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PRESS KIT
www.facebook.com/dirauhanusovic
www.dirauhanusovic.cz
PR CONTACT, PRESS SERVICE:
Martina Chvojka Reková, [email protected], tel. + 420 731 573 993
Klára Mixová, [email protected], tel. + 420 731 514 462
CAST
Maruna Tatiana Vilhelmová
Jaruna Lenka Krobotová
Mother Johanna Tesařová
Jura Ivan Trojan
Olin Jaroslav Plesl
Laďa’s Old Woman Simona Babčáková
Balin David Novotný
Laďa Hynek Čermák
Young Kódl Lukáš Latinák
Old Kódl Ján Kožuch
Hans René Přibil
Father of Family Zdeněk Julina
Stinky Martin Myšička
Mother of Family Klára Melíšková
CREW
directed by Miroslav Krobot
producer Ondřej Zima
Evolution Films (co-producer) Pavel Berčík, Jan Ludvík
Czech Television (co-producer) Kateřina Ondřejková
RWE (co-producer) Martin Chalupský
Soundsquare (co-producer) Pavel Rejholec, Radim Janeš
executive producer Jan Kallista
executive producer, Czech Television Jarmila Hoznauerová
story and script Miroslav Krobot, Lubomír Smékal
dramaturgy Kateřina Ondřejková
cinematography Jan Baset Střítežský
editing Jan Daňhel
sound Viktor Ekrt, Marek Hart
architect Jan Vlček
costume designer Katarína Hollá
make-up artist Lukáš Král
SYNOPSIS
German teacher Maruna (Tatiana Vilhelmová) runs the local pub. It doesn’t look like she’ll ever get
married, since there aren’t many suitable men in her small village: the indecisive mayor (Ivan Trojan)
spends most of his time in a hunter’s blind waiting for his stag, the childishly naive Olin (Jaroslav
Plesl) is seen by the others as a harmless village idiot, and roofer Kódl (Lukáš Latiňák) chases after
every passing skirt. Maruna’s troubles also include her domineering mother (Johanna Tesařová),
whom she looks after along with her sister Jaruna (Lenka Krobotová). When Jaruna takes the
chance to leave for Munich with the elderly German Hans, Maruna is stuck in “Nowhere” all alone with
her mother and her suitors. But one day, something unexpected happens here, Nowhere in Moravia…
Link to teaser trailer: http://youtu.be/xL0QLzUDl2k
MAKING THE FILM
Work on Nowhere in Moravia brought together numerous outstanding Czech actors. Director
Miroslav Krobot – who is known primarily as the long-standing head of the Dejvice Theatre, for his
portrayal of Alois Nebel or of Pepik Hnátek from District League, and as the co-writer of the Fourth
Star television series – cast actress Tatiana Vilhelmová in the main role of his cinematic directorial
debut. Appearing by her side are Ivan Trojan, Lenka Krobotová, Johanna Tesařová, Jaroslav Plesl,
Lukáš Latinák, Simona Babčáková, David Novotný and Hynek Čermák, with Klára Melíšková and
Martin Myšička in smaller roles. The creators behind “Nowhere“ call their cinematic creation a slightly
dark comedy. Screenwriters Miroslav Krobot and Lubomír Smékal see Nowhere in Moravia as a
film about love and hope, and as an expression of respect for those who choose to remain in
small villages just like this.
Krobot wrote the screenplay for his directorial debut Nowhere in Moravia in collaboration with his
secondary-school classmate, psychologist Lubomír Smékal. “Our film has several sources of
inspiration, such as the style and humor of Aki Kaurismäki or the Coen brothers. But we also let
ourselves be inspired by the work of the Mrštík brothers,” says director and co-screenwriter
Miroslav Krobot. Krobot originally contacted his long-time friend for a script about stalking, but over
time the idea evolved into Nowhere in Moravia. Smékal and Krobot actually worked together on a
never-completed stage adaptation of The Three Musketeers in the fifth grade. The different natures of
their chosen careers (director and psychologist) helped them while they were creating the characters
and provided a broader range of views on the characters’ situations and stories.
The film is an absolutely contemporary tale, the story of young teacher Maruna, who runs the local
pub in a small village in the Jeseník Mountains, where finding a suitable husband is more than difficult.
And so Maruna (played by Tatiana Vilhelmová) flounders back and forth between the indecisive mayor
(Ivan Trojan), the naïve local simpleton Olin (Jaroslav Plesl) and the promiscuous roofer Kódl,
played by the star of the Slovak television show Partička, Lukáš Latinák. Maruna’s sister Jaruna
(Lenka Krobotová) doesn’t leave anything to chance, and soon after meeting the elderly German
Hans she decides to follow him to Munich. Around the same time, things start to happen in this sleepy
“nowhere”. The center of social life is the village pub, which besides the main characters is also visited
by a non-conformist trio of forest workers (David Novotný, Simona Babčáková and Hynek Čermák).
The approach taken by Nowhere in Moravia requires top-class actors, so it is no wonder that Krobot
cast primarily actors whom he knows well from his work in the theater. At the same time, however, he
was not afraid to cast several non-actors as the local villagers and hoboes.
For the filmmakers, it was important that the film’s protagonists speak in a believable language that is
typical to the Jeseník Mountains, where the story takes place. For this reason, the characters speak
in the local dialect. Although the director considered the possibility of using actors from Moravia for
whom the dialect would not be such a big problem, he decided to play it safe and cast actors
whom he knew well. He thus recorded their lines in dialect on CD, which the actors received well
enough in advance in order to learn the dialect.
The choice of the Jeseník Mountains as location was not by chance. It is a region that Krobot and
Smékal are intimately familiar with and that they see as a region with its own particular sense of
drama. The Jeseník Mountains were once part of the Sudetenland, where centuries of history were
interrupted during the postwar period, when the area was artificially resettled by people without natural
ties to the land. “The result was a mixing of various types of people with diverse cultural backgrounds,
different values, morals, and customs. Many people leave the region in order to escape unemployment
and the difficult living conditions. There is a lot of aggressiveness, alcoholism, and other addictions.
But there are also people who try not to give up in the face of this situation and who actively try to
influence their own lives. To these people, we would like to express our admiration and respect,” says
Lubomír Smékal.
Just as important as the film’s setting was the use of humor. “For me, humor is an integral part of
a work, because I view films or theater performances as an attempt at sharing, understanding, and
play. I like humor that doesn’t feel forced but that is natural and inconspicuous; humor that is capable
of touching upon tragedy, that stimulates the brain and encourages playfulness,” says Miroslav
Krobot.
The Jeseník Mountains also enchanted the actors and the entire crew. Compared to other film shoots,
where the cast and crew often commute from their homes, this time they spent several weeks living on
location. The entire film was shot in the village of Vikantice, which is located just under 10
kilometers from Hanušovice. “I am grateful to producer Ondřej Zima for making it possible for me to be
there with my family and spend time with my children between takes. We simply moved to Vikantice
for six weeks, and lived the village life with Vojta and both grandmothers. We still remember that time
fondly,” says Tatiana Vilhelmová, who plays the main character, Maruna, and who managed the
shoot shortly after giving birth. She found both Maruna and the Jeseník mountains inspiring. “Maruna
has my admiration. I think that if we ever met and if she could be bothered to speak with me, I would
just stare at her with open mouth, thinking ‘What a woman!’ I’m a complete nobody!
“At least that’s what went through my mind when I read the script. And when we were filming, I let
myself be guided by the director, the screenwriter, the actors… The Jeseník Mountains, too, are a very
inspiring place. If I were a painter or writer, I would work only there,” adds Vilhelmová.
Nowhere in Moravia was produced by Evolution Films under the guidance of producer Ondřej Zima.
The film’s co-producers are Kateřina Ondřejková’s creative production group at Czech Television, as
well as RWE and Soundsquare. “Krobot’s cinematic debut takes place and was filmed in an out-of-theway village in the Jeseník Mountains. It therefore makes perfect sense that Czech Television’s
participation is through its Ostrava studio,” says Czech Television’s creative producer Kateřina
Ondřejková. The film was made with financial support from the State Fund for Cinema, the Olomouc
Region, the Jeseníky Tourist Association, and the Jeseníky Film Office. The film opens in cinemas on
24 July 2014, and is distributed by A-Company Czech. Its world premiere will be at the 49th Karlovy
Vary International Film Fest, where it will be shown in the main competition of feature-length
films.
MIROSLAV KROBOT (1951)
director, co-screenwriter
After completing his studies at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno (JAMU),
Krobot joined the West Bohemian Theatre in Cheb in 1975. He later switched to DVÚ in Hradec
Králové and in 1984 joined Prague’s Realistic Theatre. In 1985 and 1988, he won the Czech Literature
Fund’s award for Merlin: Or, the Wasteland and Lines on the Palm. In 1990, he became the in-house
director at the National Theatre, where his directing work included his own adaptation of the Mrštík
brothers’ novel A Year in the Village, for which he won the 1993 Alfréd Radok Award. From 1996 until
the end of this year’s season, he was the artistic director of the Dejvice Theatre, where he continues to
be active as actor and director. At the Dejvice Theatre – to which he brought his entire graduating
class from DAMU’s Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre – his directorial debut was The
Soothing Method, an adaptation of stories by Edgar Allen Poe. Under his leadership, the Dejvice
Theatre became a first-class theater, winning four Alfréd Radok awards, and also being named
Theatre of the Year in 2002, 2006 and 2011.
In 2001, Petr Zelenka cast Krobot as the father in the play Wrong Side Up, for which Krobot won
another Alfréd Radok Award, this time in the category of talent of the year. In 2005, he won the Czech
Lion for the same role in the play’s film adaptation. Since then, he has created numerous distinctive
cinematic characters, for instance receiving great acclaim as Alois Nebel. Krobot played the title role in
Hungarian director Béla Tarr’s The Man From London, which was shown at Cannes. Other films with
Krobot include Little Girl Blue, The House, In the Shadow, District League – Pepik Hnátek’s Final
Match, Revival and Burning Bush. He is the co-author of the popular television series Fourth Star, in
which he appears as well.
INTERVIEW WITH MIROSLAV KROBOT
Nowhere in Moravia is your cinematic directorial debut. When did you first start toying with the
idea of creating your own feature-length film? How long did you work on the script and how
much time passed between the first idea and the film’s completion?
The idea came to me several times while filming as an actor. Originally, we wrote the script to
“Nowhere” with the idea that it might be a film, and if it didn’t work out we could rework it for the
theater. We spent about a year writing the script, and it was about two and a half years from the first
screenwriting meetings to the film’s completion.
You wrote the screenplay with your friend and secondary-school classmate, psychologist
Lubomír Smékal. How important was it for you to work in a team? Did both of you have a clear
idea from the beginning as to the film’s form and message?
We didn’t have a clear idea of what the film’s message would be or what it should look like. We talked
about shared situations and experiences, and talked to lots of friends and acquaintances. During the
first stage of work, that was more important than the film’s theme. Only later did we suddenly feel
something like a sense of responsibility to put it all together. Which of course included thinking about
the film’s form and theme. Generally speaking, I find the professional collaboration between a theater
director and psychologist inspirational in and of itself. In our case, we can add the time we spent
together at school and perhaps also a somewhat similar way of seeing the world. So it was good.
You describe Nowhere in Moravia as a film about love and hope and respect for those who
remain in this place, which can be called universal themes. The setting – the Jeseník
Mountains, where the film takes place and where you come from – certainly also played a
decisive role… In terms of what motivates the characters, how important is it that they live in
an out-of-the-way village in the Jeseník Mountains?
In connection with Nowhere in Moravia, Luboš speaks of the theme of power and powerlessness,
primarily in the sense of being able to decide about one’s fate. This is clearly a universal theme, but
we knew that we could best express ourselves through as specific a place and as believable
characters as possible. That is why the characters speak in dialect and the story is set is such a
specific setting. We wanted to explore a universal theme by depicting everyday life, perhaps even
banality and ridiculousness. The world of the small village is of fundamental importance for the film’s
feel, because in their unambiguousness the characters are sufficiently radical and transparent and at
the same time – I hope – original. And for city dwellers they are “exotic” as well.
At the outset of filming, you said you were inspired by Aki Kaurismäki, the Coen brothers, and
the Mrštík brothers. Have you succeeded in identifying a common link among those
individuals? How did their poetics inspire you? And how would you describe your own
particular style?
It would be difficult for me to talk about the distinctiveness of my own poetics, but generally speaking
the main thing is to have the courage to be as direct as possible and to apply experiences gained in
theater, film and life. A common link between Kaurismäki, the Coens and the Mrštíks? Perhaps
Jewish-Finnish-Moravian humor…? Although when it comes to the Mrštíks, I am a bit doubtful.
Perhaps a social sensibility, although that doesn’t totally fit the Coens. So I don’t know. A little bit from
each, I guess.
For most of the roles, you used actors from the Dejvice Theatre, of which you are the artistic
director. This was not the first time you worked with them outside of the theater – for instance,
there was the recent sitcom Fourth Star, which was very successful with audiences. To what
extent did the sense of teamwork and what one might call artistic affinity between the actors
and director help the film and its realization? Did you know from the beginning that you would
give the roles to actors from the Dejvice Theatre?
I figured that as a beginning director I would have enough things to worry about during filming, so
casting the actors from the Dejvice Theatre was me playing it safe. For a while, I did consider casting
actors who would not have difficulties with the dialect because they either come from Moravia or they
are engaged at theaters in Olomouc or Šumperk, but in the end I opted for the Dejvice Theatre and
gave each actor a personal CD well in advance on which I recorded their lines in dialect. They taught
themselves well …
You have called Nowhere in Moravia a “slightly dark comedy”. What is your view of humor in
works of art in general?
