Masterclass with Eduard Grečner

Arrival of the boldest young generation of Slovak cinema

1950s and 1960s of Czechoslovak cinema were a period of turbulent changes and transformations. It was a time when the young generation of filmmakers growing up after the Second World War started producing, full of enthusiasm and illusions about their mission in this world. The generation influenced by their studies at the Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, longing for a true depiction of reality as seen during academic screenings of Italian neorealist films. However, during the times of early communist Czechoslovakia, the principles of such realistic depiction were frowned upon. The films that now make up the core of our cinema as well as their authors had to face many difficulties, concessions, and an enormous amount of pressure. Eduard Grečner’s masterclass will tell us more about how the boldest young generation in the history of Slovak cinema searched for ways of self-realization as well as why the filmWe from Study Group 9-A was a turning point in its director’s, Štefan Uher’s life.

Eduard Grečner’s film career started with directing studies at the Prague Film School FAMU. For health reasons, he transferred to dramaturgy and screenwriting, which he finished without formal completion. After his studies, he worked at the Koliba Film Studios as a dramaturge, screenwriter, and director. As an assistant director he cooperated with Štefan Uher in the production of his legendary films We from Study Group 9-A (1961) andTheSunin aNet (1962). In 1964 he made his debut with Seven Days Every Week, capturing the ever-present feeling of uncertainty and fear his generation felt concerning the threat of a nuclear conflict. In 1965 he made an adaptation of Jaroslava Blažková’s novel TheNylon Moon followed by Dobroslav Chrobák’s The Return of Dragon in 1967.In 1968 he signed an appealforpassive resistance to occupation of Czechoslovakia in August 1968, and until 1991 worked mostly as a dubbing director.In the 90s,Eduard Grečner producedEarthlyDisturbance (1992) and Jasko's Dream (1996). He currently works as a teacher at the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica and an occasional publicist. In 2015 he published a book of essays about both Slovak and world cinema titled Film as Free Verse.