Helena Třeštíková (born 22 June 1949) is a Czech documentary film director. She became known for making “time-lapse” long-term observational documentary films that won many awards. She briefly served as the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic. From 2017, she is also an university teacher.

Early life and education

Helena Třeštíková was born Böhmová on 22 June 1949 in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. She grew up in a house at

Wenceslas Square Wenceslas Square (Czech language, Czech: , colloquially ''Václavák'' ; German language, German: ''Wenzelsplatz'') is one of the main city squares and the centre of the business and cultural communities in the New Town, Prague, New Town of Pr ...

. She graduated from the high school in 1968, at the time of the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

. In summer 1968, she went to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

to work as an au-pair, to get praxis necessary to get accepted to the

Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague () or FAMU is a film school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1946 as one of three branches of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. It is the fifth oldest film school in ...

(FAMU). In 1969, she visited

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, which motivated her to become a film director.

Career

In 1969–1975, she studied documentary film at FAMU. He first film was ''Zázrak'' (1975) While searching for a topic for her work, she was interested in the development of human personalities and destinies over a long time horizon, so in 1980 she began filming ''Manželské etudy'' ("Marriage Stories") using the so-called time-lapse method, in which she followed the destinies of several married couples for six years. She also used this method to film her other documentaries (also following the fates of various people), which won many awards. From 2017, Třeštíková is a university teacher at FAMU, working in the documentary film department. In 2019, Třeštíková became a member of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

that decides the awarding of the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

(Oscars). She is also member of the

European Film Academy The European Film Academy is a group of European film director, filmmakers who come together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988. Every year, the European Film Academy honors films an ...

Selected works

Her most successful documentary films include: *''Marriage Stories'' (1980–1987) *''Sweet Century'' (1997) *''Hitler, Stalin and Myself'' (2001) *''Marriage Stories after 20 Years'' (2005) *''Marcela'' (2006) *''René'' (2008) *''Katka'' (2009) *''Mallory'' (2015) *''Anny'' (2020) – won the main prize at 2021 Munich International Documentary Film Festival *''René – Vězeň svobody'' (2021)

Family

Her husband is Michael Třeštík (born 1947), a writer and producer of his wife's films. He and Helena Třeštíková co-wrote two books on documentary film. Both of their children are public figures: Tomáš (born 1978), a photographer; and Hana (born 1982), a film director, producer, influencer and local politician.

Politics

Třeštíková was briefly the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic. She resigned from the position in January 2007 after serving less than three weeks.

Decorations

In 2024, Třeštíková was awarded by the Czech Republic's Medal of Merit (First Class) for services to the state in the field of culture. In 2024, Třeštíková was also awarded by the France's ''

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

'' for the spread of art and literature in France and around the world.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trestikova, Helena 1949 births Living people Czech documentary film directors Czech women film directors Culture ministers of the Czech Republic Women government ministers of the Czech Republic KDU-ČSL Government ministers Women documentary filmmakers 21st-century Czech women politicians Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic)