Czech director Hřebejk admits his state medal may look like a favor

Director Hřebejk admits that some people may see his state award as “payback” for supporting Petr Pavel in the presidential election. In an interview, he said he respects the president in many ways.

Hřebejk was among the cultural and public figures who openly backed Pavel during his candidacy. That is why, in his words, for some it will be “a medal won through connections”.

Still, the director values the award greatly and does not see it as recognition of his work alone: “I see it as an award for the people who have been making these films with me for almost 40 years.”

He named screenwriter Petr Jarchovský, with whom he made many successful films. For two of them, “Musíme si pomáhat” (Divided We Fall) and “Horem pádem” (Up and Down), the two won the Czech Lion together. He also recalled the late writer Petr Šabach, whose books inspired some of their films.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz