Jan Nemec

[on Ester Krumbachová] Ester Krumbachová was a muse, a shadowy eminence of films from the 1960s. She was multi-talented: she wrote, made costumes and designs, and she influenced not only me but also Vera Chytilová. In addition, Otakar Vávra and Karel Kachyna made their best films in co-operation with her. She was a person who very much influenced Czech film in a positive way. Show less «

[on Die Verwandlung (1975)] In Germany, I made a film from my screenplay from the 1960s. It was an adaptation of Kafka's "Metamorphosis," and I also made about three other films. There was no problem with the work. I just do not fit in in Germany, even though my surname is Nemec [which means German in Czech]. Their sense of order, discipline and the need to organize did not suit me. When I filmed the Kafka story, which was made as a slapstick, a German critic wrote that it was incomprehensible how a Czechoslovak film director could make fun of classics from German literature. I don't know why Prague's Jewish author writing in his own German, and not in the spoken German language, should be their classic. But I was not successful. It was said that this is not the way to adapt Kafka. Show less «

[on Jmeno kodu: Rubin (1997)] There was a big problem with its distribution because a private distribution company that was supposed to advertise the film did nothing for it, so the film was hardly shown in cinemas and there was no advertising campaign. Show less «