Jan Hřebejk (; born 27 June 1967) 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 and actor.
Life and career
Born in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
, Hřebejk graduated from high school in 1987 and continued his studies at the
(FAMU) from 1987 to 1991, majoring in screenplay and dramaturgy.
He was at FAMU alongside
Petr Jarchovský, who is also his classmate from high school and subsequently a frequent collaborator as a screenwriter.
While at FAMU, Hřebejk directed and produced two short films, ''Co všechno chcete vědět o sexu a bojíte se to prožít'' (1988) and ''L. P. 1948'' (1989),
from scripts written by his classmate
Petr Zelenka. His professional directorial debut was a short film for Czech TV, ''Nedělejte nic, pokud k tomu nemáte vážný důvod'' (1991), also written by Zelenka. His films caught the attention of viewers and critics, and entered student film festivals.
Also while still at FAMU, Hřebejk and Jarchovský wrote a comedy screenplay inspired by Hřebejk's background at a summer camp, entitled ''Pejme písen dohola''.
This screenplay was filmed in 1990 as a full-length feature by director
Ondřej Trojan
Ondřej Trojan () (born 31 December 1959) is a Czech film producer, actor and film director. Two of the films he produced were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film : '' Divided We Fall'' (2000) and '' Želary'' (2003), ...
.
In 1992, Hřebejk filmed a version of his FAMU graduate thesis, an interpretation of
Egon Hostovský
Egon Hostovský (23 April 1908 – 7 May 1973) was a Czech people, Czech writer, editor and journalist.
Biography
Born in Hronov to a Jewish family, Hostovský studied at the gymnasium (school), gymnasium in Náchod in 1927, then took up ...
's ''Dobrocinny vecírek''.
This was followed by ''
Big Beat
Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as th ...
'', a rock and roll comedy set in the 1950s and Hřebejk's first major box office success. The film was written by Jarchovský, based on a story by
Petr Šabach, and won four
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 ...
awards, including Best Film and Best Director for Hřebejk.
In 1996, Hřebejk directed a children's TV series, ''
Kde padají hvezdy'', which was syndicated around Europe.
The following year, Hřebejk and Jarchovský won awards from the Film and Television Association and the Literary Fund for their contribution to dramatic television programming, for three episodes they wrote for the TV series ''Bachelors''.
The writing and production team behind ''Big Beat'' subsequently reunited for two further films, ''
Cosy Dens
''Cosy Dens'' ( cz, Pelíšky) is a 1999 Czech film directed by Jan Hřebejk. It is loosely based on the novel '' Hovno Hoří'' (Czech: "Flaming Feces") by Petr Šabach. It was voted the best Czech film by ''Reflex'' magazine in 2011.
Plot su ...
'' ( cs, Pelíšky; 1999) and ''
Divided We Fall'' ( cs, Musíme si pomáhat; 2000), both of which became enormously successful within the Czech Republic.
His 2009 film ''
Kawasaki's Rose
''Kawasaki's Rose'' ( cs, Kawasakiho růže) is a 2009 Czech drama film directed by Jan Hřebejk. The film was selected in the Czech Republic as the Czech entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Foreign Language Film at t ...
'' was selected as the Czech entry for the
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
83rd Academy Awards,
but didn't make the final shortlist.
Filmography
Director
Cinema
* ''Co všechno chcete vědět o sexu a bojíte se to prožít'' (1988) – student movie
* ''L.P. 1948'' (1989) – short movie
* ''Nedělejte nic, pokud k tomu nemáte vážný důvod'' (1991) – short movie
* ''
Big Beat
Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as th ...
'' ("Šakalí léta", 1993)
* ''
Czech Soda
Česká soda was a satirical TV show created by Febio for Česká televize. The show was aired between the years 1993 and 1997. Total number of 14 episodes was created plus two New Year's Eve specials and a 1998 full-length picture. Running ti ...
'' ("Česká soda", 1998)
* ''
Cosy Dens
''Cosy Dens'' ( cz, Pelíšky) is a 1999 Czech film directed by Jan Hřebejk. It is loosely based on the novel '' Hovno Hoří'' (Czech: "Flaming Feces") by Petr Šabach. It was voted the best Czech film by ''Reflex'' magazine in 2011.
Plot su ...
'' ("Pelíšky", 1999)
* ''
Divided We Fall'' ("Musíme si pomáhat", 2000) –
73rd Academy Awards
The 73rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best of 2000 in film and took place on March 25, 2001, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST ...
nomination
* ''
Pupendo'' (2003)
* ''
Up and Down'' ("Horem pádem", 2004)
* ''
Beauty in Trouble
''Beauty in Trouble'' ( cz, Kráska v nesnázích) is a 2006 Czech tragicomedy directed by Jan Hřebejk. Eddie Cockrell, writing in ''Variety (magazine), Variety'', said the " tle comes from the Robert Graves poem, itself adapted into a Czech ...
'' ("Kráska v nesnázích", 2006)
* ''
Teddy Bear
A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy b ...
'' ("Medvídek") 2007
* ''
I'm All Good'' ("U mě dobrý", 2008)
* ''
Shameless'' ("Nestyda", 2008)
* ''
Kawasaki's Rose
''Kawasaki's Rose'' ( cs, Kawasakiho růže) is a 2009 Czech drama film directed by Jan Hřebejk. The film was selected in the Czech Republic as the Czech entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Foreign Language Film at t ...
'' ("Kawasakiho růže", 2009)
* ''
Innocence
Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience.
In relation ...
'' ("Nevinnost", 2011)
* ''The Holy Quaternity'' ("Svatá Čtveřice", 2012)
* ''
Honeymoon'' ("Líbánky" 2013)
* ''Zakázané uvolnění'' (2014)
* ''
The Teacher'' ("Učitelka", 2016)
Television
* ''The Charity Ball'' ("Dobročinný večírek", 1992)
* ''
Czech Soda
Česká soda was a satirical TV show created by Febio for Česká televize. The show was aired between the years 1993 and 1997. Total number of 14 episodes was created plus two New Year's Eve specials and a 1998 full-length picture. Running ti ...
'' ("Česká soda", 1993–97) – TV-series
* ''GEN: The Gallery of the Nation's Elite'' ("GEN: Galerie elity národa", 1993–94) – documentary
**
'' Vladimír Jiránek by Jan Hřebejk'' ("Vladimír Jiránek pohledem Jana Hřebejka")
* ''GENUS'' ("GENUS", 1995–96) – documentary
**
''Michal Viewegh
Michal Viewegh is one of the most popular contemporary Czech writers.
He is the most published Czech author of all time, with over a million books sold. In 1993 he earned the prestigious Jiří Orten award for Czech writers 30 years old or young ...
by Jan Hřebejk''
**
''Vladimír Mišík by Jan Hřebejk''
**
''Dominik Hašek
Dominik Hašek (, ; born January 29, 1965) is a Czech former ice hockey goaltender who mostly played for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Widely regarded as one of the best goaltenders of all time, Hašek also played for ...
by Jan Hřebejk''
* ''60'' ("60", 1996) – documentary
* ''How's the Living'' ("Jak se žije", 1997) – short documentary TV-series
* ''Where Stars Fall'' ("Kde padají hvězdy", 1996) – TV series
* ''The Last Concert'' ("Poslední koncert", 1997)
* ''The Window'' ("Okno", 1997) – short
* ''The Good News'' ("Dobrá zpráva", 1997)
Opera
* ''Tomorrow There Will Be...'' ("Zítra se bude...", 2010)
Actor
* ''Co všechno chcete vědět o sexu a bojíte se to prožít'' (1988) – student movie
* ''Šeptej'' (1996) as Woody
* ''
Year of the Devil'' ("Rok ďábla", 1996)
* ''Úžasný rokenrol v Čechách aneb Jeď, Honzo, jeď'' (2002) as Himself
* ''Operace Hokejdo'' (2004) as Himself
* ''Největší z Čechů'' (2010) as Chairman of the grant committee
* ''Rozmarná léta českého filmu'' (2011) – documentary, as Himself
Other contributions
* ''Pějme píseň dohola'' (1990) – writer and narrator
References
External links
*
Interview with Jan Hřebejkat
Eurochannel
Eurochannel is a world television channel focused on European culture and lifestyle through movies, series and other programs dedicated to European culture. Eurochannel broadcasts in original audio with subtitles in English, Spanish and Portugu ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hrebejk, Jan
1967 births
Living people
Sun in a Net Awards winners
Film directors from Prague