Cinema of the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic (both as an independent country and as a part of former Czechoslovakia) was a seedbed for many acclaimed film directors.

Three Czech/Czechoslovak movies that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film were The Shop on Main Street by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos in 1965, Closely Watched Trains by Jiří Menzel in 1967 and Kolya by Jan Svěrák in 1996. Several others were nominated.

The Czechoslovakian new wave is a term used for the early works of directors Miloš Forman, Věra Chytilová and some others. In the middle 1960s, influenced by neorealism, they made several films based on absurd humour and unscripted dialogues of (usually amateur) actors. The Firemen's Ball by Forman is supposed to be the greatest example.

List of notable Czech directors

• Věra Chytilová
• Miloš Forman
• Jan Hřebejk
• Vojtěch Jasný
• Jiří Menzel
• Karel Reisz, Czech-born British director
• Jan Švankmajer
• Jan Svěrák
• Petr Zelenka
• Jaromil Jires