Jan Špáta

25 October 1932, Náchod – 18 August 2006, Prague

Jan Špáta studied cinematography at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU) and from 1957 until 1992 he worked as a cinematographer for the company Krátký film Praha, doing reports, film weeklies and documentaries. He was professionally and personally influenced by collaboration with the director Evald Schorm, his kindred soul with whom he shared his worldview and views on the existential aspects of life. Their film essay Mirroring (Zrcadlení, 1965) is one of the pivotal works of the Czech New Wave. Špáta made his first auteur film The Biggest Wish (Největší přání) in 1964 while Look to the End (Respice finem), probably his best work, was filmed in 1967. His filmography is rich, encompassing films from different areas: sport, reportage, music and especially social. He was also famous for his travel documentaries, e.g. St. Patrick’s Land (Země sv. Patricka, 1967), which the Irish themselves named the best film about their country, Japan, My Love (Japonsko, má láska, 1992), documentaries about music and musicians (Variations on Gustav Mahler – Variace na téma Gustava Mahlera, 1980) and documentary portraits (primarily the TV series GEN and Genus). Špáta made a total of 107 auteur films and won more than 60 awards, both home and abroad. As a cinematographer, he collaborated on hundreds of documentary films. After his last film, The Love I Leave (Láska, kterou opouštím, 1998), he wrote essays and feuilletons, collected in the book Between Light and Dark (Mezi světlem a tmou).

Špáta used the method of “survey film”, in which authenticity and the author’s sentiment came together. His work is characterised by a feeling for visual beauty in combination with a dynamic sound dramaturgy and a humanistic, emotional approach. His humanistic and technically perfect conception of film influenced whole generations of his students, such as Olga Sommerová, Ivan Zachariáš, Andrea Majstorovičová, Martin Štoll and Jan Kadeřábek – the so-called “Špáta’s school”.

Špáta was married to the documentary film maker Olga Sommerová and their daughter Olga Špátová has also dedicated her life to documentary film making.