FAVh056 1925: Transformative Year of Czech Cinema

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Radomír D. Kokeš, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Radomír D. Kokeš, Ph.D.
Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Fri 10:00–13:40 C34, except Fri 15. 12.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The lecture cycle is based on the assumption that silent (and not only) Czech cinematography is usually perceived as one continuous period, as a sequence of mutually influencing personalities and as an interchangeable volume of works. In this perspective, aesthetic development was hampered by commercial ambitions at the expense of ambitions connected with (a) socially conscious topics, (b) imitation of foreign avant-garde trends or (c) international stylistic tendencies. The silent period is thus usually reduced to a few exceptional works or viewed through the lens of adopted aesthetic elements. Such an approach only minimally takes into account artistic practices, principles and norms identifiable and explainable in a certain historical context. In the lecture series, we will show that instead of focusing on exceptional works, it is important to understand typical works of the silent period from the point of view of production, creative decisions and aesthetics. Through the analysis of Czech films of this period on the one hand, together with the conditions of artistic collaboration and production on the other, less straightforward trajectories of this era emerge, which explain the variability and concurrence of filmmakers' long-term preferences in dealing with narrative and style. The focus of the lectures will be on the year 1925, which represents a transformative step from the systematic production of Czech feature films to a more fully realized Czech film industry. As a bridge between the two periods I have identified, "transitional" (1918-1924/25) and "pre-studio" (1925/26-1933), 1925 reveals some shifts and transformations, as well as the continuities and discontinuities indicated earlier. The lectures will make it possible to point to the year 1925 as a kind of culmination of the work of three different film "worlds" operating in the Czech lands since 1918, and at the same time to identify many features that will begin to develop more consistently after 1925, when the boundaries between these worlds began to to dissolve, while our tool will be working with film projections, reading some primary materials and introducing them into the contexts of filmmaking practice. At the same time, we will focus primarily on questions related to the creative problem of telling a "feature film". Indeed, if we want to understand the aesthetic history of cinematography, which (just like the Czech one) can be described as rather peripheral, small and oriented towards the domestic market, we must be aware of the existence of several groups of conventions that are developing simultaneously - and examine them separately in their own conditions, before proceeding to an explanation of the general norms.
Learning outcomes
The Czech silent period will be explained through the case of 1925, which reveals some of the shifts and transformations, as well as the continuities and discontinuities previously suggested. There will be discussed a trio of important filmmaking groups that, in my view, through 1924 represented relatively separate axes of development in film style and (feature-length) narrative, as well as alternative creative and production models of professional collaboration. Nevertheless, from 1925 onwards, their boundaries began to dissolve, and their stylistic and narrative techniques became intertwined. We will work with screenings of films, reading some primary materials and introducing them to the contexts of filmmaking practice.
Syllabus
  • The lectures will be roughly focused on the year 1925, which represents a transformative step from the systematic production of Czech feature films to the more fully realized Czech film industry. As a bridge between the two periods I identified, the “transitional” one (1918–1924/25) and “pre-studio” (1925/26–1933) one, 1925 reveals some of the shifts and transformations, as well as the continuities and discontinuities previously suggested. If we want to understand the aesthetic history of cinemas that (like the Czech one) can be described as rather peripheral, small and oriented towards the domestic market, it is necessary to be aware of the existence of several simultaneously developing groups of conventions – and to examine them separately in their own terms before proceeding to explain the general norms.
Teaching methods
Lectures, screenings, class discussions
Assessment methods
Written essay of 8-10 standard pages.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
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