Jan Foukal – director – Amerika
FRED’s Matt Micucci interviews Jan Foukal, director and one of the leading subjects of the doucmentary AMERIKA, which had its world premiere in the documentary competition of the 50th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Jan Foukal talks to us about how the project began and gives us an in depth about ‘tramping’, a characteristic Czech movement which sees long trips of discovery in the countryside. He also talks with us about the other main theme of the film, from which it borrows its title – America as a concept much more than the geographical place.
We also ask him about the challenges of directing the film and appearing in front of it and ask him how the collaboration with Barbara Adler, the co-lead subject of the documentary, began.
AMERIKA: The story of an unusual journey or a staged piece of contemplation? However we perceive this tale of a couple wandering through the Czech countryside, we can best experience it by yielding to the calm tempo of their journey through the shady woods. Amerika isn’t a portrait of specific individuals but rather a probe into the Czech phenomenon of “tramping.”