Special Screening: Photographer

The American University Museum (AU) at the Katzen Arts Center, in collaboration with the Embassy of the Czech Republic, will present a special screening of the film Photographer (Fotograf), a film inspired by the life of world-renowned photographer Jan Saudek, on September 20, 2016, at 6 pm at the AU Museum. A Q&A with director Irena Pavlásková and film actress Marie Málková follows the screening.

Accomplished Czech actor Karel Roden plays Saudek, a man who loved the very essence of the female form, capturing on his camera all shapes and sizes of women – daughters, wives, mistresses, girlfriends, and admirers. Interwoven with passion, humor, creativeness, and sadness as well as disappointment, the film examines the maestro’s relationship with women, particularly the initially submissive Líba (Marie Málková), who seems based on Saudek’s former real life partner Sára. (Dir. Irena Pavlásková, 2015, 133 min., Czech with English subtitles)

In short retrospectives, the film shows the crucial moments of Saudek’s life. As a child, he experienced the horrors of Nazism. During the totalitarian communist era, he struggled for his very subsistence. He was interrogated by the communist secret police, charged and convicted of keeping prohibited contacts with the West, and intimidated. He served as a printing house worker to provide sustenance for himself and his family. In a small basement flat with moldy walls, he created his photographs that were subsequently shown all over the world and brought him global fame.

Event Details:

Date: September 20, 2016, at 6 pm

Location: AU Museum at the Katzen Arts Center
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20016

RSVP by September 19
Parking is free at the Katzen Arts Center after 5:30 pm.

Film Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wbe7FbaU4Y

Awards: The film was nominated for Czech Lion Awards for Best Film, Best Actress (Marie Málková), and Best Actor (Karel Roden).

About the Director: Irena Pavlásková (b. 1960, Frýdek-Místek, Czechoslovakia) graduated from the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU). She is a film director, screenwriter, and producer. Her feature films include: Time of the Servants (1989), Corpus Delicti (1991), Not arranged meeting (1995),Time of debts (1998), Bestiary (2007), and An Earthly Paradise for the Eyes (2009). She has also directed a number of films for television. Her films received a number of prestigious awards and screened at major festivals in Los Angeles, Toronto, Washington, Palm Springs, Denver, Haifa, Hamburg, Rennes, and Malmo to name a few.

Co-Screenwriter: World-class phenomenon Jan Saudek co-wrote the script with the director. He is a distinguished photographer whose work has influenced the development of global photography. He has become one of the most exhibited, published, and best-selling photographers of the present age. His work appeals to a wide audience and has been exhibited in prestigious galleries across the globe including the Art Institute of Chicago, USA; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris, France; among many others. He received the Chevalier des Arts et Letters in Paris, France and the Artis Bohemiae Amicis from the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic.