Among the more notorious aspects of Surrealism is the awkward attitude many of its original key protagonists (in France especially) cultivated towards women. As a result, few were willing and/or able to join their ranks - although some of the movement's most brilliant practitioners were women. Several of these felt a need to be ambiguous about their gender - but none went as far as Marie Cermínová (1902-1980), who worked under the enigmatic name Toyen.
To properly pay homage to this artiste extraordinaire, Jan Nemec went for an aesthetic of anything goes, mixing found footage, re-enactments, flights of fancy and dry data - scenes from Stalinist show trials clash with strangely waxen tableaux vivants; torrents of facts with paintings or drawings by Toyen or others, collaborators Jindrich Štyrský (1899-1942) and Jindrich Heisler (1914-1953), et cetera. The result, in Toyen's words, is Splinters of Dreams / Silence and Darkness. Screens together with Shaving the Baroness and Two Women and a Man.
- Director
- Jan Němec
- Country of production
- Czech Republic
- Year
- 2006
- Festival Edition
- IFFR 2015
- Length
- 63'
- Medium
- 35mm
- Language
- Czech
- Producer
- Jan Němec
- Production Company
- Jan Němec - Film
- Sales
- Jan Němec - Film
- Screenplay
- Jan Němec, Tereza Brdecková
- Cinematography
- Jiří Maxa
- Editor
- Michal Lánský
- Production Design
- Tereza Kučerová
- Cast
- Zuzana Stivínová, Jan Budař
- Website
- http://www.facebook.com/jan.nemec.film