Docs on the Spot

Helena Třeštíková

Little dramas and big moments - we live and live and all of the sudden we are over sixty. Helena Třeštíková has filmed the phenomenon of life like no other. The Retrospective of the 35th DOK.fest München is dedicated to the Czech master director, who will present her work personally in Munich.
Our documentary film competition for young people also revolves around the great theme of LIFE! – we warmly invite all school students in Bavaria to submit their films!

Helena Třeštíková, born in 1949, studied at the Prague Film Academy FAMU and has made more than 50 films to date. In her films she delves deeply into biographies, into private universes. The Czech director is a master of long-term observation, the masterstroke of documentary work. She herself once described her working method as "time-lapse filmmaking". She often follows people over decades.

At the DOK.fest München she will personally present seven of her films. Among them is the long-term observation PRIVATE UNIVERSE (2012): Like in a development novel she tells about the life of a family over 37 years. MARRIAGE STORIES – IVANA AND VÁCLAV (1987 and 2005) also revolve around family microcosms. RENÉ (2008) tells the story of a young man who spends many years in prison, where, with the support of the filmmaker, he becomes a writer. MALLORY (2015) is about a drug addict who wants to stay clean after the birth of her son. In her latest work FORMAN VS. FORMAN (2019) Helena Třeštíková portrays the legendary Czech-American filmmaker Miloš Forman, who has won two Oscars.
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