Erste Bank Film Award 2024

1968 Prague, 1979 Tokyo, 1990 Berlin. Part of the Czech counterculture, celebrated fashion photographer, chambermaid at the Intercontinental Hotel. Those are some of the chapters in Libuše Jarcovjáková's life. Born to an artist couple in Prague, she got into photography at an early age and it became her great passion. "Yes, it's compulsive. I'm extremely attracted to mirrors and their reflections. I take pictures everywhere...," the artist states. Klára Tasovská composed this film using over 70,000 photographs, arranging them in a rapid succession of snapshots to present an eventful and dazzling life as seen through the very eyes of the protagonist. The rhythmic montage combines wonderful black-and-white photographs, diary entries and a brilliant soundtrack to create a sensual overall experience. The viewers soon forget that the film consists of static images, of photographs. They are drawn into a maelstrom which they cannot escape. The film is a portrait of a different kind: direct, unpretentious and moving. It's simply great cinema.