Věra Chytilová

Vera CHYTILOVÁ (1929-2014, Czech Republic) was regarded as the first feminist filmmaker in Czechoslovakia. Born in Ostrava, she had a strict Catholic upbringing. She was accepted into the FAMU Film School in Prague at age 28, having spent her twenties working various jobs at the Barrandov Film Studios. After graduation, she made Daisies (1968), a strange, feminist film that has become known as a major work in the Czechoslovak New Wave. Though Chytilová was never officially blacklisted by the communist regime of Czechoslovakia, they subjected her subsequent work to heavy censuring and actively worked against her in the film industry. Chytilová continued making films long after the regime fell, with Pleasant Moments (2006) being her last directorial effort. She died in 2014, aged 85.