Islandská paměť

Synopsis

Islandská paměť is an hour-long documentary by director Pavel Koutecký and screenwriter Jan Burian, based on Jan Burian's book and the third in a series of films from the north of Europe, documenting the special Nordic mentality and way of looking at life in the harsh natural conditions of this part of our continent. In the film we meet an ethnographer, a geneticist, a writer, a butcher, a family of farmers, students, a pilot, a geologist and a teacher. These people tell us about the changes the island has undergone over the last century - from living at the level of the medieval era to the most advanced industrial society. But what they tell us most of all is that people in Iceland have a different relationship with nature than people here. While here, we still seem to "command the wind to rain", on the island of "fire and ice", it is quite different.

#documentary

Pavel Koutecký graduated from FAMU, Prague, in 1982. From 1982 to 1989 he was employed at the video studio of the Czech Technical University, from 1990 to 1998 at Krátké Film Praha. He was a regular collaborator with the Association (formerly Foundation) Film and Sociology. As part of its production, in addition to his own documentary work, he also worked on several long-term collection projects (including Citizen Havel, which was completed for him by his colleague Miroslav Janek). He was also involved in multimedia projects (divadlo Kolotoč, Divadlo hudby). Since 1991 he has taught at the Department of Documentary Film at FAMU, where he led one of the creative workshops. His films and videos have been awarded many times at domestic and international film festivals. Most often he shot in creative tandem with cinematographer Stan Slušny. Pavel Koutecký died tragically (by falling from a high-rise building) on 13 April 2006 while preparing for his new film. In his honour, the Pavel Koutecký Award is given annually in the Czech Republic to documentary filmmakers who are "patient observers of the world with the ability to communicate their feelings and observations through film."