Archive: Culture | Media Media
Tomáš Zilvar – magazine publisher focused on future media
Back in the mid 1990s Tomáš Zilvar quickly moved from putting together
DIY fanzines to publishing glossy titles like Tripmag and XMAG, magazines
that were focused on electronic music at a time when that genre was really
taking off among young Czechs. Today Zilvar, who is still in his early 30s,
has two jobs: running the Prague office of the hip New York-based magazine
and website Vice; and offering digitalisation services to Czech media
outlets and authors keen to enter the age of e-readers. More
Egon Erwin Kisch – the Raging Reporter
One of Prague’s best known German-language authors was Egon Erwin Kisch,
who was born in the Czech capital 125 years ago this Thursday. His
excellent style and original choice of stories, together with his dramatic
life, earned him a reputation of the ‘Raging Reporter’ that is still
very much alive today. More
Edna Fainaru – member of the main competition jury at this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
On Saturday evening, the 46th edition of the Karlovy Vary International
Film Festival wrapped up and this year’s winners were announced – among
them the Israeli movie Restoration, directed by Joseph Madmony. As a member
of this year’s main competition jury, seasoned Israeli journalist Edna
Fainaru was one of those who picked the winning submission.We spoke to her
in the west Bohemian spa town and asked her about her experiences at film
festivals all over the world, her take on the Karlovy Vary festival and if
she still finds time to visit the theater, a subject which she studied in
Tel Aviv, after devoting her life to film. More
A tribute to composer Ladislav Simon
Last Thursday, Czech Radio lost one of its most esteemed colleagues and the
Czech Republic one of the major figures in modern music with the death of
Ladislav Simon at the age of 82. His music has been a staple of television,
radio and contemporary classical music for more than half a century and he
was tirelessly involved in the artistic management of some of the
country’s leading cultural institutions, such as the National Theatre,
and the founding of Czech Television and the Prague Philharmonia. More
Jaroslav Ježek in defence of jazz in 1934
The theme tune for this series is from a song called Aesop and the Ant, and
it was composed by one of the legends of twentieth century Czech music.
Jaroslav Ježek died in wartime exile in New York at the age of just 35. He
is best known for the songs he composed for the famous pre-war satirical
cabaret, the Liberated Theatre, and he was also one of the pioneers of
Czech jazz, fearlessly crossing the borders between popular and classical
music. In November 1934, the young composer – he was 28 at the time -
came into the radio and talked about jazz. More
New series maps changes in Czech film industry over last 20 years
The public broadcaster Czech TV has begun airing a new 20-part series
looking back on Czech film and the film industry since 1989. Called
Rozmarná léta českého filmu (The Capricious Years of Czech film), the
documentary looks at difficulties and changes in the Czech film business
during the transition from the state-controlled economy to the free market. More
Private radio celebrates 20 years with the anniversary of ‘Radio Stalin’
It was twenty years ago this week that the first privately-owned radio
station went on the air in Czechoslovakia just after the Velvet Revolution.
“Radio Stalin” began as a pirate broadcast from atop the hill of
Letná, underneath the structure that had once held up an enormous statue
of the Soviet tyrant. The tongue-in-cheek name didn’t last for very long,
but the broadcast has continued until today with the same focus on
alternative rock under the name Radio 1. More
Image of child who survived catastrophic earthquake in Haiti wins Czech Press Photo
The winners of this year’s Czech Press Photo – a competition
recognising the very best in Czech and Slovak photography – were
announced on Monday. This year the prestigious main prize, known as the
Crystal Eye, was awarded to freelance photographer Martin Bandžák; the
international jury chose as the winning entry his portrait of an injured
girl in hospital, a survivor of the devastating earthquake which hit Haiti
this year. More
Tomáš Zilvar – magazine publisher focused on future media
Back in the mid 1990s Tomáš Zilvar quickly moved from putting together
DIY fanzines to publishing glossy titles like Tripmag and XMAG, magazines
that were focused on electronic music at a time when that genre was really
taking off among young Czechs. Today Zilvar, who is still in his early 30s,
has two jobs: running the Prague office of the hip New York-based magazine
and website Vice; and offering digitalisation services to Czech media
outlets and authors keen to enter the age of e-readers.
More
Ivan Jelínek: a poet in the newsroom
If you had been listening to Radio Prague back in the late 1930s, it is
very likely that you would have heard the voice of Ivan Jelínek. He was
one of the pioneers of broadcasting in Czechoslovakia, and an early
presenter of our broadcasts to Britain and North America. From the radio
headquarters here in Vinohrady, he witnessed many of the dramas leading up
to World War Two, including moment of the German occupation itself. During
his wartime exile in Britain and in the decades that followed the war, Ivan
Jelínek became a familiar voice in the Czechoslovak section of the BBC,
and he continued to broadcast from London until his death in 2002, at the
age of 93. But Ivan Jelínek was not just a broadcaster. His lifelong
passion was poetry. In Czech Books this week, I’ll be looking at
Jelínek’s fascinating life and work.
More
+1
