FAMU News: Forewords FAMU

Upon his inauguration, Dean David Čeněk mentioned the mission and objectives of FAMU’s leadership. Those include facilitating an environment where students can draw inspiration and foster their talents. A tertiary educational institution at which teachers can feel free. A place where our colleagues in charge of the day-to-day operation of our school feel that their work matters. A space for all of us.

With that in mind, I am happy to recount some of the activities that we are and will be pursuing as we embark on the new academic year.

The launch of our intranet site – an information directory for FAMU employees – is a major milestone. We are thankful for this achievement to Helena Bendová, Eliška Mlynáriková, Radek Hylmar and the entire workgroup involved.

The Dean’s Office in cooperation with the FAMU Studio personnel are analysing the school’s capacity and resources in relation to workload applicable to both students in context of their work on practical exercises and the requirements related to the observance of the curricula, and the persons involved in the associated instruction and production. This agenda is at its initial stage and countless man-hours will be required to complete the task, but the objective has been set and the plan is in place, and we thank everyone who is contributing to the agenda.

I would also like to point out agendas that have been set up earlier and are now an integral part of the school. The position of the ombudsperson, to which Pavlína Junová was recently re-elected, is in charge of cultivating internal culture and fair and democratic conduct. The services of school psychologist Alena Čechová are available to FAMU students and employees alike.

We have completed a selection procedure for the environmental ambassador position and welcomed Vojtěška Dubcová on board.

All of the aforementioned activities have been launched on the basis of the needs and suggestions of FAMU students and employees. This is the reason why we welcome your initiative going forward. Let us communicate well again in the upcoming academic year. I am looking forward to it.

Yours respectfully,
Karolína Kyselová

I took part in this year’s edition of the KVIFF as a member of the FAMU team for the first time, and it was tough trying to avoid a sense of pride. Czech cinema is on the rise and FAMU’s share in this process is very obvious. Department of Directing student Adam Martinec showed with Our Lovely Pig Slaughter that the ‘popular comedy’ genre does not have to be synonymous with ‘pathetic’: it can be authentic and rooted in keen observation. Department of Documentary Film student Marie-Magdalena Kochová’s extraordinarily delicate and empathetic The Other One focuses on the topic of ‘glass children’ and offers a gentle portrait of adolescence. Then, of course, there is Klára Tasovská who has graduated from the same Department. Her Ještě nejsem, kým chci být (I Am Not Who I Want To Be Yet), an intimate and uniquely scripted documentary that amazed audiences at the Berlinale, is an enthralling example of an ingeniously minimalist approach capable of encompassing a multitude of universal topics through the life story of photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková. Student films presented during the final commission screenings radiated excellent energy as well. My task as the Vice-Dean is clear: contribute to making sure that FAMU remains an open, inspiring and creative environment and a vibrant part of the international festival scene, and that the exceptional works created here find their ways to the broadest audiences possible.

Vít Schmarc

One of the ways students can tell that their school functions well is when they notice next to no changes as the leadership is replaced. I hope this will be the case in June with Karolína Kyselová becoming the Vice-Dean for Study Affairs, Jakub Korda the Vice-Dean for Science and Research, and Vít Schmarc the Vice-Dean for Public Relations and Development, resulting in a complete overhaul of our Faculty’s leadership.

I assumed the position of the Dean of FAMU for the 2024–2028 period on 20 May. I see my role as a great honour combined with exceptional responsibility. I outlined some of my goals in my concept document, but I am acutely aware of additional tasks awaiting me inevitably. I perceive the position of the Dean primarily as that of a mediator who represents, promotes and defends the opinions and positions of the Faculty’s academic community. While it may seem that the Dean mostly makes decisions, this power is quite limited and, in reality, the Dean is more of a person who turns decisions into reality, with their agenda involving many actions actually verifying and confirming others’ decisions.

My objective is not for FAMU to grow by adding more programmes and activities. I think we have already reached the limit of our human and financial resources. We have been struggling with a shortage of space for a long time. Therefore, I will focus on using the opportunities available to us and ensuring the current status quo is sustainable.

FAMU has a long and glorious history in the fields of cinema, television, photography and audiovisual art. We have been witnessing the continuous development and change in the world of art and media together, and have been honoured to shape next generations of artists who will go on to shape the future. Our mission remains the same: foster talent, innovation and excellence in all areas of cinematic and media art. We strive to create an environment where students can not only learn but also draw inspiration and develop their talents. Educational freedom is of equal importance.

The preceding paragraph may seem clichéd, but to me it sums up the essence of the never-ending quest for the right form of art education. As a Vice-Dean for International Affairs, I had ample opportunity to witness a broad range of approaches to filmmaking education: not one of them was perfect, and each had its strengths and weaknesses. While we could use inspiration in various respects, our Faculty can hold its own in comparison with international schools without any problems. All we need to do is use the resources we have in an appropriate and sensible way.

I decided to offer the Vice-Deans space in the forewords to this newsletter so that they can communicate with the academic community and the entire Faculty. Accordingly, we will take turns writing these forewords.

I wish us all a beautiful start of the summer.

Yours sincerely,

David Čeněk