Laughter is an amazing catalyst that facilitates communication. For me, humor is an integral part of a
work, because I view films or theater performances as an attempt at sharing, understanding, and play.
I like humor that doesn’t feel forced but that is natural and inconspicuous; humor that is capable of
touching upon tragedy, that stimulates the brain and encourages playfulness.
How would you describe yourself as a director? Do you leave room for spontaneous ideas and
improvisation, or do you stick strictly to the script?
I have a pretty clear idea of the film as a whole, including a kind of litmus test for what belongs in it and
what doesn’t. But during rehearsals or filming, I won’t fight against spur-of-the-moment ideas from
anyone, because such ideas tend to have an indelible touch of authenticity.
Supposedly the editor didn’t have much to do – I hear that almost no scenes were cut from the
film…
Of course there were some, but in the end we cut them mainly because of the film’s length. But there
are also some scenes that were unnecessarily expository or literal – which, when I look back on it,
counts for some of the dialogues, too.
What is your view of Jan Baset Střítežský’s cinematography? Did he meet your vision of what
the film should look like? The filming took place during last summer’s tropical heat wave,
which the audience barely notices even though the cameraman was literally dripping with
sweat during the shoot …
We had really good luck with the weather. In the Jeseník Mountains, it could have easily rained the
whole time, so we were actually grateful for the 35-degree heat. I really like Honza’s camera work,
because it balances on the dividing line between, on the one hand, the routine and barrenness of the
human world, and on the other, the beauty and energy of the mountains.
Now that you have your cinematic directorial debut behind you, could you describe the
difference between directing film and theater? What are the charm and pitfalls of the two
disciplines?
Film is far more realistic than theater, and doesn’t have as much metaphoric space. But it is quite
possible that as a novice, I have yet to discover the freedom of the cinematic language. In any case,
the cinematic form of expression suits me quite well, because my theater productions aren’t
particularly stylized, either.
Would you like to direct more films in the future? Can you imagine directing a script that isn’t
your own?
I’ll give the classical answer: We’ll see. If Nowhere in Moravia is received as a banal and forgettable
film, there wouldn’t be any point. On the other hand, I found working on “Nowhere” inspirational, and
can imagine learning from it in order to work better with telling stories via images or making
appropriate use of cinematic dialogue. In any case, Luboš Smékal and I have already begun to
discuss something new – which shows that I prefer auteurial projects and would enjoy someone else’s
script only if it really appealed to me.
Where do you see your artistic priorities today? In theater directing, film directing, acting, or
screenwriting?
I am very lucky that my priority today can be subjects that I feel close to and that are exciting in both
form and content. Regardless of whether I am directing theater or film, or working as an actor.
LUBOMÍR SMÉKAL (1952)
co-screenwriter
Smékal earned his degree in psychology from the Philosophical Faculty at Olomouc’s Palacký
University in 1975, after which he was active as an occupational psychologist at ZPA Nusle. In 1978,
he became interested in what was then the new field of marital and family counseling and therapy, and
found excellent fulfillment through his work. At the time, the field was somewhat of an underground
discipline in psychology and offered relatively broad room for experimentation, enthusiasm and
creativity. In the 1980s, he underwent training in group dynamic psychotherapy. In 1992, he visited the
United States, where he attended a course on working with the body (aqua-bio-energetics) at
California’s Elysium Institute. Upon his return, he continued working at the marital counseling center in
Olomouc, where he focused on couples and family therapy and counseling as well as group therapy
and personal development groups. He also contributed to Olomouc’s Puls newspaper and the
Olomoucký Kurýr magazine. In 1997, he wrote the script for the short film Gamblers. In 2000, he
began to work with Czech Radio Olomouc and gradually began to write short articles that he has read
on air twice a week for more than two years. Besides these articles, he also contributed once a month
to an hour-long live radio talk shows on various themes, and has written several publications and
treatises on interpersonal communication, power, and the helping professions.
INTERVIEW WITH LUBOMÍR SMÉKAL
You have known Miroslav Krobot, the director and co-screenwriter of Nowhere in Moravia,
since secondary school and you have been friends for many years. What led you to work on a
film together, and how did you come up with the idea of writing the script for a full-length
movie?
We have in fact known each other since primary school, and even then we wrote together. But I am
afraid that none of it has survived. At secondary school we did some theater and came up with songs
on the piano, which we and our classmates all enjoyed. In this way we somehow created our own
history. We didn’t think of it like that back then, but it’s useful now because we have something
sentimental to look back upon. After school, Mirek found himself at JAMU (the Janáček Academy of
Performing Arts in Brno) and I went to study psychology in Olomouc. Although we existed in different
worlds, we were always in contact and met every now and then.
