Jan Nemec Online Chat
On Wednesday 16th May 2001 at 1900 hours GMT, Jan Nemec chatted to FilmWorld (the prize-winning and sadly now defunct www.filmworld.co.uk website) users for an hour about his career. Jan was in London to promote the work of Ester Krumbachova, the Czech art director, screenwriter and costume designer who worked on the five films that showed the following weekend at the Institut Francais in London: Diamonds of the Night, The Party and the Guests and Martyrs of Love by Nemec, alongside Daisies and Fruits of Paradise directed by Vera Chytilova, which Ester likewise worked on.
The online chat took place at the Czech Centre in central London, who we thanked for the use of their facilities and making this special event with Jan possible. Here are the main excerpts of what people asked him and his responses.
Birgit: What are your views on the Internet?
Jan Nemec: To Birgit: Regarding (the) Internet again, I think that Internet is one of the major invention of the present time and I gave last November my last feature film Late Night Talks with Mother to the Internet as a first Czech film to be introduced to the Internet.
Martin: What do you think of the current state of politics in the Czech Republic?
Jan Nemec: I have a mixed feelings, we have a great president Vaclav Havel and the stupid Prime Minister Zeman and extremely ambitious and stupid speaker of the House Vaclav Klause.
Jan Nemec: These political leaders are mixing the kommunists style socialism with the gangster style kapitalism. All the government is enjoying to be and stay in power. I think that is not extremely bad but surely is very far from being very good. I think that our new democracy needs minimally ten more years.
Diamonds of the Night
Martin: And modern Czech cinema - I'm thinking of Pelisky and Musime pomahat?
Jan Nemec: These two films are not so much modern. They following the path started with film Kolja as lot of people nicknaming Coca-Cola Kolja. Very nice, very sweet, very lovely indeed. But in the sixties and the communists rule films like Firemans Ball, Daisies or my film Report on the Party and Guests were definitively not so nice and sweet.
Martin: I would agree - we've recently had a series of Forman's Films in London - including Fireman's Ball and Loves of a Blonde and they seemed to have a lot more to say socially and politically - why do you think that is?
Martina has joined
Jan Nemec: We were creators not the painters and polishers to pink colour.
Martina: Mr. Nemec, when I saw your film The Party and the Guests a long time ago in the Czech Republic, I was a little girl and did not understand it very much although I have always remembered it. Is it available on video so I can see it again? Would I get it in Prague if I asked my parents to get it for me?
The Party and The Guests
Angela has joined.
Angela: Can you tell us how you organised filming in August 1968? And a very concrete question: Who really owns copyright to that invasion footage?
Jan Nemec: In the Czech Republic this film is not available on video, I do not know why. But you can get video with English subtitles from Facets Multimedia Chicago, USA - they are on Internet as the professional distribution company.
Martina: Do you feel that all current Czech films are forever dealing with the Velvet Revolution and nothing much else?
Jan Nemec: On the 21 August 68 I was as many of the Czech citizens in the front of the Radio building, just with me on the street where people from studio Kratky film were I was working on US independent production documentary on Prague Spring. I asked people from Kratky film for a 35mm camera and with sound man Mr. Vizier as he can operate 35mm camera. He did it and we were shooting scenes of Russian tanks and fighting on the streets. This 18 minutes negative footage I personally smuggled the same day to Austrian TV in Vienna. This was a first footage broadcast all over the world. I gave the footage to the Austrian TV free without any payment at all. Later I used this footage to my documentary Oratorio for Prague for which I have a copyright. I know that the British Company Visnius has a double negative of this footage and it selling it for the profit. I know also that the same footage was the same day in the hands of the KGB agents of the Austrian TV and was used for the propaganda anti Czech films. Also American Oscar winning documentary short Czechoslovakia 1918-1968 is using the same footage. At the time of invasion I was telling my cinematographer what it will be every shot. This man Mr. Vizner a few years later died in Italy. This is answer to your question.
Jan Nemec: I do not see many new feature Czech films dealing with this problem.
Martina: When you arrived in the States, could you speak any English?
Jan Nemec: I suppose that I can, I was teaching in the Yale and Berkeley but I do not typing this text.!!!
Martin: Are you optimistic about the future of Czech cinema, in terms of both quantity and quality?
Martina has left the building.
Jan Nemec: I am very optimistic. I am teacher of the FAMU film academy in Prague and very young people who are coming in and starting firm are very sensitive and very talented. We do have a guman potential but we would need a little help from Czech laws and government at this time is not a penny coming from Czech budget to film production. I hope that all political parties will be finally forced maybe with our membership in the European Union to help us financially. But also a new technology I shot my last film on DV can help a lot.
Martin: so you agree that Cz should join the EU ? Do all Czechs think the same?
Jan Nemec: In the last pool it was 38 percent said definite yes. Our state bureaucrats and "Eurosceptics" and this is one major misinformation giving to Czech people like The Czechs are the best who cares about the Europe. Minimal half of the nation is not properly informed that it is for the Czech Republic absolutely necessary to be part of this Europe.
Jan Nemec: One last question?
Martin: Is film dead and DV the new frontier?
Jan Nemec: Film is not dead. DV is alive and now the question is what was the first chicken or the egg?
Martin: Many thanks, Jan.
