The Painted Cinema of Karel Zeman

A film screening series co-presented with the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles

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The Painted Cinema of Karel Zeman

Live action, special effects, painted backdrops, puppets and animation are all ingeniously combined in the fantastic films of Czech filmmaker Karel Zeman. 50 years after the earliest days of cinema, Karel Zeman returned to the magical techniques of Georges Mélies to create films of unmatched beauty.

In collaboration with the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles, the Velaslavasay Panorama hosts three screenings of Zeman’s films exploring a deep sea voyage, the perils of prehistoric life, and the airborne adventures of Jules Vernes.

The films in this series have been digitally restored as part of Čistíme svět fantazie / Restoring the World of Fantasy, a joint project of the Karel Zeman Museum, the Czech Film Foundation and Czech Television. The aim of the project is to digitally restore selected films by Karel Zeman at the highest possible quality, bringing them back to cinema screens and rejuvenating interest in them. The project also aims to raise awareness of the importance of digital restoration. Guarantor of the digital restoration of Karel Zeman’s films is American expert James Mockoski. The restoration is under the direction of head restorer Ivo Marak in Universal Production Partners (UPP), with audio restoration of the film provided by Soundsquare, led by Pavel Rejholec.

Screenings in the series The Painted Cinema of Karel Zeman include: