ZLÍN FILM FESTIVAL TO WELCOME PROGRAMME DIRECTOR

Markéta Pášmová, who was until recently the head of the programme department and dramaturge of ZFF, has newly become the programme director. As had already been announced by the Festival's management in the autumn of 2012, the position of artistic director, vacated by Petr Koliha upon deciding to accept another job offer, was not going to be filled. On the contrary, his leaving led to a rather comprehensive change in the structure of the programme department and beyond.

Markéta Pášmová, who was until recently the head of the programme department and dramaturge of ZFF, has newly become the programme director. As had already been announced by the Festival's management in the autumn of 2012, the position of artistic director, vacated by Petr Koliha upon deciding to accept another job offer, was not going to be filled. On the contrary, his leaving led to a rather comprehensive change in the structure of the programme department and beyond.

There are several reasons why Markéta Pášmová is the right person for the position of programme director. Not only does she come from a filmmaking family, but she has also been part of the ZLÍN FILM FESTIVAL team for many years, which makes her one of the very few people who knows every part of it.
In 2004 she became the head of the programme department and was one of the few people to work closely with Petr Koliha.

"The position of programme director is both challenging and a joy for me! Petr Koliha and I worked together for 10 years and a person learns and comprehends a lot over such a long period of time. In addition, I'm also a mother, so I think I understand children's souls quite well. Of course, my team and I have some new ideas and plans. We are not, however, planning to ruin the functioning of the tried and true structure of the festival. Naturally, though, we are going to bring something new and original; a generational shift may also be reflected," said Markéta Pášmová about her new position.

Since the end of last year she has been working on steps to give a new direction to the festival’s existing programme structure, but that will also strengthen its traditional concept.

"We would like to give the individual categories a more specific shape, we will introduce two entirely new sections and we've also revived the international competition of student films. The Festival, however, will not expand in the terms of its scope. New sections will take the place of some of the old ones. We're certainly not going to move away from the children's world. On the contrary, I will always give preference to films that are actually for children, not only about them. In short, the Zlín Film Festival will continue in its set direction, just with a new breeze. I very much look forward to it and I am curious as to what audiences will say to our new contributions, added Pášmová.

The Executive Director of the International Festival of Films for Children and Youth in Zlín, Zdeněk Skaunic, commented on Markéta Pášmová's move to programme director: This is both natural and undoubtedly the right choice. She knows absolutely everything about the festival after having worked for so many years in the programme department. Last but not least, it is keeping up with what is going on in the world of films for children and teenagers over a period of ten years, as well as her relationships with the organizers of similar festivals throughout the world, and, of course, the network of contacts she has managed to build; these all make her the right person for this position."

The Programme Director is responsible for the content of the film festival and, of course, is also one of dramaturges actively involved in the selection of films.

Mgr.  Markéta Pášmová (1975) was born in Zlín and graduated from the Faculty of Arts at Masaryk University in Brno.

She comes from a family of filmmakers and this is probably why her steps logically led, after graduation, to the "Zlín hill of dreams". First she worked under the leadership of then programme director Pavel Melounek, then she was part of the close team of artistic director Petr Koliha for many years. In 2004 she became the head of the programme department. For the ZLÍN FILM FESTIVAL she is in charge of sections dedicated to Czechoslovak and European film. Since January of 2013 she has been the Programme Director. She is married and has a six-year-old son Matěj.