Universum Brdečka

documentary / 2018 / Czech Republic / col. / 84 min.

Director: Miroslav Janek
Screenplay: Tereza Brdečková
Photography: Miroslav Janek
Editor: Antonie Janková
Cast: Tereza Brdečková, Libuše Hrabová, Václav Vlasák, Milan Wolf, Pěvecké sdružení moravských učitelů

Lemonade Joe, The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians, Adele’s Dinner, The Emperor and the Golem... These and other hits of Czech cinematography are linked by one name: Jiří Brdečka (1917 – 1982). Screenwriter, author, and illustrator, Brdečka found fame through his work with Jiří Trnka, Jan Werich, and Oldřich Lipský. He achieved international renown as a respected director of animated films. But what kind of person was he? Where did he seek inspiration? What was his mind like? Where did he hide from the oppressive political regime, only to later show his timeless art to the world? Director Miroslav Janek gradually enters the mind of one of the most prominent figures of Czech cinema and introduces the viewer to a world of oil paintings, graphics, watercolors, frescos, and mosaics that miraculously come to life.