Czech the News - Czech School of California

Christmas Issue
Czech the News
San Francisco
Czech Ambassador Petr Gandalovič meets San Francisco
Mayor during his visit to California
The Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States,
Mr. Petr Gandalovič, visited San Francisco and Silicon Valley
from November 4 to November 11, 2013 to promote and
facilitate business ties between the Czech Republic and
California.
A substantial part of the Ambassador’s official duties was his
attendance as one of the speakers and panelists at the
Conference on cyber security, organized by the East West
Institute at Stanford University. His program also included
meetings with various city officials, especially the Mayor of San
Francisco Edwin M. Lee, and Bobbie Landers, a former mayor
of Orinda, which is the sister city of Tábor. During the meeting
with the Mayor of San Francisco the Ambassador mentioned
Škoda’s trolleybuses in the streets of San Francisco as a vivid
reminder of the Czech Republic´s presence and discussed
possibilities for adding other Škoda vehicles to the San
Francisco fleet.
Ambassador P.Gandalovič with awarded George Shultz
Cont´d on page 2
Dear Friends in California,
Let me wish you wonderful holidays, Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year. We have been having a very busy year
2013 so far. I believe, now is the time to relax and enjoy the
last few days of the year. In California, we do not get to enjoy
snow as much as in the Czech Republic. However, Christmas
and Hanukkah are both special times and reasons for
celebration here as well.
In the Czech Republic, the political life was dominated by two
important elections this past year. First, the presidential
elections were held in January, when Mr. Miloš Zeman was
elected a president of the Czech Republic. Secondly, the
parliamentary elections took place this October and we are
still waiting for the new government to be formed.
INDEX
Czech Ambassador Petr Gandalovič meets San Francisco
Mayor during his visit to CA.................................................1,2
Introduction by the Consul General.....................................1,2
Czech Films Return to SF in Spring........................................3
Don Juans and Burning Bush Compete for Oscar & Golden
Globe...........................................................................................3
Movies Based on Hrabal´s Novels at the Czech
Consulate....................................................................................4
American Sokol San Francisco dinner and dance..................4
News From the Honorary Consul General Mr. Richard
Pivnicka......................................................................................5
20th Anniversary of California Czech and Slovak Club......6
Second Year of Czech School Began........................................7
Cont´d on page 2
To subscribe for our newsletter and upcoming cultural events, please, contact us at
losangeles@embassy.mzv.cz or 310-473-0889
Page 1
Cont´d from page 1
The Ambassador discussed economic opportunities and
challenges in Silicon Valley with several successful
Czech entrepreneurs, including GoodData. He also
visited the startup accelerator Nest GSV and other
business entities with consideration of future cooperation
with the Czech Republic. “As the year draws to a close,
everyone in the Valley is looking to predict the next big
tech wave”, the Ambassador proclaimed. He held talks
about latest tech trends with number of VIPs of the IT
industry, attended a private party with Sokol members
organized by the President of Sokol San Francisco Jara
Dusatko and met with numerous Czech compatriots at
Café Prague and other venues.
His visit was concluded by attending the Czech Banquet
& Gala event, hosted by the Czech School of California
and Sokol SF. The Gala was a benefit event for the Czech
School of California. The school opened in 2012 and is
headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Today it is the
largest accredited Czech charter school in the US, with
over 80 students at four Bay Area locations.
During the Gala, the Ambassador awarded the Silver Jan
Masaryk Medal to George P. Shultz, former U.S.
Secretary of State, and stated: “I cannot think of a better
time or place to recognize Secretary Shultz for his role in
liberating the people of our nation from the communist
dictatorship. The successes of the local Czech community
are also results of Secretary Shultz’s efforts in promoting
liberty all over the world.” This prestigious award
commemorates and celebrates Secretary Shultz’s role in
implementing foreign policy that had led to the
conclusion of the Cold War, and for his contributions to
the world as a statesman. The Masaryk Medal is the
highest award of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the
Czech Republic.
