CREATORS
Screenplay, Director: Marie Polednakova
Producer: FALCON a.s.
Jan Bradac + Svatka Peschkova
Director of Cinematography: Martin Duba
Music: Petr Malasek
Sound Engineer: Jiri Klenka
Edited by: Adam Dvorak
Set Design: Martin Vackar
Costumes: Vera Kocova
Production Head: Michaela Flenerova
Distributor: FALCON a.s.
Marie Polednakova – screenplay author and director
Ms Polednakova has written popular television and feature films, many of which have received awards at domestic and foreign festivals. Some of her comedies include Jak vytrhnout velrybě stoličku (1977) and its loosely-related sequel Jak dostat tatínka do polepšovny (1978), thanks to which she discovered child actor Tomas Holy’s exceptional talent. Both films garnered a number of awards; Whale won first prize at the Golden Prague international television festival in 1978; Reform School received the following awards: at the International TV Festival in Monte Carlo - a Golden Nymph for best screenplay and the Cino Del Duka award for best director; a Golden Crocodile – award for Best Male Actor /F. Nemec/, a Golden Crocodile – special award for child actor /T. Holy/. Reform School was awarded the Order of the Child’s Smile as best children’s film as based on the results of a country-wide poll of children.
In 1982 Ms Polednakova made her box office smash hit comedy S tebou mě baví svět, which in 1998 was deemed the Best Czech Comedy of the Century. In 1983 the film won a Special Award at the International Film Festival in Gijon, and in 2000 young viewers from throughout the Czech Republic awarded it a Golden Apple, deeming it the most successful children’s film of the 20th century. In 1986 Marie Polednakova made the comedy Zkrocení zlého muže and in 1989 Dva lidi v ZOO. After a lengthy break Ms Polednakova returned to directing with Jak se krotí krokodýli, a loose sequel to her hit films Jak vytrhnout velrybě stoličku and Jak dostat tatínka do polepšovny. In 2006 more than 608 thousand viewers saw the film Jak se krotí krokodýli in the cinema. It received a positive reception at festivals in Toronto and Cairo. This year it won the Elsa Viewers’ Prize for the most successful show of the year (as based on official ratings).
Martin Duba – director of cinematography
Mr Duba received his degree from in Cinematography from FAMU. In the early 90s he gained renown as one of the most outstanding cameramen of his generation for his work on Kouř (1990; Tomas Vorel, director), Don Gio (1992; Caban Brothers, directors). He worked on the full-length feature films Amerika (1994) and Zapomenuté světlo (1997) by Vladimir Michalek and Petr Nikolaev’s Báječná léta pod psa (1997). As a cameraman he has made a number of documentaries with directors including Bretislav Rychlik. He has contributed to cultural, music, and news shows and documentary series for Czech Television. He won the Award of the Association of Czech Cinematographers for his work on ZApomenuté světlo in 1996. In 1992 he shared an award with Vladimir Michalek for the video for Lucie’s song Černí andělé. He has shot the television films Vlci ve městě (2000), Černá slečna, slečna Černá (2002), and Lišák (2002). In 2004 he made his directoral debut with his own film Správce statku, which he made with family and friends. He worked with Petr Nikolaev on the drama Kousek nebe (2006), and he has worked with Marie Polednakova on her previous comedies such as Jak se krotí krokodýli (2006).
Vera Kocova – costume designer
Vera Kocova is a leading Czech fashion designer, whose creations hang in the closets of many famous Czech women. Fashion shows featuring Vera Kocova’s designs are prestigious social events. In addition to individual collections comprised, primarily, of evening gowns, Ms Kocova also designs street clothes for sports teams representing the Czech Republic abroad and garments for the winners of the MISS beauty contest. Ms Kocova first tried her hand at film costumes for director Marie Polednakova’s previous film Jak se krotí krokodýli, where she dressed a 20 member class of young schoolchildren as well as cast members including Eva Holubova, Nada Konvalinkova, Miroslav Etzler and Vaclav Postranecky. Thanks to their successful collaboration, Ms Kocova and Ms Polednakova joined forces again to work on the film You Kiss Like God.
Jiri Klenka – sound engineer
As of 2009 Jiri Klenka has been in charge of sound for almost 20 feature films. Mr Klenka received his degree in Sound Production from Prague’s FAMU and ranks among the most sought-after sound engineers. His résumé includes movies such Výlet (Alice Nellis, director), Kytice (F.A. Brabec, director), Želary (Ondrej Trojan, director), Post coitum (Juraj Jakubisko, director), Pusinky (Karin Babinska, director), Nejkrásnější hádanka (Zdenek Troska), and Jak se krotí krokodýli directed by Marie Polednakova. He is the proud winner of two Czech Lions (Želary and Kytice) and one nomination (Jak se krotí krokodýli) in the category of Best Sound.
Petr Malasek – musical composition
Mr Malasek is a graduate of the State Conservatory and AMU. He comes from a musical family, and like his famous father Jiri, he focuses on composition and piano performance. Not only does Mr Malasek compose scenic music for theater, film and television, he is also the leader of the group that accompanies outstanding chansionier Hana Hegerova. He likewise accompanies singers Marta Kubisova and Lucie Bila on the piano on occasion. As a pianist he is sought after for his dexterity; as a composer for his sense of melody and versatility concerning genres. Malasek’s music has been played in the films Záhada hlavolamu (Petr Kotek, director), U pekla štěstí 2 (Zdenek Troska, director), Jak se krotí krokodýli (Marie Polednakova, director) and Andělská tvář (Zdenek Troska, director), for which he received a Czech Lion nomination.
Adam Dvorak – editor
Mr Dvorak received his degree from Prague’s FAMU. After working on a number of shorts he made his debut as an editor with Alice Nellis’ full-length feature comedy Výlet (2002). In 2004 he worked on the box office hit comedy Snowboarďáci, and received a Czech Lion nomination in the category of editor. The following year he collaborated with Jiri Svoboda on the film Sametoví vrazi. In 2006 Mr Dvorak edited the film Prachy dělaj člověka (Jiri Chlumsky, director) and tried his hand at producing director the comedy Rafťáci, Karel Janak, director, which he also edited. In 2007 he became director of the film distribution company Bioscop and again worked with Alice Nellis, editing her film Tajnosti (nominated for Czech Lion for editing), and with Jiri Svoboda on the three-part television production Vlna. In 2008 he produced and edited the comedy Bobule (Tomas Barina, director).
Martin Vackar – set design
Since the early 90s Mr Vackar has been working on films at home and abroad as assistant set designer, designer, and set designer. He has worked on both television series produced domestically and in coproduction (Život na zámku, Život bez zámku, Arabela II, Kačenka a strašidla, Maigret), as well as on a number of foreign films – including Les Miserables (Bille August, director; 1997); From Hell (Hughes Brothers, directors; 2000); Blade 2 (Guillermo del Toro, director; 2001); Knights from Shanghai (David Dobkin, director; 2003,); Van Helsing (Stephen Sommers, director; 2004), Everything is Illuminated (Liev Schreiber, director; 2005); Wanted (Timur Bekmambetov, director; 2008). Since 2003 he has also been involved in commercial film work; as a set designer and artist he has made dozens of commercial spots. In 2005 he was set designer for Marie Polednakova’s film Jak se krotí krokodýli; in 2008 he worked on the film O rodičích a dětech (Vladimir Michalek, director).