On Wednesday 16th May 2001 at 1900 hours GMT, Jan Nemec chatted to FilmWorld (the prize-winning and sadly now defunct www.filmworld.co.uk website) users for an hour about his career. Jan was in London to promote the work of Ester Krumbachova, the Czech art director, screenwriter and costume designer who worked on the five films that showed the following weekend at the Institut Francais in London: Diamonds of the Night, The Party and the Guests and Martyrs of Love by Nemec, alongside Daisies and Fruits of Paradise directed by Vera Chytilova, which Ester likewise worked on.
The online chat took place at the Czech Centre in central London, who we thanked for the use of their facilities and making this special event with Jan possible. Here are the main excerpts of what people asked him and his responses.
Birgit: What are your views on the Internet?
Jan Nemec: To Birgit: Regarding (the) Internet again, I think that Internet is one of the major invention of the present time and I gave last November my last feature film Late Night Talks with Mother to the Internet as a first Czech film to be introduced to the Internet.
Martin: What do you think of the current state of politics in the Czech Republic?
Jan Nemec: I have a mixed feelings, we have a great president Vaclav Havel and the stupid Prime Minister Zeman and extremely ambitious and stupid speaker of the House Vaclav Klause.
Jan Nemec: These political leaders are mixing the kommunists style socialism with the gangster style kapitalism. All the government is enjoying to be and stay in power. I think that is not extremely bad but surely is very far from being very good. I think that our new democracy needs minimally ten more years.
Diamonds of the NightMartin: And modern Czech cinema - I'm thinking of Pelisky and Musime pomahat?
Jan Nemec: These two films are not so much modern. They following the path started with film Kolja as lot of people nicknaming Coca-Cola Kolja. Very nice, very sweet, very lovely indeed. But in the sixties and the communists rule films like Firemans Ball, Daisies or my film Report on the Party and Guests were definitively not so nice and sweet.
Martin: I would agree - we've recently had a series of Forman's Films in London - including Fireman's Ball and Loves of a Blonde and they seemed to have a lot more to say socially and politically - why do you think that is?
Martina has joined
Jan Nemec: We were creators not the painters and polishers to pink colour.
Martina: Mr. Nemec, when I saw your film The Party and the Guests a long time ago in the Czech Republic, I was a little girl and did not understand it very much although I have always remembered it. Is it available on video so I can see it again? Would I get it in Prague if I asked my parents to get it for me?
The Party and The GuestsAngela has joined.
Angela: Can you tell us how you organised filming in August 1968? And a very concrete question: Who really owns copyright to that invasion footage?
Jan Nemec: In the Czech Republic this film is not available on video, I do not know why. But you can get video with English subtitles from Facets Multimedia Chicago, USA - they are on Internet as the professional distribution company.
Martina: Do you feel that all current Czech films are forever dealing with the Velvet Revolution and nothing much else?
Jan Nemec: On the 21 August 68 I was as many of the Czech citizens in the front of the Radio building, just with me on the street where people from studio Kratky film were I was working on US independent production documentary on Prague Spring. I asked people from Kratky film for a 35mm camera and with sound man Mr. Vizier as he can operate 35mm camera. He did it and we were shooting scenes of Russian tanks and fighting on the streets. This 18 minutes negative footage I personally smuggled the same day to Austrian TV in Vienna. This was a first footage broadcast all over the world. I gave the footage to the Austrian TV free without any payment at all. Later I used this footage to my documentary Oratorio for Prague for which I have a copyright. I know that the British Company Visnius has a double negative of this footage and it selling it for the profit. I know also that the same footage was the same day in the hands of the KGB agents of the Austrian TV and was used for the propaganda anti Czech films. Also American Oscar winning documentary short Czechoslovakia 1918-1968 is using the same footage. At the time of invasion I was telling my cinematographer what it will be every shot. This man Mr. Vizner a few years later died in Italy. This is answer to your question.
Jan Nemec: I do not see many new feature Czech films dealing with this problem.
Martina: When you arrived in the States, could you speak any English?
Jan Nemec: I suppose that I can, I was teaching in the Yale and Berkeley but I do not typing this text.!!!
Martin: Are you optimistic about the future of Czech cinema, in terms of both quantity and quality?
Martina has left the building.
Jan Nemec: I am very optimistic. I am teacher of the FAMU film academy in Prague and very young people who are coming in and starting firm are very sensitive and very talented. We do have a guman potential but we would need a little help from Czech laws and government at this time is not a penny coming from Czech budget to film production. I hope that all political parties will be finally forced maybe with our membership in the European Union to help us financially. But also a new technology I shot my last film on DV can help a lot.
Martin: so you agree that Cz should join the EU ? Do all Czechs think the same?
Jan Nemec: In the last pool it was 38 percent said definite yes. Our state bureaucrats and "Eurosceptics" and this is one major misinformation giving to Czech people like The Czechs are the best who cares about the Europe. Minimal half of the nation is not properly informed that it is for the Czech Republic absolutely necessary to be part of this Europe.
Jan Nemec: One last question?
Martin: Is film dead and DV the new frontier?
Jan Nemec: Film is not dead. DV is alive and now the question is what was the first chicken or the egg?
Martin: Many thanks, Jan.
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