I am not entirely sure as to what led us to write a screenplay. I guess the beginnings lay with Mirek,
who had an idea to write something on the subject of stalking, so he turned to me and we started to
talk about his ideas. These conversations later left the subject of stalking behind, since we found it too
forced, and we started to talk about things that we felt close to and that were from our personal
experiences. Originally, we didn’t think much about whether it would be a script for film or theater; the
important thing was that it was something that we enjoyed.
How long did you work on the script’s final form? Were you always in agreement, or is the
script the result of artistic conflicts and compromise?
That is another question that I can’t answer precisely. The first draft took several months, perhaps a
year. We had to meet either in Prague or in Olomouc, and to find times when we were both available,
which often wasn’t that simple. They were sporadic, intense meetings, and in-between we were each
on our own with the subject. It was probably good like that, since the theme had to ripen and take root.
This first phase was followed by a period of various additions and changes, so all in all it definitely took
more than a year.
I don’t recall any “artistic” or other “conflicts”. We never even argued. It was probably because we
enjoyed it and were always talking while working. One advantage was that we each understood what
the other was saying; we were a part of the story, which was born and shaped during our
conversations. This lack of conflict and relatively easygoing atmosphere accompanied the film during
the scriptwriting phase as well as during pre-shoot preparations and during the filming itself. I think that
this was to a great extent thanks to Mirek Krobot, who perhaps doesn’t even realize it, but he spreads
an atmosphere of mutual respect onto the people around him.
How important is it for the film that it is set in the Jeseník Mountains?
It is no coincidence, of course, that the story takes place in the Jeseník Mountains. For one thing, it is
a place that both of us know quite well and that we like; for another, I think it is a region that possesses
a specific sense of drama. This is the Sudetenland, an area whose natural evolution was disturbed by
the war and postwar period, when it was artificially settled by people who had no roots or organic ties
to the place. The result was a mixing of various types of people from divergent cultural backgrounds,
with different values, morals and customs. It is a very harsh place, but at the same time it possesses a
unique harsh poetics. This applied not only to the natural landscape, but to interpersonal relations as
well.
Besides the stories of the various characters, the film is also a story of power and powerlessness. And
that is a subject that goes beyond that region. We try to be successful in order to be powerful. If we
don’t succeed in making our wishes or dreams come true, or if we fail to gain the attention of others,
we can easily feel powerless and unable to affect the world around us, unable to effectively affect what
is going on inside us. This sense of powerlessness can easily evolve into resignation and various
forms of escape, or into compensatory activities that give us a sense of at least coming close to power
but usually are a kind of illusion that very easily fades. We can also try to compensate for our
powerlessness through activities that give us an illusion of power. Such compensation for
powerlessness might be aggression and despotic behavior, aggressive promiscuity, taking on
functions that we are not suited for but that involve delegating power, and various other examples.
Did you apply your experience as a psychologist to writing the script and creating dialogues?
I would like to pretend that I didn’t, but it quite naturally found expression. It wasn’t intentional; if
anything, I tried to avoid psychologizing. I was afraid of engaging in unnatural constructs and wanted
the script to be a truthful reflection of the region and its people. Afterwards, I created something like a
psychological profile of the various characters, which I then discussed with Mirek and which we
occasionally used while working with the actors during filming.
Does the film depict real situations that you have experienced and are the characters based on
real-life people, or is everything the result of your imagination, with reality acting only as a
loose source of inspiration?
Most of the characters are a condensation of our experiences. They are not based on a single person,
but on people of a similar type that we have encountered or whom we have heard about. The film
contains several situations that really happened, although under different circumstances, and they
have been slightly altered for our story. For instance, the story of Ladin, Balin and Laďa’s Old Woman
is based on one such story, as are some of the situations that Olin ends up in. Most of the time,
however, we were only loosely inspired by things that we had seen, and invented a story that we lived
a little. The story definitely gained in authenticity by our giving some of the smaller roles to some
friends who come from the region.
Did any of the characters grow on you in particular?
I personally like the character of Olin, whom the others ridicule and consider a naïve idiot and
simpleton. And still, in this often cruel environment he retains a bit of naiveté and a capacity for
enthusiasm, sensitivity and honest humanity, which makes him different than those around him and
thus strikes them as somehow strange. When writing Olin, I kept thinking of a good friend of ours who
unfortunately died more than 10 years ago but whom Olin reminds me of. I wanted for him to be a part
of the film, if only in this way.
Besides Olin, I also like Maruna, who isn’t at all an unambiguously positive character, but she is
someone who doesn’t give up and who tries to find chances for fulfillment in life. She makes mistakes,
but she is not powerless.
You have a regular on-air column on Czech Radio, “A Minute for You”, and you wrote the script
for the short film Gamblers. Writing is thus nothing new for you. Are you considering writing
another script for a feature film?
I think I can cautiously reveal that Mirek Krobot and I have begun working on a new project and that
we are starting to write a new screenplay. But I don’t want to say anything more at this stage.
What does creative writing mean to you? Is it a hobby, relaxation, or fun, or do you see a
deeper meaning in screenwriting, something that goes beyond film?
I am basically fulfilling my childhood dreams. I grew up in a family where I had been “appointed” to the
place of my uncle, who immediately after the war had worked in film and theater. I was named after
him, and was expected to have the same interests and to be like him. Well, and I started to fulfill these
expectations, though in my own way.
INTERVIEW WITH TATIANA VILHELMOVÁ
Miroslav Krobot described Nowhere in Moravia as, among others things, an expression of
respect for those who choose to remain in this forgotten village. What do you think makes your
character Maruna one of those who have stayed in their out-of-the-way village even though
finding a suitable partner seems to be an almost impossible task?
I guess having a man isn’t vitally important for her. In my view, we live in a society that is still pushed
into being a particular way. Women should get married and have a husband and child, or they should
work on their career, which means they won’t have any time for a husband or child. But there also
exist people who yearn for neither marriage nor career – or even for life in the city. They are firmly
rooted in nature; they are one with the home where they were born, their parents, the local inhabitants,
the livestock that they look after… We can ridicule it just like they laugh at us urban types, or we can
look at it from a different point of view and make a film about it.
Maruna seems full of paradoxes – although she appears to have accepted a life without a
future, she definitely does not strike us as resigned. Would you describe her inner life energy
as a key to portraying her character? What was it like to play her?
Maruna has my admiration. I think that if we ever met and if she could be bothered to speak with me, I
would just stare at her with open mouth, thinking “What a woman!” I’m a complete nobody!
At least that’s what went through my mind when I read the script. And when we were filming, I let
myself be guided by the director, the screenwriter, the actors… The Jeseník Mountains, too, are a very
inspiring place. If I were a painter or writer, I would work only there.
In connection with Maruna, did you remember your role as the village girl Božka from Bohdan
Sláma’s The Wild Bees? What differentiates the two characters?
I did remember her. But the atmosphere in those two regions is different, and the same goes for the
scripts. I’d say that Vikantice is a more poetic place. What is more, Bohdan Sláma wrote The Wild
Bees as a young man, and I play a girl on the verge of adulthood. Nowhere was written by two ripe old
bards about a woman who became an adult long ago.
How would you compare working with Miroslav Krobot as a theater director and as a film
director?
I don’t see any difference. He is a searcher of the truth. He doesn’t like excessive ornament, pathos
and cheap tricks. He will always have a distinctive style, both in film and in theater. He likes people
and treats them all equally. That is what makes him great. But that is all that I can say about him after
13 years of having him as my director at the theater. I don’t know him that well; we have never had
long or intimate discussions, he doesn’t like to analyze theater or the characters’ psychology, and
neither do I.
What is you relationship to acting in theater and acting in film? Do you currently lean more
towards one or the other, or do you find yourself most fulfilled with your feet planted in both
worlds?
No, my legs are starting to hurt from having them spread out like that. I’ve had that already: one foot in
film, the other in theater, and my rear end in radio or dubbing. I don’t work like that anymore. My
capacity is all taken up. I am standing with both feet at home and enjoying my beautiful life. I’ll work
only if someone offers me a role that is more interesting than my personal one is right now. And then I
don’t care if it’s in film or theater.
What was it like to work on a film with your longtime colleagues from the Dejvice Theatre? Is
the fact that you know each other intimately as actors from the stage helpful when you are in
front of the camera?
It is constant fun. Especially while shooting this film, because we were speaking in dialect and cracked
up laughing because of it. We know each other very well as actors, we can rely on one another, we
aren’t afraid to criticize, we help one another… It’s great.
You shot Nowhere in Moravia several months after giving birth. Was that difficult for you? How
did you manage looking after an infant while being on the set?
Yes, it was just after my postpartum period, but everything worked out in peaceful harmony. I am
grateful to producer Ondřej Zima for making it possible for me to be there with my family and spend
time with my children between takes. We simply moved to Vikantice for six weeks, and lived the village
life with Vojta and both grandmothers. We still remember that time fondly.
