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Věra Chytilová passes away

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- The First Lady of Czech cinema, Věra Chytilová, has died at the age of 85

Věra Chytilová passes away

Surrounded by her family, Věra Chytilová, a leading Czechoslovak New Wave filmmaker and the First Lady of Czech cinema, died on 12 March at the age of 85 after suffering from long-term health issues.

Chytilová studied architecture and worked at the Barrandov Studios. She decided to study at Prague´s FAMU, where she was supervised by film director and teacher Otakar Vávra. Her breakthrough feature Daisies, a surrealistic satire, earned her a reputation as an artist but also as a provocateur in the political world, as she not only focused on the psychological side of life and social issues, but also dealt with more political aspects in her work. Her second feature, Fruit of Paradise, was an attempt at a philosophical film, which wittily referenced the Bible. Chytilová could no longer make films after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and thus began directing adverts. She returned to features in 1976 with The Apple Game, a comedy about the eternal feud between women and men.

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Among her well-known films are the comedies Panelstory, The Very Late Afternoon of a Faun, The Jester and the Queen, and A Hoof Here, a Hoof There. Chytilová gained a wider audience with her seemingly lowbrow folk comedy The Inheritance or Fuckoffguysgoodday. Even though the film was panned by critics and intellectuals alike, time proved them wrong and eventually The Inheritance acquired cult status. Chytilová bid a fond farewell to filmmaking in 2006 with her tragicomedy Pleasant Moments. In 1989, she began teaching directing at FAMU, where she became a professor in 2003. She had been festooned with numerous awards, including the Czech Lion for her lifelong artistic contribution to Czech film in 2000.

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