June Kovach (1932 – October 30, 2010) was an American-born
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
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film director, film editor and concert pianist. She was a concert pianist until 1961 when she took to working on documentary films.
Life
Kovach was born in 1932 in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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to her parents who came from Hungary. Her skills and training made her into a concert pianist. Her concert career started in 1949 and in 1951 she won the piano prize given each year by the
Walter W. Naumburg Foundation
The Walter W. Naumburg Foundation sponsors competitions and provides awards for young classical musicians in North America. Founded in 1925, it operates the prestigious Naumburg Competition.
Foundation and concerts
It was founded in 1925 by Walt ...
.
Her concert career took her to the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria and Switzerland.
From 1961 she put aside concerts and she began to work as a film director with her husband, . He and had created the ''Seiler + Gnant'' film production company in 1960.
In 1963 their film ''In Changing Gradients'' won the
Short Film Palme d'Or
The Short Film Palme d'Or (french: Palme d'Or du court métrage) is the highest prize given to a short film at the Cannes Film Festival. Since the creation of the Cinéfondation
La ''Cinéfondation'' is a foundation under the aegis of the Cannes ...
at the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
in 1963. Rob Gnant and her husband were credited as directors and Kovach was the editor.
She worked with Rob Gnant and her husband to create the documentary film ''Siamo Italiano'' which in 1964 highlighted the discrimination experienced by Italian workers in Switzerland. She co-directed, edited, and wrote the film as well as being the sound engineer. Three years later the trio created another documentary ''The Music Festival''.
[
In 2003 she was sole director of the film ''Black Flowers - Gretler's Panoptikum'' which tells the story of Gretler, a farmer, who was about to retire when he realizes that something strange has occurred when all the flowers in his fields turn black.]Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
in 2010.
Selected works
:1964: Siamo Italiani - The Italians - Documentary, 86 min. By June Kovach, Alexander J. Seiler and Rob Gnant[
:1966: During the year
:1967: Music competition - documentary film, 72 min. By June Kovach, Alexander J. Seiler and Rob Gnant][
:1967: … via Zurich - documentary, by June Kovach, Alexander J. Seiler and Rob Gnant
:1968: Fifteen - documentary, 21 min. By June Kovach, Alexander J. Seiler and Rob Gnant
:1974: Whoever Lies Once or Viktor and Upbringing - Documentary, 68 min.
:1981: Lust or Gutknecht's Dream - 58 min.
:1995: Honeyland - Documentary
:2003: Black Flowers - Gretler's Panoptikum][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovach, June
1932 births
2010 deaths
People from Chicago
Swiss film directors
American pianists