Recently, audiences could see you as Božena Němcová at the Viola Theatre. Did you learn
anything new about this (for her time) unconventional woman, and is there some way in which
you feel an affinity for this character? Do you think it’s a coincidence that these roles of strong
rural women are entering your life?
Nothing is a coincidence (laughter). I want to play such roles. I didn’t become an actress so that I
could appear every evening on television in a pretty dress and make-up and blather on about nothing.
I am like a stunt artist; I need challenges. Božena Němcová is one such challenge. I realize this during
every performance at the Viola.
She is another woman before whom I bow down. A great author, an original and timeless woman, and
a great mother! Her ideas on motherhood and childrearing brought me to my knees. That was one of
many discoveries that I made while rehearsing the play. Just so it doesn’t look like I want to play Joan
of Arc – no, that isn’t it. A challenge for me would also be to play a miserly queen in a children’s
fairytale and to make a complete fool of myself! Or to appear with the guys on the improvised show
Partička. Because that is adrenaline – here and now.
INTERVIEW WITH LENKA KROBOTOVÁ
You work professionally with your father Miroslav Krobot at the Dejvice Theatre, and now he
directed you in front of the camera for Nowhere in Moravia. What is it like to be directed by
your own father?
We have been working together for a long time, and I started long ago to see him as something other
than my father when we work together. At the very beginning of our working together, it was clear that
it would be necessary to separate work and family, and fortunately we have succeeded in doing so,
although I honestly didn’t know whether it would work … Dad is an excellent and experienced director
who works with the actors and with people as they are. He has a sense of humor and perspective and
possesses a kind of strange calmness. Thanks primarily to these qualities, I have managed to relax
and focus on work like all the others. Because of the camera, Nowhere in Moravia was a bit of a new
experience, but it was in a peaceful setting in the mountains. I think it was joyful for the entire
ensemble…
The film is set in the Jeseník Mountains, where your father is from. Do you personally have any
relationship to this place?
I do. We have a cabin there, relatives, friends, so we spend quite a lot of time there. It is a beautiful,
distinctive landscape and I love going back.
The filmmakers have called Nowhere in Moravia a “slightly dark comedy”. As an actress, do
you feel more of an affinity to comedies or to serious acting?
Like in theater, I like it best when these two approaches come together, when the audience is
entertained and then realizes that it has just had a deeper and more serious experience than they
thought.
I assume that, if anything, the presence of your colleagues from the Dejvice Theatre on the set
was more of an advantage. On the other hand, I wonder whether there weren’t any signs of
cabin fever …
It wouldn’t be normal if those things didn’t happen. But if anything, I experienced that more in the
theater, where most of the time we were capable of getting things out in the open on time. During
filming, we were in a new and different environment; we took turns being on set, while the others were
off in the forests and mountains somewhere… we focused on fulfilling my father’s vision as best as
possible. In the evening, everyone had a beer; it was summer, and seeing each other while doing
such great work over the holidays was a bonus.
Your character, Maruna’s sister Jaruna, feels like the more passive and submissive of the two
sisters, but she is the one who takes advantage of the first chance to leave her native village.
How do you explain her newly-awakened ability to act? The elderly German Hans isn’t exactly
overflowing with sex appeal…
I think it is her awareness of what works, of a chance for change and having a better life elsewhere…
and definitely also a certain dose of laziness and comfort.
What was your father like as a director during filming? Did you have rehearsals at the theater
like you did with the television series Fourth Star, in which pretty much everyone from the
Dejvice Theatre appeared?
We rehearsed on the set, because we only did a certain number of scenes every day, so that we
would be at ease and have enough room for them. That also relates to his way of working, which we
were used to from the theater. I had similar feelings, with the difference that the take could always be
done over.
What character do you feel closest to from your acting career? And who would you like to play
in the future?
At the theater right now, I really like Masha from The Seagull. From my earlier roles, there is Charlotte
from Elective Affinities. From my film roles, I have fond memories from Restart and The Karamazovs.
My dream is to play a dramatic character in a historical film.
Recently you have been in high demand as an actress. Are you planning any more big projects,
or are you planning to “relax” for a bit on the stage of the Dejvice Theatre?
Where did you hear that I’m in high demand?:-) I’m acting a lot right now. We are looking forward to a
new artistic director at the Dejvice Theatre, and I myself am curious as to what awaits me…
INTERVIEW WITH JOHANNA TESAŘOVÁ
In Nowhere in Moravia, you found yourself literally surrounded by actors from the Dejvice
Theatre. What was it like to work with a cast consisting primarily of people from that theater?