Lourdes Saab, Deputy Chief of Protocol with the Consul
General Michal Sedláček
Cont´d from page 1
We were honored by the recent visit of the Czech
Ambassador to the United States, Mr. Petr Gandalovič, to
California, where he participated in the Czech Gala of the
Czech school of California and met the Mayor of San
Francisco Edwin Lee.
Ambassador Gandalovič also held meetings with several IT
companies from Silicon Valley and met with many members of
the Czech community in the Bay Area.
This fall, we had a great opportunity to celebrate the life and
to commemorate the work of one of the greatest Czechs of the
20th century – playwright, dissident, and President, the late
Václav Havel. The Opening event of the Mutual Inspiration
Festival 2014 offered a screening of Havel’s film, “Leaving”
at the Wende Museum of Communism.
Untitled Theater Company # 61 from New York City performed
a series of monologues from Havel’s plays at my residence and
UCLA organized an exhibit at the beautiful Powel Rotunda on
the campus about Havel, his life, his work, and his connection
to Los Angeles.
Several concerts of famous Czech artists took place in recent
months in California. In October, famous Czech jazz pianist
Emil Viklický visited Foster City in the Bay Area and Los
Angeles, where he performed at the EU jazz festival at UCLA
as well as at my residence with Benny Golbin during a sold out
show. Renowned Czech violinist Ivan Ženatý with pianist
Sandra Shapiro helped us to celebrate the Czech National
Holiday on October 28. The duo also performed several shows
in the Bay Area upon invitation of the BayCzech Organization.
Many cultural events are also planned for next year. The
popular Petrof Concert Series, which we organize in
cooperation with Society of Arts and Sciences (SVU), will kick
off with a concert by Fabio B. Jiricek at my residence in Los
Angeles on February 23, at 3pm. The wonderful Czech violinist
Pavel Sporcl will return to Los Angeles in late April and one
his concert will take place in the Bay Area on April 23, 2014.
I can also announce that the annual “Czech That Film”
festival will continue next year. This touring series of the best
Czech movies from the previous year will launch in Los
Angeles on March 27 with a screening of “Honeymoon”, the
latest film by Jan Hřebejk. This Czech Filmfest will also travel
to San Francisco where it will start on March 30, 2014.
It is always a great honor for me to be invited to meetings of
local Czech communities. I love to attend Sokol gatherings in
Los Angeles and I was amazed at the Czechoslovak luncheon
on November 21, 2013, in Orinda. I loved how many Czech
people came to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere and an
interesting cultural program which included dances and songs
from the group Karička of San Diego. The celebration of the
20th anniversary of the Czech and Slovak Club attracted more
than 200 people and the future of this fantastic organization is
very bright.
Please look for more information about our events on our
Facebook page or on our website: www.mzv.cz/losangeles . I
look forward to seeing you at our cultural events and wish you
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2014.
Michal Sedláček, Consul General
Page 2
Czech film touring series „Czech That Film” will return to
San Francisco next spring. For three months the annual film
festival will offer film enthusiasts the best current Czech
films coast to coast. The festival will kick off its tour in Los
Angeles and in San Francisco will take place on March 30
through April 2, 2014. The festival is organized in
cooperation with Czech Center in New York and the Roxie
Theater in Mission District in San Francisco.
The festival will travel to major American cosmopolitan
areas such as Washington D.C., New York City, Los
Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Portland, Chicago,
Phoenix or Salt Lake City. For the first time, the film series
will also reach Dallas, TX and Cedar Rapids, IA.
Additional special events traditionally complement the
festival in each city, such as the opening and closing
receptions and Q&A sessions with well-established Czech
directors. In the 2014 edition, the attendees will have an
opportunity to personally meet with the leading Czech
director Jan Hřebejk, whose personal list of
accomplishments in the film industry is endlessly impressive
and includes a 2000 Oscar nomination for Best Foreign
Language Film with “Divided We Fall” (Musíme si
pomáhat). His work has won countless Czech Lion
nominations, in addition to three awards from the Czech
Film Academy for Best Director. At the festival, Mr.
Hřebejk will introduce in person his recent drama
“Honeymoon” (Líbánky, 2013, 97 min.), the winner of the
Best Director Award at the International Film Festival of
Karlovy Vary last summer, on March 30 at 4:00 pm at Roxie
Theater followed by a reception.
In San Francisco and other festival’s destinations “Czech
That Film” will also host another special guest - a young
promising Czech director Roman Kašparovský, who will
introduce his feature debut „Lousy Bastards“(Všiváci, 2013,
100 min.). Though he’s a relative newcomer to the motion
picture industry, Roman Kašparovský has already been
involved in major projects as production manager and
producer such as the Czech HBO series “Lidice” since
2011. In „Lousy Bastards“, Kašparovský creates a dramatic
thriller about two men trying to make right choices in the
world.
“DON JUANS” AND “BURNING
BUSH” COMPETE FOR OSCAR &
GOLDEN GLOBE
“Don Juans” (Donšajni), directed by the Academy Award
Winning Director Jiří Menzel, has been selected as the Czech
entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 86th Academy
Awards. Menzel’s newest feature combines a proper dosage of
comedy and drama, opera and cinema, singers and actors. The
middle-aged Vitek (Jan Hartl), a director of a small regional
opera company, attempts to produce Mozart’s Don Giovanni.
“Don Juans” tells a story about the world of opera, unmasked
and stripped of its glamour. The masterpiece “Don Juans” will
compete with 75 other contenders for the 2013 Oscar Award in
the Best Foreign Language Film category.
California’s Film Institute based in Marin County will screen the
Czech candidate for the Best Foreign Language Film within its
series called “For Your Consideration”. Series, which presents a
selection of Oscar submissions from around the world, will be
held from Friday, January 10 to Thursday, January 17, 2014.
A special screening of “Don Juans” will be shown during the
opening day of the series on Friday, January 10th at 4:00 p.m.
and again on Thursday, January 16, 2014 at 6:15 p.m. Both
screening will take place at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film
Center (1118 Fourth Street, San Rafael, CA 94901). Tickets for
the screening will be available for purchase online shortly at the
Smith
Rafael
Film
Center
website
at:
http://www.cafilm.org/rfc/index.html.
The Czech candidate for the Best Foreign Film at the 71st
Golden Globes Awards, „Burning Bush“ (Hořící keř) held an
official Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) screening
on October 10, 2014, at the United Talent Agency in Beverly
Hills.
Over 30 HFPA members, who nominate films for Golden
Globes, attended the special event along with many influential
film industry professionals such as Czech director Ivan Passer
and actress Edita Brychta. The guests were greeted by the
acclaimed director Agnieszka Holland and the Consul General of
the Czech Republic in Los Angeles, Michal Sedláček.
Golden Globe Awards nominations will be declared on
Thursday, December 12, 2013, and the Oscar nominations will
be announced on Thursday, January 16th, 2014. Fingers
crossed!
Moviegoers will have a special opportunity to see the best of
current Czech cinema, including a Czech Golden Globe
candidate „Burning Bush“(Hořící keř), directed by
Agnieszka Holland, and Jiří Menzel’s official Oscar entrée,
„Don Juans“(Donšajni). The screenings will include a
diverse assortment of films and surely should not be missed
by any enthusiast of international cinema.
Please check the official website of the festival at
www.czechthatfilm.com.
Burning Bush
Page 3
MOVIES BASED ON HRABAL’S NOVELS AT THE CONSULATE!
At the beginning of 2014 we will have an opportunity to
cherish and enjoy the work of one of the best Czech
writers of the 20th century, Bohumil Hrabal. In honor of
his 100th birthday anniversary on March 28, 2013, the
Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles,
in cooperation with the Czechoslovak Society of Arts &
Sciences, will host a retrospective of films based on the
books of Mr. Hrabal. The series will highlight Mr.
Hrabal’s importance to Czech cinema that seems to be
severely underrated. His expressive, highly visual
storytelling has led to ten film adaptations.
