BAMcinématek to Hold First Full-Career Retrospective for Czech New Wave Director Jan Němec

From November 8^th to the 14^th the BAMcinématek will present the first full retrospective of the films of director Jan Němec,the so-called absurdist enfant terrible of the Czech New Wave. Aside from all of his feature films the retrospective, entitled”Independent of Reality: The Films of Jan Němec,” will screen selected short films to accompany certain screenings.

Fans of Criterion’s Pearls of the Czech New Wave Eclipse series set will get a rare chance to see A Report on the Party and Guests and Pearls of the Deep on the big screen, as well as the rest of the director’s filmography which including a limited one-week run of Němec’s debut feature, Diamonds of the Night, in a newly struck archival 35mm print. Other films, including Late Night Talks with Mother, Toyen, Golden Sixties: Jan Nemec, and Němec’s film adaptation of Kafka’s Metamorphosis all have their New York premieres in this series.

The full schedule of the series is below, and for more information click here.

Fri, Nov 8 

5, 9pm: Diamonds of the Night
7pm: Diamonds of the Night + A Loaf of Bread

Sat, Nov 9 

7pm: A Report on the Party and Guests

9pm: Diamonds of the Night

Sun, Nov 10 

2pm: Golden Sixties: Jan Nemec—free screening

4:30pm: Martyrs of Love + Mother and Son
7, 9pm: Diamonds of the Night

Mon, Nov 11 

7pm: Pearls of the Deep

9:30pm: Diamonds of the Night

Tue, Nov 12 

7pm: Metamorphosis + Oratorio for Prague

9:30pm: Diamonds of the Night

Wed, Nov 13 

6pm: Late Night Talks with Mother

7:45pm: Toyen

9:30pm: Diamonds of the Night

Thu, Nov 14 

6, 9:30pm: Diamonds of the Night

7:30pm: The Ferrari Dino Girl

BAM has been a great place to immerse oneself in the volatile era of 1960s Czech cinema, as they also hosted the first US retrospective of František Vlácil’s epic Marketa Lazarová in 2002 and premiered a new 35mm print of Věra Chytilová’s Daisies for a week-long run last summer. Personally I’m really excited to have Němec get some more exposure stateside because his films are really an anarchic treat.

It also goes to show that there’s more to the Czech New Wave than Miloš Forman, so if you get a chance definitely check some of these films out!