Jiří Křižan (26 October 1941 – 13 October 2010) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

screenwriter, writer and politician.

Life

Křižan grew up in

Moravian Wallachia Moravian Wallachia (, or simply ''Valašsko''; ) is a mountainous ethnoregion located in the easternmost part of Moravia in the Czech Republic, near the Slovakia, Slovak border, roughly centered on the cities Vsetín, Valašské Meziříčí and ...

. His father – a lumber mill company owner before 1948 nationalization – was arrested and executed by the Communists in a

show trial A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a d ...

in 1951. Křižan was expelled from high school for mocking the death of Czechoslovak Communist president

Antonín Zápotocký Antonín Zápotocký (; 19 December 1884 – 13 November 1957) was a Czech communist politician and statesman in Czechoslovakia. He served as the Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia from 1948 to 1953, and then as President of Czechoslovakia from 1 ...

. He had to work as a manual labourer until he was hired as a technical writer in a daily newspaper. His first produced screenplay was ''Horký vzduch'' in 1965. He was allowed to study at FAMU from 1965 to 1970. In 1971 he wrote an autobiographical novel ''Exercicia'' which he later adapted into the screenplay for the movie ''Tichá bolest''. In 1981 Křižan refused the

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 f ...

National Prize for his screenplay to the movie '' Signum Laudis''.

Politics

Křižan was active in

Charter 77 Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members ...

since 1986. In 1989 he co-wrote the petition ''Několik vět'' with

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and dissident. Havel served as the last List of presidents of Czechoslovakia, president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until 1992, prior to the dissol ...

, Stanislav Devátý and Alexander Vondra. He was a founding member of

Civic Forum The Civic Forum (, OF) was a political movement in the Czech part of Czechoslovakia, established during the Velvet Revolution in 1989. The corresponding movement in Slovakia was called Public Against Violence ( – VPN). The Civic Forum's purpo ...

and after the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

he worked as an adviser to the President Havel. From 1992 to 1995 he was a Deputy Minister of the Interior.

Selected filmography

* ''

Shadows of a Hot Summer ''Shadows of a Hot Summer'' () is a 1978 Czechoslovak thriller film by František Vláčil. The film won a Crystal Globe award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 1978. Cast * Juraj Kukura as Ondřej Baran * Marta Vančurová as ...

'' (1977) * '' Signum Laudis'' (1980) * ''

Pasáček z doliny ''Pasáček z doliny'' (English: ''The Little Shepherd Boy from the Valley'') is a 1984 Czechoslovak film. The film starred Vlastimil Drbal and Josef Kemr. It was based on a novel by Ladislav Fuks. Cast * Vlastimil Drbal as ''The Little Shepherd ...

'' (1983) * ''

Tichá bolest Tichá is a municipality and village in Nový Jičín District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,000 inhabitants. Etymology The name literally means 'silent' in Czech. Geography Tichá is located about east o ...

'' (1990) * ''

Sekal Has to Die ''Sekal Has to Die'' (, ) is a 1998 Czech film directed by Vladimír Michálek. It was the Czech Republic's submission to the 71st Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Her ...

'' (1988) * '' Of Parents and Children'' (2007)

References

External links

* Czech male screenwriters Czech writers 1941 births 2010 deaths People from Valašské Meziříčí Charter 77 signatories 20th-century Czech screenwriters {{Czech-bio-stub