“The Hrabal’s Months” at the Czech Consulate will begin
with a screening of the movie “Larks on a String,”
(“Skřivánci na niti“), directed by Award Winner Jiří
Menzel, considered by many as his best movie. The
controversial film was banned by the Communist
government at the time, and was not released until after
the fall of Berlin Wall in 1989, when it won the Golden
Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. The
screening will be held on Wednesday, January 8, 2014, at
7:00 p.m., at the screening room of the Czech Consulate
(10990 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1100, Los Angeles, CA
90024).
The tribute to Mr. Hrabal will continue on Wednesday,
January 22, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. with a poetic comedy based
on Mr. Hrabal’s novel “The Snowdrop Festival”
(“Slavnosti sněženek“) featuring a number of celebrated
Czech actors, such as Rudold Hrušinský, Jaromír Hanzlík,
Josef Somer or Libuše Šafránková.
“Cutting it Short”, another feature directed by J. Menzel
and inspired by B. Hrabal, will be shown on Wednesday,
February 5, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. The story is set in a local
brewery in a small Czech town, evoking Bohumil
Hrabal’s childhood memories of Nymburk. The main
characters of the film, Uncle Pepin and Maryška (starring
the unforgettable Jiří Hanzlík and Magda Vašáryová
as Maryška, the wife of the brewery manager), are based on
Mr. Hrabal’s real family members. Maryška’s character is
based on his mother and uncle Pepin is based on his uncle,
who came to town for a two week visit but stayed for forty
years.
A graceful and leisurely movie covering the period from
1930’s to 1950’s, “I Served the King of England” was also
adapted from a famous novel by Bohumil Hrabal. The
screening will take place at the Consulate on Wednesday,
February 19, 2014. Additional screenings will be announced at
a later date.
All films will be screened in Czech with English subtitles.
If you are interested in attending, please, RSVP to
losangeles@embassy.mzv.cz
AMERICAN SOKOL SAN FRANCISCO
DINNER AND DANCE
American Sokol organizes a dinner and dance event to say
good-bye to old year 2013 and welcome the new year 2014.
The event will take place on Saturday, December 28, 2013 in
Crowne Plaza Hotel (1221 Chess Drive, Foster City CA
94404).
Come with friends, meet new people, enjoy life and dance
enriched by live music of Joe Domitrowich‘s Alpiners USA
famous band, starting from 7:00 pm. Door opens at 6:30 pm.
For more information and tickets, please, contact the President
of Sokol Jara Dusatko at jmdusatko@gmail.com or
sokolsf@gmail.com or by phone: 925-937-1769.
Page 4
News From the Honorary Consul General
Mr. Richard Pivnicka
The Czech Gala and Banquet on Nov. 9 in Foster City,
Calif., brought together all the ingredients for a truly
historic evening—and not just for the Czech community in
the San Francisco Bay Area. For the black-tie event, there
was singing, dancing, and fine Czech beer. A panel of
Czech and American high tech business leaders offered
some glimpses into what’s ahead. And a heartwarming
ceremony honored the service of a great American
statesman.
His Excellency George P. Shultz, former U.S. Secretary of
State, was the chief guest of honor for the event. Czech
Ambassador to the United States Petr Gandalovič presented
him with the Silver Medal of Jan Masaryk in recognition of
Shultz’s role in implementing foreign policy that led to the
conclusion of the Cold War, and for his global
contributions as a statesman.
“When president Reagan, in what became a signature
moment of the Eighties, Called for the Berlin Wall to be
torn down, the American foreign policy under your
leadership helped ensure that the call was heard across
Europe,” Ambassador Gandalovič said.
The Ambassador noted that the wall came down 24 years to
the day that this award was presented. The Masaryk Medal
is the highest award of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
the Czech Republic.
Secretary Shultz was welcomed to the stage by a band
playing the Marine Corps Hymn—a song which put even
more of a twinkle in his eye than usual. Born in 1920,
Shultz served in the Marines in World War II.
