Director and screenwriter Zdeněk Tyc was born on 16 April 1956 in Rokycany, near Prague. He worked as a cable puller for the Czechoslovak Television and an assistant director at Barrandov studios, amongst other jobs. From 1983 to 1990, he studied directing at FAMU. His graduation film and debut feature was VOJTĚCH THE ORPHAN (1989). Filmed in black and white, it was regarded as one of the most noteworthy debuts at the time, won the Main Prize at the Czech and Slovak Film Festival in Bratislava, and was the Czechoslovak entry for the Oscars. It also won the Jury Grand Prix at a festival of debut films in Angers in France.
After graduating from FAMU Tyc began working for the Czechoslovak Television, where he directed the slapstick THE BALL, the launch of a record by the Sklep Theatre, a profile of the rock band Vltava and a number of live concerts at the Na Chmelnici Club. In 1991, he filmed the short story THE JOURNEY with Tomáš Hanák in the main role as part of the Fireside Stories series for the producer Ondřej Trojan's company T.H.A.
In 1993, he made RAZOR BLADES with Filip Topol in the main role; Topol is a cult figure in the Czech underground and the leader of the band Psí vojáci. The film won the prestigious French Fondation GAN Pour le Cinema award; it was screened at major festivals in Berlin and Toronto and at a workshop in Gothenburg held by the European Film Academy, where it was chosen by Wim Wenders. In 1995, it was followed by Tyc's third feature film SEIZE THE DAY.
He took a break from films and worked for the Czech Television again, filming the series POETRY IS A FOREIGN WORD (1996 – 1999) in collaboration with Jiří Dědeček and Patrik Hoznauer. Since 1996, he and Tereza Brdečková have been filming a series of interviews with the elderly called I'M STILL HERE. Another project was the documentary trilogy YES, MASARYK in 1997. A year later he made a two-part documentary called DVOŘÁK IN AMERICA.
His 2002 feature film THE BRATS was a psychological drama with a screenplay by Tereza Boučková. This intimate story of a couple who are raising two adopted Roma boys as well as their own son was screened at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2002, where it won the Audience Award. It also won the best director award at the Istanbul film festival in 2002.
His other work for Czech Television includes WE DON'T KNOW THE MEANING OF TIME (2003), the documentary BON APPÉTIT (2004), a series of television plays 3+1 WITH MIROSLAV DONUTIL (2004 – 2006) and a number of episodes in the 13TH CHAMBER series. Together with the Total HelpArt T.H.A. production, he directed a series of stand-up comedy shows, STAND UP, for HBO.
A special chapter in his work as a director is a television recording of a performance of the play IVÁNEK, MATE, CAN YOU SPEAK; OR GET HIM OUT THEN (2005) in which a couple of actors, Petr Čtvrtníček and Jiří Lábus, reflect on a corruption scandal in Czech football.
His fifth feature film SMALL CELEBRATIONS (2008) was a Czech, Slovak and Italian coproduction that tells the tale of the relationship between a mother and her daughter, growing up and losing innocence against a backdrop of salsa rhythms.
Falcon