It wasn’t completely unknown for me. I worked with Mirek Krobot on my first production after joining
the National Theatre: A Year in the Village, which was named 1993 Play of the Year, as was The Man
Without a Past several years later at the Dejvice Theatre, where I appear as a guest and so I hope to
remain surrounded by actors from the Dejvice Theatre for some time to come. Miroslav Krobot is an
excellent theater director.
And what is he like as a film director?
I haven’t made many films, so I don’t have much experience and lack self-confidence in front of the
camera. But I was happy while working with Krobot on Nowhere in Moravia. No stage fright. Absolutely
free. His loving approach, humor and wisdom are like a balm. But he is also strict and thorough. I hope
that Nowhere in Moravia won’t be his only film and that he will work on other “projects”, as they are
called today. At the same time, I hope that despite having made it big as an actor he will return to
directing theater as well.
In the film, you play the domineering mother of two sisters. How do you feel when playing
similar roles? The scenes with your character are constantly balancing between comedy and
drama…
Mean people are easier to play than nice people. Lots of actors say that. The balance between
comedy and tragedy is given by the script, and the sensitive eyes and ears of the director,
cinematographer, and screenwriter won’t let you fall.
In what plays can we see you at the National Theatre?
I’m playing in The Forest, Uncle Vanya, The Seagull, and Our Swaggerers.
INTERVIEW WITH LUKÁŠ LATINÁK
The role of the promiscuous roofer Kódl in Nowhere in Moravia isn’t your first opportunity to
appear in a Czech movie. For instance, Czech audiences could see you in Walking Too Fast.
How did the filmmakers behind Nowhere in Moravia invite you?
The invitation came after Miroslav Krobot directed Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot at the Astorka Korzo ’90
theater, when he cast me as Parfyon Rogozhin. I was very happy to be cast in Nowhere in Moravia, in
part because the Dejvice Theatre ensemble appears in it and it is an honor for me to act with them.
Plus, all in all it is a funny character. And of course I am grateful to Mirek for his idea to add two Slovak
strikers to the team. My character’s father is played by Janko Kožuch from the theater in Martin.
The role of Kódl the roofer represents primarily the comic dimension of Nowhere in Moravia.
As an actor, do you feel a closer affinity to comedy?
I found the whole screenplay humorous even though it doesn’t always deal with happy themes.
Besides, the film features a whole range of comic actors and actresses, so I don’t feel particularly
exceptional in that regard. Young Kódl is a man with loose morals who prefers to focus on the
“merrier” things in life instead of growing bitter from the loneliness all around. Of course I prefer
humorous characters.
What was it like to work with Miroslav Krobot and with a cast consisting overwhelmingly of
actors from the Dejvice Theatre? Was working with them somehow different because they all
know each other very well, and not just from the theater?
It was great! The whole shoot felt more like summer break than work… in short, relaxation. Definitely
in part thanks to the fact that Táňa Vilhelmová was always running off to breastfeed. Everyone
supported everyone else, coming up with jokes for Mirek Krobot, talking about work, and mainly being
completely at ease. Normal, human. You can feel, see, and hear that they have many years’
experience with Mirek… They know exactly what he wants as a director and give it to him. They give it
their all and place their full trust in the hands that guide them. I’d compare it to Teatro Tatro, where I
get a similar sense of family. And of course, when you start to work, then you do fully and completely!
It was the same during filming. With the magic word “action!”, everything went quiet.
You have had an opportunity to compare: How are contemporary Czech and Slovak film doing?
Czech film is doing good, and I seem to have heard something about Slovak film as well…
You are popular in Slovakia thanks to your appearance on the improv show Partička, which
also has a Czech version with Czech actors. Have you ever collaborated on this project with
your Czech colleagues?
Yes, of course! Several times. We invited them to film on our show and at a Czecho-Slovak Partička in
Bratislava, and they invited us to Konopiště, Olomouc, Prague…
What is the next project besides Nowhere in Moravia where audiences in the Czech Republic or
Slovakia can look forward to seeing you?
In Slovakia, we are currently finishing up the police sitcom Professionals, but I also have a small role
in Ondřej Šulaj’s long-anticipated Agáve, and in the Czech Republic I’m knee-deep in the series
Obvoďák Martin and the film Andílek na nervy, in which Juraj Šajmovič cast me after we worked
together on Tady hlídám já. And any day now, we’re starting filming on the comedy Hodinový manžel,
which will take up a part of my summer. The rest of my time will be spent with something that is close
to my heart: Teatro Tatro and the premiere of The Master and Margarita in early September. And I
can’t wait for the premiere of Nowhere in Moravia!!!
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