Ivan Fíla, alternate name Ivan Fila, is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Life and work

Fíla was born in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. He moved to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1977 where he received a directing and scriptwriting degree at the Film Department of the university in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

. Fíla shot documentaries and shorts before making his feature debut with

Lea Lea or LEA may refer to: Places Australia * Lea River, Tasmania, Australia * Lake Lea, Tasmania, from which the Lea River flows * RAAF Base Learmonth, IATA airport code "LEA" England * Lea, Cheshire, a civil parish * Lea, Derbyshire, a settl ...

. The feature premiered at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

in 1996 and won the OCIC-Award. Lea was also nominated for

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

and for best young film at the European Film Awards. At the Brussels International Film Festival, ''Lea'' won both the Audience Award and the Crystal Star for Best European Feature. ''Lea'' also won the Satyajit Ray Award for best film at the London Film Festival and many others including two

Czech Lion The Czech Lion Awards ( cs, Český lev) are annual awards that recognize accomplishments in filmmaking and television. It is the highest award of achievement in film awarded in the Czech Republic. The jury is composed of members of the Czech Fi ...

s. ''Lea'' brought Fíla to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

where he was hired by

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

to rewrite and direct ''The Betty Schimmel Story''. Fíla's follow-up '' King of thieves'' premiered at the Moscow Filmfestival in 2004. King of Thieves won the Prix d'Or for Best European Screenplay and won four Czech Lions including Best Actor. Other credits include documentaries as ''Vaclav Havel – A bohemian fairy tale'', ''Hitler's blackmail'', ''Steps in a Labyrinth'', ''Fog'', ''Tales from another world'', ''Joschka Fischer'' and others. Fíla is currently working on his English language project ''Bella Luna''. He lives in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

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and

Filmography

Feature films

* 1996:

* 2004: King of thieves * 2012: Bella Luna (in preparation)

Documentary Films

* 1982: Harley Heaven * 1985: Salty dreams * 1987: Margarete Buber-Neumann - A German destiny * 1988: The Pauls's church * 1989: In the name of the revolution * 1990: Through a labyrinth * 1991: Tales from another world * 1993: Vaclav Havel - A bohemian fairytale * 1994: Fog * 1995: Hitler's blackmail * 2007: Joschka Fischer

Short films (all 1986)

* Story of hope * Encounter * The last witch * Two brothers * The black man

Awards

For Lea * 1996: OCIC Award at the

* 1996:

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the most ...

- ''Best Young European Film of the Year''- nominee * 1997: Satyajit Ray Award at the

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...

The Satyajit Ray Award - Ivan Fila for Lea (1997)
on satyajitray.org.uk * 1997: Two

s and 9 nominees at the Czech Film Awards * 1997: Audience Award, Prix C.I.C.A.E and Prix du Jury etudiant - ''Best Film'', Premiers Plans Festival D´Angers, France * 1997: Opera Prima Award - ''Best Film'', International Film Festival Montevideo, Uruguay * 1997: Audience award at the Brussels Film Festival, Belgium * 1997: Nominee - ''Best Film'' at

Deutscher Filmpreis The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the German film industry. Besides being the most important ...

, Germany * 1997: Crystal Star at the Brussels Film Festival, Belgium * 1997: Grand Prix VESUVIO AWARD at the Napoli Filmfestival, Italy * 1997: Grand Prix - ''Best Film'' at the International Film Festival, Film Forum Bratislava, Slovakia * 1997: FIPRECI-Award - ''Best Film'' at the International Film Festival Sotschi, Russia * 1997: Opera Prima Award - Best Feature Film at Puerto Rico International Film Festival * 1998:

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

- ''Best Foreign Film'' - nominee * 1998: Best Dramatic Feature at the San Jose Film Festival, USA For King of Thieves * 2004:

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

nomination for ''Best Foreign Film'' * 2004: Four

s and 10 nominees (including ''Best Film'', ''Best Direcror'' and ''Best Screenplay'') at the Czech Film Awards * 2004: "Silver Griphon" - Audience Award for Best Film at the Festival of Festivals St. Petersburg, Russia * 2004: TRILOBIT - ''Best Director'' and ''Best Screenplay'', Czech film and TV Association Annual Award * 2005: Audience Award - Best Film - World Cinema at the Phoenix Film Festival * 2005: Best Film - nomination at the Adolf

Adolf Grimme Awards The Grimme-Preis ("Grimme Award"; prior to 2011: Adolf-Grimme-Preis) is one of the most prestigious German television awards. It is named after the first general director of Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk, Adolf Grimme.Ivan Fíla at filmartists.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fila, Ivan Living people Czech screenwriters Male screenwriters German-language film directors Film directors from Prague Year of birth missing (living people)