"This is Němec, leave a message"

The portrait of Jan Němec was taken by his daughter Arleta Němcová (2014, archive and copyright Jan Němec - Film)

A selection of Jan Němec’s films from 1996–2009

“Jan Němec walked through Prague open to anything that might catch his interest; on the small digital camera he carried with him, he turned off the indicator light that revealed the camera—which he held in his hand as if casually—was actually recording what was happening. In this way, he himself became part of the body of the film, which was born with every step he took and every time he stopped. That is also why he used to turn off the ringer on his phone, so that he would not be disturbed by anyone and could immerse himself in unique situations, encounters, and confrontations. Callers to Němec’s phone would then hear a recorded message in his rather curt tone: ‘This is Němec, leave a message.’ 

To mark the ninetieth anniversary of Jan Němec’s birth, Ponrepo has prepared a selection of his works from the period when Němec, as a great ironist and demiurge, drifted through his native city to record his message for future generations. His individualistic perspective was so seductive and provocative that it concealed the author’s deep emotional engagement. A passion for the world to which he returned as a prodigal son, only to discover how much that world had changed during his absence.” 

Michal Bregant

“His cinematic narrative during this period was based primarily on visual experimentation with a dynamic handheld camera, a wide-angle ‘fish-eye’ lens, and the associative montage of varied and evolving motifs, following the principles of musical composition (...) A hallmark of his work during this period was the absence of a dramatic structure. He observed situations in a mosaic-like manner, delved into the human psyche and emotions, and created metaphors and reflections. He focused on the visual form of the film image, often using multiple exposures, transitions from positive to negative, flash montages, technical collages or assemblages, or incorporating works of art (Toyen, Jindřich Heisler, Josef Váchal, Jitka Vobořilová).

In this way, he achieved a deformation of cinematic space-time by intertwining reality, vision, and dream, and developed techniques already employed in his film debut. The space-time of his films was also often composed as his personal space, within which he lived his real life.”

Jan Bernard

“I’ve seen all the Czech films that have been shown in Paris. I’ll never forget Diamonds of the Night. They’re searching for the same thing I’ve been searching for my whole life. They’re searching for what goes on in the human subconscious.”

Toyen