MgA. Jan E. SVATOS

Documentary film director

  jan svatos   *14. 5. 1984 

Director and producer of independant documentary movies. He won the prestigious international JADE KUNLUN Special Jury Award and Special Jury Award at Włodzimierz Puchalski International Nature Film Festival (WFO Poland) for his documentary wildWORKS. He is the author of more than 12 documentaries, most of which were among the competing films screened at international film festivals. His most successful films are Ark of Lights & Shadows (4 awards), Africa Obscura and wildWORKS (both triple awarded) and Nobody asked. Jan E. Svatos organized the Photographic Backtracing Expedition in 2010, where he spent 40 days in the inhospitable regions of northern Kenya taking photographs with old analogue devices and developing films in a portable darkroom.
His films are characterized by the deep and long lasting interest of the author which he usually presents from unusual point of view. In his movies he usually dismantles social and cultural stereotypes. He often concerns environmental and cultural topics. He cooperates with many organizations on international level.

EDUCATION

  • 2013 documentary film  FAMO (MgA.) in Písek (MgA.)
  • 2010 photography at FAMU university in Prague  (BcA.)
  • 2008 journalism FSV UK ( Bc.) 

FILMOGRAPHY

  • When the lion roars (2022) – feature documentary  ( 100´), Art Francesco/Czech television – see trailer
  • The Ark of lights and shadows (2018)– feature documentary  ( 90´), Art Francesco production/Czech television /watch the official trailer/
  • Lessons in wildness – TV documentary (26´), Czech television /watch the official trailer/
  • Causa carnivora (2015) – documentary(26´), production Friends of the Earth organization
  • The Elk Story (2014) –TV documentary, Czech television
  • Hradcany nokturne (2014) – (12’)documentary essay, production Jan Svatoš
  • wildWORKS (2013) – documentary  (52‘), co – production  the Czech television, FAMO, Jan Svatoš
  • Drinking water from gutter anymore!  (2013) – documentary (26‘), production the Czech television
  • Afropolis (2012) – documentary (26‘), co-production the Czech television, Jan Svatoš
  • Nobody asked (2012) – documentary (18‘), student film, production FAMO
  • Africa obscura (2010) – documentary, film debut (52´), co-production the Czech television, Jan Svatoš, /watch the official trailer/
  • March of death (2010) – videoart (5´), student film, production FAMU

 

AWARDS  AND PRESENTATION AT  INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALS:

jan and romi svatos china

Jan Svatos and Romi Strakova take over Special Jury Award for the documentary Wild Works in China 2014

Causa carnivora (2015)

  • 2015 Official selection International film festival Life sciences
  • 2015 Official selection EKOFILM 2016
  • 2015 Oficial selection for East Silver DOX Market at the International Film Festival in Jihlava

Lessons in wildness (2015)

  • 2015 Official selection International film festival Life sciences
  • 2015 Official selection EKOFILM 2016

The Elk Story (2014)

  • Winner in category „Nature“ IFF T-Film Ostrava
  • 2015 Official selection AFO Olomouc

wild WORKS (2013)

  • 2015 Special Jury Award at Włodzimierz Puchalski International Nature Film Festival (WFO Poland)
  • 2014 Special jury award JADE KUNLUN at IFF World Mountain Documentary in Qinghai, China
  • 2014 Student Jury Award, IFF Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
  • 2013 selected among the top 25 new documentary films by IDF and Czech Documentary Centre, presented in a print version of the new IDF Catalogue

Nobody asked (2012)

  • 2013 Oficial selection for East Silver DOX Market at the International Film Festival in Jihlava
  • 2013 Finale Plzeň Festival selection
ekofilm_jan_svatos_romi_strakova

Jan Svatos takes over award for Africa obscura documentary movie

Africa obscura (2011)

  • 2012 EKOFILM, Best screenplay 
  • 2012 Tourfilm, 2nd prize in the category of TV documentaries 
  • 2012 Outdoorfilm Festival, 3nd prize in the category of TV documentaries

 

 

 

 

MEDIA COVER

2014

chanute tribune jan svatosThe new movie project of Jan Svatos about Martin Osa Johnson already arises   attention of foreign media:

 

 

 

 

2010

MARTINS-DARKROOM_Marsabit-forest_preview1Finding the exact place where the famous darkroom of Martin Johnson used to stay  in 1920´s , is doubtlessly the biggest success on the field of retracing Johnsons legacy Jan Svatos and his expedition made in Marsabit forest in 2010 when shooting a documentary movie Africa Obscura. The discovery of a tree which witnessed the run of almost 90 years with almost no change in its shape surprised many people around the world. Jan Svatos’s discovery was published on the front page of the Safari Museum Magazine (US) and also i Travel magazine.