This film is part of Free
Filmmakers in Focus: Věra Chytilová
Film critic Carmen Gray and film writer Ela Bittencourt discuss three films by trailblazing Czech filmmaker Věra Chytilová.
Overview
A key figure of the Czech New Wave, Věra Chytilová brought a daring and innovative approach to filmmaking. Her earlier works, including A Bagful of Fleas (1962), were inspired by the documentary tradition. Her best known film, Daisies (1966), is a visionary masterpiece of the New Wave period. Traps (1998), a dark comedy about a woman seeking revenge, is a highlight of her later career. Film critic Carmen Gray and film writer Ela Bittencourt discuss these three films by the trailblazing Czech filmmaker.
A Bagful of Fleas, Daisies and Traps are now available to watch on BFI Player, alongside a couple of additional works directed by Věra Chytilová. Recorded in April 2021.
Related
Daisies Daisies
Comedy 1966 73 mins Director: Věra Chytilová
Two self-confessed hedonists wreak wanton havoc in Věra Chytilová's visually spectacular neo-dadaist farce.
Fruit of Paradise Fruit of Paradise
Drama 1969 99 mins Director: Věra Chytilová
Věra Chytilová's symbolic retelling of the Adam and Eve story is a ravishing tapestry of ideas, textures, and visual tropes.
A Bagful of Fleas A Bagful of Fleas
Documentary 1962 43 mins Director: Věra Chytilová
Věra Chytilová's 'fictionalised documentary' uses non-actors to portray girls' lives in the cotton mills of Náchod.
Traps Traps
Comedy 1998 116 mins Director: Věra Chytilová
Věra Chytilová's dark, post-communist comedy. After a veterinary surgeon is sexually assaulted by two men, she uses her particular expertise in castraton to exact her revenge…
Something Different Something Different
Drama 1963 81 mins Director: Věra Chytilová
Věra Chytilová's first feature is an important work of women's cinema, which contrasts the parallel stories of a gymnast (filmed as documentary) and a housewife (told as fiction).
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.
An Airman's Letter to His Mother An Airman's Letter to His Mother
Documentary 1941 6 mins
A poignant, stirring letter from a recently deceased pilot to his mother is read by John Gielgud.
The NHS75 Celebration The NHS75 Celebration
Short documentary 2023 3 mins
Former Bristol Poet Laureate, Miles Chambers reads a poem specially commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the NHS.