''Forgotten Light'' ( cs, Zapomenuté světlo) is a 1996 Czech film directed by
Vladimír Michálek. The screenplay by Czech-American
Milena Jelinek is based on a 1934 book by
Jakub Deml
Jakub Deml (20 August 1878 – 10 February 1961) was a Czech Catholic priest and writer.
Life
Childhood and youth
Jakub Deml was born in Tasov near Třebíč, Austria-Hungary, now the Czech Republic on 20 August 1878 as a firstborn child of a ...
which is considered a masterpiece of Czech literature of the 20th century. The film was the Czech Republic's submission to the
70th Academy Awards
The 70th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 23, 1998, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the sho ...
for the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...
, but was not accepted as a nominee.
[Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]
The protagonist is Father Holý, a village priest, who battles the state and religious bureaucracies of
1980s Czechoslovakia to raise money for a new church roof. Permeated by his love for the villagers, his encounters are marked by his good humor. In his losing battle against Church and State, Holý is ordered transferred away from his parish and his allies.
Cast
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Bolek Polívka
Boleslav Polívka (born 31 July 1949, in Vizovice) is a Czech film and theatre actor, mime, playwright, and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 40 films.
Career
Polívka first started appearing in films in the 1960s. He graduated from t ...
as Vicar Holý
*
Veronika Žilková
Veronika Žilková (born 16 October 1961 in Prague) is a Czech actress.
She played the part of Božena Horáková in the 2000 Czech film, ''Little Otik'' also known as ''Otesánek''. In 1997 she received the Czech Lion Award as the best sup ...
as Marjánka
*
Petr Kavan as Francek
*
Jiří Pecha as Klíma
*
Antonín Kinský
Antonín Kinský (born 31 May 1975) is a Czech former professional association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He played club football in the Czech Republic for nine seasons, winning the natio ...
as Count Kinský
*
Jiří Lábus
Jiří Lábus (born 26 January 1950, in Prague) is a Czech actor. His brother is the Czech architect Ladislav Lábus.
In 1973, he graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and joined the theatre Studio Ypsilon, where he remains ...
as Vicar Kubišta
*
Richard Metznarowski
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
as Chapter's Vicar
See also
*
Cinema of the Czech Republic
*
*
List of Czech submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
External links
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1996 films
1996 drama films
Czech drama films
1990s Czech-language films
Czech Lion Awards winners (films)
{{1990s-drama-film-stub