Jan Gogola

Episode 2

Jan Gogola works with an extremely advanced visual technique. His visual world comprises metaphor and absurd comedy. With a touch of self-irony, he presents the world as a stage and construct. A Švejkian farce involving great political dogmas and ideas.

born 1971

Director, scriptwriter, dramaturg in Czech Television, teacher at FAMU (Film Academy of Performing Arts), journalist. Graduate from Faculty of Journalism at the Charles University and from Department of Docu-mentary films and the FAMU-AMU. Author of many interviews, reviews, articles and essays.

Filmography (extract)

2002 "Non-stop" (documentary)

Philosophical slapstick about infinity flowing down the highway.

shown at the exhibition "Recent audio-visual tendencies" at the National Gallery in Prague 2002, also part of the project called Czech culture in France ? 2002, Plzen Finale 2003

1999 "Witness Frantisek Daniel"

Tragic-comical narration of a Romany ex-prisoner of concentration camps

many short films, i.a.:

"Panenka against the rest of the world" (2001) Live portrait of the soccer philosopher and poet Antonin Panenka (Jihlava 2001, Academia Film Olomouc 2002, Tiburon (USA) 2003),

"Nemcova’s Babicka Journal" (1999) A film journal about weather and society (First Prize FAMU-Festival 2000),

"Ave Branik" (1999), Prague neighborhood as a cabaret,

"Veseli pod Moravou" (1998) Flood as a challenge,

"Distance and contact of Dan Trubac" (1998) Portrait of a sculptor, husband, father, village man,

"Vila Inocent" (1997) Portrait of a woman with absolute will (First Prize FAMU Festival 1997, First Prize Brnenska Filmfestival, Filmfestival Munich 1998),

"Prague Miserable: Panelak is a friend" Suburbs as a challenge (First Prize FAMU Festival 1999, First Prize "Ekofilm", Cesky Krumlov 1999)

Jan Gogola, který vystudoval pražskou Filmovou akademii FAMU, pracuje s velmi pokročilou vizuální technikou. Jeho vizuální svět zahrnuje  metaforu i absurdní komedii. S nádechem sebeironie presentuje svět jako inscenaci a výtvor. Je to švejkovská fraška zahrnující velká politická dogmata a ideje.