JAROSLAV HOVORKA, 1950, TV film director, scriptwriter, musician

After finishing his grammar school studies Jaroslav Hovorka worked as an assistant to TV stage producers, producers and directors at the Czechoslovak Television in Prague, in the Department of Entertainment Programming (1969-1971), cooperating, for instance, with Jan Bonaventura, Bořivoj Zeman etc. At the same time, he performed as a musician with various groups, orchestras and later in the Academic Art Ensemble. He commenced his studies at the Film Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU) in an extramural course, starting his regular studies in 1971 at the Department of Documentary Work with Professor A.F. Šulc. Having concluded his studies in 1977, he graduated after finishing his compulsory army service in the Academic Art Ensemble (AUS) in 1979.

After graduation he was a free-lance scriptwriter (cooperating with J. Bonaventura, V.Polesný, J. Eisner etc.) and musician. Hovorka founded a folk group called Heuréka, recording with that ensemble several LPs and CDs and making many radio recordings and TV programmes. In 1983 he finished his first project as a film director in Prague’s Short Film Studio. Then he directed films for the Czechoslovak Television, where he worked for a year as a script editor in the Main Department of Musical Programmes.

Jaroslav Hovorka specializes primarily in making films on musical themes. He has made many musical documentaries and features on music, concerts, ballet and dance performances, plus several operas and ballets. He has also made documentaries devoted to cultural and art themes and sociology, specializing primarily in ethnic subjects and history. Jaroslav Hovorka often devotes his work to children. He has made several TV fairy-tales and short stories for Prague and Ostrava TV studios.