Expressing deep appreciation for the great honor bestowed
upon him with the Masaryk Medal, Shultz had this to say:
“I always felt, while people expressed gratitude to President
Reagan and me, that the gratitude should flow in the other
direction.” It was the people of Czechoslovakia, Poland,
and Hungary, he said, who set an example for the world in
throwing off the yoke of communism in 1989. “I am so
grateful to all of you for the inspiration that you provided
through very difficult times.”
Secretary Shultz came to statecraft through economics. And it
was a panel of Silicon Valley business and tech trends that
kicked off the day for the Czech gala. Ambassador Gandalovič
moderated a discussion with representatives of three top
Czech companies with a presence in the United States: Martin
Viktora, Founder and Chief Technology Officer of KERIO
Technologies, which distributes software that allows
businesses to connect, communicate, and collaborate securely;
Hubert Palan, Vice President of Product Development at
GoodData, a cloud-based business intelligence provider; and
Jonathan Penn, Director of Strategy for AVAST, a global
provider of anti-virus software.
The panel discussion was sponsored by Czech Tech
(www.czech-tech.net), which was founded by Richard
Pivnicka, Honorary Consul General of the Czech Republic in
San Francisco and Silicon Valley, to provide common ground
for Czechs and Americans in the high-tech sector. Discussion
ranged from the benefits and challenges of Czech companies
doing business in the U.S. (with all participants agreeing that
diverse, global perspectives are invaluable—as is a good
educational system with strengths in math and science—and
all predicting more Czech companies in Silicon Valley in the
future) to Internet security.
The panel and gala together made for the premier Czech event
of the year in the Bay Area. Both were held at the Crowne
Plaza Hotel in Foster City. (See a program and more photos at
czechinstitutesf.com.) Guests were treated to musical
performances by singers Yanna Fabian and Liana Braunova
Derner, a red carpet photoshoot with Lucie Kubinova Silveira,
and much more—with the evening emceed by Timothy
Bentley.
The gala was a benefit for the Czech School of California,
headquartered in Palo Alto. The school, which opened in
2012, is the second largest accredited Czech charter school
outside of the Czech Republic, boasting more than 90 students
at four locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
Linda Janourova-Tang, who assists the Honorary Consulate
General in San Francisco is also a Board Member of the
School. Find out more at www.czechschoolofcalifornia.com.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Gala moment: Left to right, with Ambassador Petr
Gandalovič and wife Pavlina Gandalovicova; Charlotte
Maillard Shultz and former Secretary of State George P.
Shultz; and Hon. Barbara and Hon. Richard Pivnicka.
Richard Pivnicka, Steven Saum and Linda Janourova-Tang
Page 5
20th ANNIVERSARY OF CALIFORNIA CZECH AND
SLOVAK CLUB
The event was again hosted by Orinda Tabor Sister City
Foundation in beautiful Orinda Community Center. The main
hall barely contained 200 plus guests that included among
others Consul General Michal Sedlacek and his family as well
as Honorary Consuls Richard and Barbara Pivnicka. The event
offered a great line-up of performers.
Guests applauded a wonderful rendition of Czech national
anthem by Lianka Derner and joined to sing the anthems of
Slovakia and the USA. American composer/singer Erick
Macek came all the way from Los Angeles to perform his own
music and some well-known Slovak folk songs. Coming from
San Diego, the folklore group Karička warmed the hearts of
everyone with their unique program that presented folk
customs, songs and dances all in the traditional costumes.
Pavel Soltys had a funny and informative presentation about
Christmas history and traditions, explaining among other, how
St. Nicholas, accompanied by an angel and a devil visit
families at their homes in our native countries. Many children
in the audience were very happy when real St. Nicholas and his
friends entered the hall. Boys and girls had to sing songs or say
a rhyme in order to receive small gifts. The program concluded
with the cutting of the 20th anniversary cake.
Karička of San Diego
Michal Sedláček, Consul General
What a year for California Czech and Slovak Club.
This vibrant non-profit organization based in Walnut
Creek in San Francisco Bay Area concluded the year
2013 with their traditional Christmas Luncheon.
