Masterclass with
Petr Zelenka

Playwright and director of film and theater already known to the Bergamo Film Meeting audience – he was in the competition in 1998 with Buttoners (Knoflíkári), which won the first prize, and in 2006 with Wrong Side Up (Príbehy obycejného sílenstvíi, third prize) – Petr Zelenka (1967) is among the most popular, internationally recognized and awarded Czech filmmakers. A firm believer in the importance and predominance of writing above directing in the creative process, he wrote and directed all his films and plays. In 1998, his first feature Buttoners (Knoflíkári) received the Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival and four Czech Lions by the Czech Film and Television Academy. In 2000, he wrote the screenplay of Loners (Samotari), which soon became a blockbuster in the Czech Republic. With the feature film Year of the Devil (Rok d ‘ ábla) he won the Crystal Globe at the Karlovy Vary International 2002 and six Czech Lions, including Best Director and Best Film. Wrong Side Up (Príbehy obycejného sílenstvíi, 2005) is based upon one of his most successful stage plays, which in 2004 was presented in both Europe and Canada. The Brothers Karamazov (Karamazovi, 2008), an original adaptation of Dostoevsky’s novel, made its international debut in the official selection at the 43° Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it earned a special mention from the Jury and the FIPRESCI prize. The film also received two Czech Lions (Best Director and Best Picture) and in 2008 represented the Czech Republic at the Oscars as Best Foreign Film. His work as a playwright is translated and staged all over Europe. The satirical comedy Lost in Munich (2015), named best film of 2015 according to the Czech Academy of Film and Television, will premiere in Italy at the Bergamo Film Meeting.