Marie Poledňáková (, 7 September 1941 – 8 November 2022) was a Czech film director, screenwriter, writer, and media entrepreneur. She graduated from the

Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (, AMU) is a university in the centre of Prague, Czech Republic, specialising in the study of music, dance, drama, film, television and multi-media. It is the largest art school in the Czech Republic, wit ...

in 1970.

Biography

Poledňáková was born in

Strakonice Strakonice (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. Administrative division Strakonice consists of eight municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Strakonice ...

, the daughter of a university professor, and was raised in

Nepomuk Nepomuk (; ) is a town in Plzeň-South District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,600 inhabitants. It is known as the birthplace of Saint John of Nepomuk, who was born here around 1340. Administrative division Nepomuk ...

. After graduating from high school, she wanted to study chemistry, but this was not allowed: some members of her family had emigrated from the then-

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

country and this was considered a serious offense which affected the rest of the family. Thus, instead of going to college, she went to work in a cookware factory. Poledňáková married Ivan Poledňák, a musicologist, and they had one son, Petr Poledňák. The pair divorced when Petr was eight. In 1961,

dramaturge A dramaturge or dramaturg (from Ancient Greek δραματουργός – dramatourgós) is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and pr ...

Jaroslav Dietl Jaroslav Dietl (22 May 1929 – 29 June 1985) was a Czech television series writer, film and television screenwriter, and playwright working mainly during the Normalization period. He is known for such works as the coming-of-age drama '' Inžen ...

offered Poledňáková the position of assistant director at

Czechoslovak Television Czech Television ( ; abbreviation: ČT) is a public television broadcaster in the Czech Republic, broadcasting six channels. Established after breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1992, it is the successor to Czechoslovak Television founded in 1953. H ...

. She worked in that capacity for 10 years while also taking evening classes at the

. She went on to work as a screenwriter and director at the studio after graduating from the academy. In 1982, she took a position with

Barrandov Studios Barrandov Studios is a set of film studios in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe. Barrandov has made several major Hollywood productions, including ''Mission: Impossible (film), ...

, where she worked for six years as director. In 1990, Poledňáková co-founded the joint-stock company FTV Premiera (now

Prima televize TV Prima, also known simply as Prima (previously Prima family, Prima televize, Premiéra, originally FTV Premiéra), is a Czech Republic, Czech television channel based in Prague. Its current owner is FTV Prima, spol. s. r. o., which is majorit ...

), which received the first license for private television broadcasting in the Czech Republic. After she sold her share in 1994, she became involved in the Premiéra Studio publishing house. In 2016, Poledňáková suffered a non-fatal stroke. She died on 8 November 2022, at the age of 81.

Filmography

* ''Hliněný vozíček'' (1973) * ''Otevřený kruh'' (1973) * ''Královské usínání'' (1974) * '' Jak vytrhnout velrybě stoličku'' (1977) * ''

Jak dostat tatínka do polepšovny ''Jak dostat tatínka do polepšovny '' (How to get dad into reform school) is a 1978 Czechoslovak family comedy film directed by Marie Poledňáková. The main characters are played by Jana Preissová, Tomáš Holý, and František Němec. It ...

'' (1978) * ''Kotva u přívozu'' (1980) * '' I Enjoy the World With You'' (1982) * '' Zkrocení zlého muže'' (1987) * ''Dva lidi v ZOO'' (1990) * ''Jak se krotí krokodýli'' (2006) * '' You Kiss Like a God'' (2009) * ''

Líbáš jako ďábel ''Líbáš jako ďábel'' (You Kiss Like a Devil) is a 2012 Czech comedy directed by Marie Poledňáková. It is a sequel to Poledňáková's 2009 comedy '' You Kiss like a God'' and includes the lead cast from the previous film, Jiří Barto ...

'' (2012)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Polednakova, Marie 1941 births 2022 deaths Czech film directors Czech women film directors Czechoslovak film directors People from Strakonice Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alumni Czech women screenwriters 20th-century Czech screenwriters 20th-century Czech women writers 21st-century screenwriters 21st-century Czech writers 21st-century Czech women writers