Jiří Trnka: A Long Lost Friend

A French filmmaker tries to track down the destiny of his favorite childhood film and its maker, Jiří Trnka, against the backdrop of the Cold War.

Jiří Trnka: Nalezený přítel
Czechia, France 2019
  • Czech
  • English
80 min.
Accessible
  • This film is available in the following territories: Czechia, Slovakia.
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About

Joel Farges, a French filmmaker in his 60s, tries to track down the destiny of his favorite childhood film, Prince Bajaja by Jiří Trnka, whose work used to be popular also in France. Trnka’s career peaked during the Cold War and his films were presented as an artistic counterweight to commercial production of Disney. Leftist western intellectuals were amazed; Trnka’s films were narrated by Jean Cocteau and Richard Burton, winning prizes in Cannes and Venice, and for the totalitarian regime they were a valuable export article. Trnka found he had become a puppet himself – a puppet of the political system. His disillusion led him to revolt. He left us a body of work celebrating a unique experience, the freedom associated with eternal youth.

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Credits
Director: Joël Farges
Screenplay: Tereza Brdečková, Joël Farges
Cinematography: Lukáš Hyksa, Edouard Potier
Sound: Ivo Špalj, Lukáš Martina
Editing: Adéla Špaljová
Production Design: Roman Mach, Matěj Sýkora
Producer: Vladimír Lhoták, Olga Prudʹhomme Farges
Co-production: Alena Müllerová, Helena Uldrichová
Costumes: Marcela Křížová, Édith Vesperini
Cast: Réginald Huguenin, Tereza Brdečková, Zuzana Ceplová, Jan Trnka, Helena Trnková, Edgar Dutka, Jiří Trnka, Adam Šrámek, Věra Dušková
Links
  • This film is available in the following territories: Czechia, Slovakia.