Antonín Kachlík (26 February 1923 – 20 April 2022) was a Czech film director and screenwriter. He directed 21 films between 1948 and 1987. In 1973, he was a member of the jury at the

8th Moscow International Film Festival The 8th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 10 to 23 July 1973. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Soviet film '' That Sweet Word: Liberty!'' directed by Vytautas Žalakevičius and the Bulgarian film ''Affection'' directed by Lud ...

Early life and education

Kachlík was born in , Czechoslovakia (now Kladno-Rozdělov). He grew up in Malá Dobrá until 1931, when his family relocated to Prague. He attended the Prague-Karlín trade academy. During World War II, Kachlík joined an underground resistance movement where he printed and distributed leftist leaflets, and after graduating from school in 1942, he was forced into working for Germany as a member of the fire brigades in the Ruhr area. Here, he helped the Germans clean up debris after the Allied Forces' nightly air raids. After World War II, he attended the College of Political and Social Sciences, before applying for an education at the Film Academy ( FAMU) in 1946. He ended up graduating from the Film Academy in 1950. After graduating, Kachlík went to Zlín to work as a

dramaturge A dramaturge or dramaturg is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and printed programmes (or helps others with these tasks), consults auth ...

in the Workers’ Theatre, before joining the military in 1952, and serving until 1954.

Professional life

Kachlík began his directing career by working as second director, with

Josef Mach Josef Mach (25 February 1909, in Prostějov – 7 July 1987, in Prague) was a Czech actor, screenwriter and film director. Josef Mach worked as a journalist and stage performer at the beginning of his career, then in 1938 was appointed assistant d ...

and

Bořivoj Zeman Bořivoj Zeman (6 March 1912 – 23 December 1991) was a Czech film director and screenwriter. Biography Originally a clerk by profession, he started by writing short film scripts just for himself. His real film work began in 1940's in Hostivař ...

. He then made his lead-directorial debut in 1961 with the drama ''Červnové dny'', and continued to direct films until 1988''.'' Between 1961 and 1983 Kachlík wrote multiple screenplays, and over the course of his life he wrote a total of five books, with the last one being written in 2003. Between the years of 1971-1992 he taught at FAMU. Kachlík received criticism for directing a biographical film about communist leader

Klement Gottwald Klement Gottwald (; 23 November 1896 – 14 March 1953) was a Czech communist politician, who was the leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1929 until his death in 1953–titled as general secretary until 1945 and as chairman fro ...

, called the ''Dvacátý devátý''.

Personal life

Kachlík died on 20 April 2022, at the age of 99. He was married to actress Květoslava („Květa“) Houdlová. Their daughter (born 1953) is a Czech mezzo-soprano.

Selected filmography

* ''Červnové dny'' (1961) * ''Bylo nás deset'' (1963) * ''Třiatřicet stříbrných křepelek'' (1965) * ''Death Behind a Curtain'' (1967) * '' Já, truchlivý bůh'' (1969) * '' Princ Bajaja'' (1971) * ''We, the Lost Girls'' (1972) * ''Zločin v Modré hvězdě'' (1974) * ''Dvacátý devátý'' (1975) * ''Kouzelné dobrodružství'' (1983) * ''Kouzelníkův návrat'' (1985) * ''On a Wayward Princess'' (1987)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kachlik, Antonin 1923 births 2022 deaths Czech film directors Czech screenwriters Male screenwriters People from Kladno Members of the Czech National Council Communist Party of Czechoslovakia politicians Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alumni Merited Artists of Czechoslovakia