Drahomíra Vihanová: I still prefer idea and beauty
Last year Finále held tribute to Drahomíra Vihanová, this year she is back as the chairwoman of the documentary jury.
Are you looking forward to returning to Pilsen?
It is true that I was very pleased to be asked to be on the jury. I see it as an act of trust in my person. And at the same time, together with happiness there was the feeling of fear of responsibility. Judging and evaluating any work of art is always tricky, because the judge is never able to be completely impartial, he or she cannot exclude his or her own subjective reflexion. Documentaries are nowadays made in different conditions than when I shot documentaries. Thematic freedom and range, working with electronics, unlimited footage. These all brings both advantages and disadvantages. We are too often witnesses of lack of concept, shallow journalism, intrusive fashionability, absence of mastering elementary rules of the craft. I still prefer the idea and beauty. I know that my attitude is rigorous and rather old-fashioned. I hope the other members of the jury will moderate me and I do not wrong any film makers.
Do you follow Czech documentary production during the year or is chairing a jury in Pilsen an opportunity for you to make a complete picture about it? And what do you think about Czech documents is like in general?
As a member of the Academy I had the opportunity to see most last year's documentary production. As I have already said, the face of documents naturally changes. I am irritated by the tendency towards the slightly "sensationalist" themes and flirting with acted sequences. Surely it is not necessary to stick to the strict line between reality and fiction (even though these are based o fundamentally different approach to realisation), unless the manipulation helps to achieve a more pregnant expression of an idea. Unfortunately it is certain that this always harms the authenticity - the direct portrayal of a nonrecurring moment - which for me remains a piece of magic and an emotional weapon of every documentary film. It is good, that lately the audience have come to like documents. It is no surprise. Documents are more interesting, provocative and inspirational than stories from virtual life, which many acted films offer wrapped in a glittering packaging.
You are a professor at the Film and TV School FAMU. Are young people interested in documentaries? And don't they later desert to feature films? Many today successful feature films directors studied documentary film, for example Jan Svěrák or Filip Renč...
And why not? Basically there is only one film without adjectives, a good film or a bad film; a film, which springs from the depth of author's belief (let's say from the inside) and a film, which is made only to shoot something. Filming an impressive document is not at all easy. It brings a lot of struggle in form of chance, unpredictability, and uncertainty. The reality in front of the camera lives its won life; it is spreading and struggling against being crammed in a film strip. For the author, this means being constantly on guard and fight the endless battle for his or her original idea. A reason for such desertion might even be the impression that feature film is easier, that I as the author will have everything on the spot the way I have invented and planned. Of course, very soon I come to realise that the impression of easiness was completely mistaken, because every creative effort inseparably contains the suffering springing from insecurity. And by the way: Věra Chytilová, Evald Schorm, Franta Vláčil, Honza Němec, Honza Schmidt and Fero Fenič made films which remain model examples...
