Director, screenwriter, Ladislav Helge dies at 88

Director and screenwriter Ladislav Helge, who was part of the generation that formed the Czech New Wave in the 1960s, died on Sunday at the age of 88. He passed away at an unnamed Prague hospital following a long illness. The news was released by film producer Jaromír Kallista. After the Soviet-led occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and during much the Normalisation period, Mr Helge was banned from working in film. In 1977, he began work as a director and scriptwriter at Laterna Magika, where he remained for 15 years. In the mid-1990s he headed FAMU's film directing department for a time following the death of fellow director Zdeněk Sirový.

Author: Jan Velinger