Documentary Director Offers a View Inside Filmmaking

The Washington, DC, community had the rare opportunity to meet one of the top Czech documentary directors this week. Helena Třeštíková has been making documentaries for more than 35 years, creating over 50 films usually focused on human relationships and social problems. She specializes in long-term observational documentary: following human lives over a longer period of time. At the Avalon Theater on October 10, she presented her film Katka, which gives a raw inside look at the life of a drug addict over the course of 14 years. She also presented her film René at the Czech Embassy on October 11 as part of the Embassy's Film Club Series. The film steps inside the life a teeager from a broken family and his trouble with the law over 20 years. The film garnered the prestigious European Academy Award in 2008. The events highlighted the remarkable talent of the director who is the only woman to have received the prestigious Dragon of Dragons award at the Krakow Film Festival 2012 for her documentary achievements. Former laureates include Albert Maysles, Timothy Quay, and Werner Herzog.