation between partners within Visegrad countries and partners in other European countries of the European Union as well as internationally. The competitive prize is organized together with the support of Jameson CineFest - Miskolc International Film Festival (www.cinefest.hu) in Hungary, International Bratislava Film Festival (www.iffbratislava.sk) in Slovakia, Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival (www.dokument-festival.cz) in the Czech Republic and New Horizons International Film Festival (www.nowehoryzonty.pl) in Poland.