Menu

About the Film

The police couldn't break her, the Castle didn't change her: The remarkable story of Václav Havel's reluctant first lady.

Olga Havlová was the closest and most trustworthy companion of Václav Havel, a friend who was never a spoilsport – on the contrary, she initiated the fun herself – a generous host, passionate games-player and mushroom-gatherer, a nature-lover, sharp commentator, courageous and diligent dissident; a wise and practical woman, always with her feet on the ground and true to herself. In 1990 she founded the Výbor dobré vůle (Committee of Good Will), still doing its good work today.

The Filmmakers: We had no intention to reveal new facts and surprising truths. We will encounter Olga Havlová in the film, listen to snatches of her monologues and be able to think them over when we return from the cinema.

It is an attempt to reconstruct her personality through her attitudes to life, and to present the time in which she lived.

The last word in the film goes to Olga Havlová herself.

The Filmmakers

Theme: Anna Freimanová

Anna Freimanová

Freimanová, a librarian by profession, worked at the Theatre on the Balustrades as assistant director in the 1970s, and later as a librarian in the theatre department of the National Museum and the Municipal Library. She became involved in samizdat publishing, especially the journal O divadle (About Theatre). From 1990-2003 she worked in the Office of the President of the Republic as secretary to Václav Havel for the President’s literary and theatre activities. One of her tasks in those years was to edit most of Havel’s works for publication in Czech. In the 1990s she co-founded the theatrical and literary agency Aura-Pont and the Foundation for the Alfréd Radok Awards. From 2004–2011 she worked in Czech Television; now she works as editor in the Václav Havel Library. She has so far prepared the following publications for the VHL: Václav Havel o divadle (Václav Havel on Theatre), Moc bezmocných a jiné eseje (“The Power of the Powerless” and other essays), Příležitostný portrét Václava Havla (Portrait of Václav Havel by his Friends) and Síla věcnosti Olgy Havlové (Olga Havlová and the Power of Pragmatism).

Script, direction and camera:
Miroslav Janek

Miroslav Janek

Director, cameraman, editor

From the age of fifteen, Janek made short films, a great number of which were awarded at numerous festivals of amateur film. In 1979, he emigrated to Germany and went on to live in Minneapolis, USA; there he worked as film editor and cameraman, making a whole range of creative films. He cooperated as editor with Godfrey Reggio, famous for such films as Powaqqatsi and Anima Mundi. Janek returned to Czech Republic in 1995. He has made about fourty documentary movies, for example: Nespatřené / The Unseen, Chačipe / Cha-Ci-Pe, Vierka / Vierka Or The Mystery Of Family B's Disappearance and Umanutá / Burning.

He finished Pavel Koutecký´s film Občan Havel / Citizen Havel – 10 years in the life of Václav Havel in the role of the president of Czech Republic.

Dramaturgy: Hana Jemelíková

Hana Jemelíková

Dramaturge, scriptwriter

Jemelíková taught at the Film Faculty of the Prague Academy of Performing Arts. She was dramaturge on a number of films directed by Pavel Koutecký, including Občan Havel / Citizen Havel. She has also worked on films by Krystyna Krauze and Jacek Petrycki (Návrat Agnieszky H. /The Return of Agnieszka H.), Miroslav Janek (Umanutá /Burning), Pavel Štingl (Ghetto jménem Baluty/Baluty Ghetto, Cesta k cestě / A Path to the Path, Eugéniové /Eugenic Minds), Karel Čtveráček (Včely letěly krásně /The Beautiful Flight of the Bees) and Tomáš Škrdlant (Nevítaní / The Unwelcome).

Editor: Tonička Janková

Tonička Janková

Editor

Janková worked on the films Občan Havel / Citizen Havel, directed by Pavel Koutecký and Miroslav Janek), Miloš Forman Stories (directed by Vojtěch Jasný), Johnny Suede (directed by Tom di Cillo), Děti noci / Children of the Night (directed by Michaela Pavlátová), Čert ví proč / The Devil Knows Why (directed by Roman Vávra), Dobře placená procházka / A Well Paid Walk (directed by Miloš Forman) and a number of documentaries directed by Miroslav Janek, Pavel Štingl and Břetislav Rychlík.

Sound: Vladimír Chrastil

Vladimír Chrastil

Sound technician

Chrastil was sound technician on such films as Miroslav Janek’s Andrej Krob na tahu / Andrej Krob on the Road, Pavel Štingl’s Eugéniové (Eugenic Minds), Šil jsem u Kubiše / My Neighbour Killed Heydrich and Břetislav Rychlík’s Cirkus Havel / Circus Havel, Zle matičko, zle, Schwarzenberci zde! / Take fright, Little Mother, take fright, the Schwarzenbergs are in sight!, Kamenolom Boží – jeden rok v severních Čechách / God’s Stone Quarry – A Year in North Bohemia.

Producer: Jarmila Poláková, Film&Sociologie

Jarmila Poláková

Producer

Jarmila Poláková has been running the production company Film & Sociologie since 1991.

She was the producer of several films by Pavel Koutecký including his most important film Občan Havel / Citizen Havel. The film was after Koutecký´s death finished by Miroslav Janek. Poláková´s more recents projects include Léčba dějin / Treating History (2013, directed by Vít Janeček), Fragmenty P. K. / Fragments of P. K. (2013, directed by Jana Počtová) and Evoluce 4 z revoluce / Four Velvet Men Then & Now (2010, directed by Pavel Koutecký, Jan Šikl).

Executive producer: Jan Krása

Jan Krása

Krása was production manager of many of Pavel Koutecký’s films.

His company Studio KF s.r.o. is the co-producer of Občan Havel (Citizen Havel) and producer of Tomáš Škrdlant’s Nevítaní (The Unwelcome). The film won the Audience Award at the One World Festival 2010, and the Pavel Koutecký Award 2009.

Video

Media/Reactions

Aerofilms 20. 2. 2014

Do kin se v květnu chystá nový celovečerní dokument o Olze Havlové od tvůrců filmu Občan Havel

More
Česká televize 6. 3. 2014

Neznámou tvář Olgy Havlové ukazuje dokument, který se večer představí na festivalu Jeden svět. Režisér Miroslav Janka v něm použil dosud nezveřejněné záběry a fotografie manželky prvního polistopadového prezidenta. Víc s přítelkyní Olgy Havlové Annou Freimanovou.

More
Česká televize 6. 3. 2014

Manželka prvního polistopadového prezidenta na dosud neznámých záběrech a fotografiích.

More
iDnes.cz 5. 3. 2014

OBRAZEM: Jeden svět představí Olgu Havlovou i na neznámých záběrech

More
iDnes 20. 2. 2014

Po Občanu Havlovi přijde Olga, film o neznámé tváři první dámy

More
Deník.cz 20. 2. 2014

Do kin míří celovečerní dokument o Olze Havlové

More

Partners

We thank all those who supported the film on the website Hithit:
Pavel Dobrovolný, David Dušek, Ivan Gabal, Ivan M. Havel, Jindra a Jiří Hledíkovi, Lubomír Houdek, Petr Kolář, Harriet Landseer, Jan Matulík, Deidre O'Byrne, Radomír Režný, Zdeněk Svěrák, Ladislav Špaček, Alexandr Vondra

With heart created by manGoweb