The event was a real success, no doubt thanks to the delicious
food catered by DJ Bistro from Concord. Jerry Sedivy and his
crew prepared true Czech specialties – the pork roast with
sauerkraut and dumplings, known as “vepřo-knedlo“, real
Hungarian goulash and vegetarian lasagna.
It was a great year for California Czech and Slovak Club.
Headed by a new president, Mrs. Barbora Soltys, the club now
plays an important role for Czech and Slovak communities in
California as an organizer and facilitator of unique events.
Among those, planned for the future are folk music concerts,
summer events for kids, Czech business mixers, meetings with
writers, artists, filmmakers, doctors and similar interesting
personalities, who are, in some ways, connected to the Czech
culture. The mainstay events will remain to be the popular
semi-annual club gatherings. Everyone will be looking forward
to the next one, The Spring Feast in early April 2014.
Barbora Soltys
President
Page 6
Second Year of Czech School Began
Earlier this fall, the Czech School of California’s second
school year began with a running start, as a fourth school site
was opened and as student enrollment grew to over 95
students throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area.
Besides this incredible expansion, the School recently also
managed to enter into two exclusive partnerships. The first,
with Prague’s prestigious Charles University, which entitles
the School to work with the University on developing the
latest methodologies for teaching Czech as a second language
to children and adults. And the second, with the Czech
Ministry of Education, which has officially recognized the
School as a charter school and has permitted administrators
to issue report cards equivalent to those distributed to
students in the Czech Republic.
In addition to offering instruction to students, the School also
organizes events and activities for the local Czech and
Slovak communities. In November, this included the
inaugural 2013 Czech Banquet and Gala, a benefit for the
School, which was held in Foster City and attended by over
200 people. The Gala was preceded by a panel presentation
moderated by Czech Ambassador Petr Gandalovic, featuring
successful Silicon Valley-based Czech companies.
After the panel, a historic black-tie dinner featuring top
Czech entertainment took place, at which the Ambassador
awarded the Silver Medal of Jan Masaryk to former U.S.
Secretary of State George P. Shultz, for his role in
implementing foreign policy that led to the conclusion of the
Cold War.
And if that wasn’t a tough act to follow, the School organized
its annual St. Nicholas Party a few weeks later in early
December. Over 80 children attended the Party, which was
complete with performances by all of the School’s classes, a
Czech Christmas exhibit and fair, with attendance by St.
Nicholas himself, as well as the devil!
With 2014 just around the corner, there is much on the
horizon for the School. On January 21, 2014, the School will
be partnering with Stanford University for a conference on
raising a bilingual child, with experts in the field of language
education on hand to weigh in on this fascinating topic.
Please look for information about the conference, our
potential growth into the north bay in 2014, and all of our
activities on our website: www.czechschoolofcalifornia.com.
Iva Crookston
Page 7
Upcoming Cultural Events
December 2013
January 2014
February 2014
Dec. 28, 2013 from 6:30 pm – American
Sokol in San Francisco organizes a dinner
and dance event
Friday, January 10 to Thursday, January 17 California’s Film Institute will screen the
Czech candidate for the Best Foreign
Language Film within its series called “For
Your Consideration”
Feb. 3–6, 2014 – TechMatch Euro-Silicon
Valley
Jan. 10, 2014 at 4:00 pm & Jan. 16, 2014 at
6:15 pm - A special screening of “Don Juans”
Feb. 23, 2014 at 3:00 pm – Concert with
classical pianist Fabio Banegas Jiricek
within the Petrof Concert Series at the
Residence of the Consul General
Crowne Plaza Hotel, (1221 Chess Drive,
Foster City, CA 94404)
San Francisco and Palo Alto, CA
For more details, please see page 4
Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center
(1118 Fourth Street, San Rafael, CA 94901)
Tickets for purchase at: www.cafilm.org
Jan 21, 2014 – Czech School Conference
partnering with Stanford University
For more information, please visit the website:
www.czechschoolofcalifornia.com
WWW.MZV.CZ/LOSANGELES
(Upon invitation only!)