The motto of the evening was a question asked to all guests at the beginning by the moderator Hana Heřmánková: What was Jiří Menzel like? And so he was remembered. Numerous stories from the filming and the theater behind the scenes were told, and his statements were quoted.
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Together with Olga Menzelová, Jaromír Hanzlík, Jitka Zelenohorská, Václav Vydra, Jana Švandová, Petr Brukner, Dagmar Bláhová, Zdeněk Žák, Jiří Carda and other actors of the Bez zábradlí Theater commemorated the popular director. From the record, Magda Vášáryová, Rudolf Hrušínský Jr. and directors Miloš Forman, István Szabó and Woody Allen.
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The guest of the evening was also an important Hungarian actor János Bán, the representative of Otík in the film Vesničko má středisková. There were words in all the memories of Menzel’s kindness, kindness, and the friendly atmosphere he could create at work.
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Jiří Menzel with Martin Hub during the filming of I Served the King of England.
Photo: archive of J. Menzel
The evening also included a sample of a documentary about Jiří Menzel and a public auction of photographs by him and Olga Menzel by Jan Saudek and a screenplay by Hrabal’s short story from his estate with Hrabal’s dedication. The proceeds of one hundred and sixty thousand crowns will go to the account of the Jiří Menzel Endowment Fund, which takes care of his legacy and supports young and older artists. The program was also enlivened by musical inputs by violinists Pavel Šporcel, Rozálie Havelková and Leona Machálková.
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However, Jiří Menzel also controlled other areas of the theater. At the initiative of his closest collaborator Míla Řádová, an exhibition called The Mustful Journeys of Jiří Menzel was created, which maps the professional as well as personal journeys of a director who loved to travel. Well-known and lesser-known photographs, located in the corridors and in the foyer of the theater, bring Jiří Menzel closer at work and during rest, and also testify to the number of important personalities with whom he met and became friends during his lifetime.
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The festival continues until April 28 with screenings of Menzel’s films and a show of four productions created for the Bez zábradlí Theater, from which the comedy Bez roucha or Once Again has reached a respectable number of more than 900 reruns and will have its finale during the festival.
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