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 *Czech (surnam ...

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

and producer.

Life and work

Fíla was born 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 ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. He moved to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. Fíla shot documentaries and shorts before making his feature debut with Lea. The feature premiered at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

in 1996 and won the OCIC-Award. Lea was also nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

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 Lions. ''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 filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

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 am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

Filmography

Feature films

* 1996: Lea * 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 mos ...

- ''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 held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the British Film Institute, BFI estim ...

The Satyajit Ray Award - Ivan Fila for Lea (1997)
on satyajitray.org.uk * 1997: Two Czech Lions 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 Cinema of Germany, German film industry. Besides being ...

, 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 awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...

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

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

nomination for ''Best Foreign Film'' * 2004: Four Czech Lions 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, Germany For Hitler's blackmail * 1995: German TV-Award - Best Film * 1995: ''Best Film'' at the Festival international du film d´histoire, France

References

External links

*
Ivan Fíla at filmartists.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fila, Ivan Living people Czech screenwriters Czech male screenwriters German-language film directors Film directors from Prague Year of birth missing (living people)