How does it happen that piano virtuoso makes a film about world known director? Artistical challenge or foolish dream?

In Basel I organize an international music festival called Martinu Festtage, where I devote one day to films. Some years ago, we invited Jiří Menzel as a guest and showed his early films. It was very very pleasant evening, we talked happily and we kind of got on same wavelength. We than spent some time together, talked and befriended. You know, for me, Jiří Menzel is a great inspiration and what inspires me, makes me happy and joyous. So, when my friend suggested, I should make a film about Jiří, I didn´t waste much time and agreed on it and got to business without knowing what I am upto. But that pure passion drove me forward.

You used to go to lectures of famous director Otakar Vávra at Prague Film academy FAMU, but you don´t have diploma. So you want to say that only those lectures gave you enough knowledge to make a film or you learnt elsewhere? Do you have any filming experience behind you or this is your debut?

No,no, Otakar Vávra has nothing to do with it. I only liked attending FAMU, you know, from pure interest and I haven´t got a clue about Mr.Vávra and have never seen his movies. But once, somebody told me who he is and I just started to attend his lectures. I didn´t film anything before that but I was so fascinated by the charisma of Jiří Menzel, then I decided to give it a blast without any experience. J was fueled by pure joy and passion.

Did Mr.Menzel advice you while filming or editing, what and how you should do or he gave you a freedom and trusted you immensely?

No, he didn´t advise me he left it totally in my hands and trusted me. We filmed so much material that it would be enough for ten films and editing was one heck of a job. Sometimes I had a chaos in it and I didn´t know what to keep and what edit, but in the end I managed. I felt very much at home when doing music and I knew exactly what I would want for given moment and scene. Everywhere we showed the film, we had great success. Mr.Menzel was very kind and even when he saw the film many times, he never fall asleep. But I saw him dozing during my piano concerts (laugh).

You live in Switzerland and Germany, did you get any help from Czech side?

I had great deal of help from archive of Czech TV for which I would like to thank them. They were very helpful and approachable and found important documents for me. In a movie there are also interviews with people who either admire Mr.Menzel or worked with him. There are Věra Chytilová, Miloš Forman who started with him in 60´s and also Ken Loach, Emir Kusturica, Istvan Szabo or his assistant Míla Řádová.I think it nicely underlines the fact how many people were influenced and amazed by work of Jiří Menzel.

If your film succeeds will this encourage you to keep on filming or you will shelve camera and swap it for piano again?

No,I only showed the film here in Zlín in Czech opening but I don´t have time for filming, I play, devote my time to work of Bohuslav Martinů, organize his festival. My wife is a German, she professionally plays sax and we have two children so sometimes it is very time consuming and logistically difficult to handle that. I devoted this film many years of my life and I wanted to show that it can be done just from pure passion and joy, not for fame and money. Distributional company Trigon made a collection of digitally remastered films of Jiří Menzel and it had great success in the World so I hope my film will help in a way to our second collection. It was very difficult to dub all his films into German, keeping his fine, thin humor, but we managed. Jiří Menzel deserves such tribute and I am glad I could chip in with my stuff and it had good feedback.