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Podcast #76: Ester Krumbachová
In this episode, Rachel Pronger of the Invisible Women film collective brings us the story of iconoclastic Czech film multi-talent Ester Krumbachová. Ester was a screen writer, costume and stage designer, author, and film director. Her work was quirky, colorful, and political, lashing out at patriarchy and authoritarianism. She had a defining influence on Czech New Wave cinema, collaborating on more than twenty movies from the early 1960s on, including the delightful Daisies and the perplexing Murdering the Devil. Her involvement in the satire A Report on the Party and Guests meant she was blacklisted from working in film by the Czechoslovakian communist party during much of the 1980s. She worked under pseudonyms, painted and made jewelry, returning to the film industry in the 1990s.
DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire joins producer/host Susan Stone to set the scene.
Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Pocket Casts. You can find the transcript, created by Susan, here.
Show notes:
Ester Krumbachová enjoying a beverage
The trailer for Věra Chytilová’s documentary Looking for Ester (2005)
A stern-looking Ester and her parents
Ester dazzling at 19
Miroslav Macháček later in life – on stage and feeding a baby chimp
A still from Oldřich Lipský’s The Man from the First Century (1961), the first film Ester worked on as a costume designer
Directed by Ester’s second husband Jan Němec, Diamonds of the Night (1964) would see Ester expand her role beyond costume design into screenwriting and dramaturgy.
Němec’s A Report on the Party and Guests (1966) was based on a story by Ester.
Gorgeous posters for some films Ester would work on
Ester co-wrote and designed Witchhammer (1970), Otakar Vávra’s grimly powerful film about 16th-century witch trials (allegory!).
That same year, Ester co-wrote and designed the dazzling erotic fairytale Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970)
Vera Chytilová’s Daisies (1966) is a surreal anarchist romp which follows two spoiled young women, both called Marie, who scam their way around Prague, tricking men into buying them dinner and causing general chaos. Ester was a co-writer, costume designer, and creative consultant.
Ester on the set of Murdering the Devil (1969)
The trailer for the newly restored edition of Ester’s debut (and sadly only) film
Ester not giving a fuck
Art and jewelry created by Ester in her troubled later years
Karen Elson wearing Ester’s jewelry in Czech Vogue
Ester and one of her beloved felines
Learn more about Ester’s work at Esterkrumbachova.org. Rachel Pronger is a freelance writer, editor and curator based in Berlin. Her writing has been published by outlets including Sight & Sound, The Guardian, MUBI Notebook, Art Monthly, Elephant Art, and BBC Culture. She is also co-founder of archive activist feminist film collective Invisible Women, and has served as a programme adviser for Sheffield DocFest, BFI London Film Festival and Aesthetica Short Film Festival.
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By Katy Derbyshire, Susan Stone & Florian DuijsensIn this episode, Rachel Pronger of the Invisible Women film collective brings us the story of iconoclastic Czech film multi-talent Ester Krumbachová. Ester was a screen writer, costume and stage designer, author, and film director. Her work was quirky, colorful, and political, lashing out at patriarchy and authoritarianism. She had a defining influence on Czech New Wave cinema, collaborating on more than twenty movies from the early 1960s on, including the delightful Daisies and the perplexing Murdering the Devil. Her involvement in the satire A Report on the Party and Guests meant she was blacklisted from working in film by the Czechoslovakian communist party during much of the 1980s. She worked under pseudonyms, painted and made jewelry, returning to the film industry in the 1990s.
DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire joins producer/host Susan Stone to set the scene.
Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Pocket Casts. You can find the transcript, created by Susan, here.
Show notes:
Ester Krumbachová enjoying a beverage
The trailer for Věra Chytilová’s documentary Looking for Ester (2005)
A stern-looking Ester and her parents
Ester dazzling at 19
Miroslav Macháček later in life – on stage and feeding a baby chimp
A still from Oldřich Lipský’s The Man from the First Century (1961), the first film Ester worked on as a costume designer
Directed by Ester’s second husband Jan Němec, Diamonds of the Night (1964) would see Ester expand her role beyond costume design into screenwriting and dramaturgy.
Němec’s A Report on the Party and Guests (1966) was based on a story by Ester.
Gorgeous posters for some films Ester would work on
Ester co-wrote and designed Witchhammer (1970), Otakar Vávra’s grimly powerful film about 16th-century witch trials (allegory!).
That same year, Ester co-wrote and designed the dazzling erotic fairytale Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970)
Vera Chytilová’s Daisies (1966) is a surreal anarchist romp which follows two spoiled young women, both called Marie, who scam their way around Prague, tricking men into buying them dinner and causing general chaos. Ester was a co-writer, costume designer, and creative consultant.
Ester on the set of Murdering the Devil (1969)
The trailer for the newly restored edition of Ester’s debut (and sadly only) film
Ester not giving a fuck
Art and jewelry created by Ester in her troubled later years
Karen Elson wearing Ester’s jewelry in Czech Vogue
Ester and one of her beloved felines
Learn more about Ester’s work at Esterkrumbachova.org. Rachel Pronger is a freelance writer, editor and curator based in Berlin. Her writing has been published by outlets including Sight & Sound, The Guardian, MUBI Notebook, Art Monthly, Elephant Art, and BBC Culture. She is also co-founder of archive activist feminist film collective Invisible Women, and has served as a programme adviser for Sheffield DocFest, BFI London Film Festival and Aesthetica Short Film Festival.