JARCHOVSKÝ, Petr 1966-

PERSONAL:

Born October 6, 1966, in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic); son of Daniela Jarchovská (a clerk); married, May 25, 1990; wife's name Lenka; children: Anne, Alzbeta. Education: Film Academy of Prague (FAMU), M.A., 1991. Hobbies and other interests: Music, art, literature.

ADDRESSES:

Home—NA Borovem 11, Prague 4, Czech Republic 14200. Agent—c/o Total HelpArt T.H.A., Krříženeckého nám. 322, 153 52 Prague 5, Czech Republic.

CAREER:

Author and screen writer. Prague's Film Academy (FAMU), professor of screen writing and script editing; Czech Television.

MEMBER:

Czech Film Academy.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Czech film award for best screenplay, 2000, for Musíme si Pomáhat.

WRITINGS:

(with Jan Hrebejk) Pejme Písen Dohala, distributed in English as Let's All Sing Along, 1991.

Sakali Leta, distributed in English as Big Beat, 1993.

Pelísky, Czech TV, distributed in English as Cozy Dens, 1999.

Musíme si Pomáhat, Czech TV, distributed in English as Divided We Fall, by Sony Pictures Classics, 2000.

Zelary, Total HelpArt T.H.A. (Prague, Czech Republic), 2003.

Pupendo, Total HelpArt T.H.A. (Prague, Czech Republic), 2003.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Horempádem (title means "Up and Down"), script for a film.

SIDELIGHTS:

One of the young Czech filmmakers negotiating the transition from the old state-sponsored, highly censored film industry to the new world of independence, screenwriter Petr Jarchovskyá is best known in the West for Divided We Fall, based on his novel of the same name, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film in 2000. It's the story of three friends, Joseph, Horst, and David, who are divided by the Nazi takeover of Czechoslovakia during World War II. David, a Jew, is soon taken to a concentration camp, but escapes to take refuge with Joseph. At the same time, Horst's German ancestry has led him to join the Nazi Party, and he begins to suspect that Joseph is harboring David. Josef's beautiful wife, Marie, also complicates things, as both David and Horst find themselves attracted to her. Eventually, Josef and Marie must fake a pregnancy, despite Josef's well-known impotence, to keep Horst from moving into their house and discovering David. Despite the grim subject matter, Divided We Fall is actually a farce, "weaving a complex web of humor and pathos, irony and coincidence," in the words of Sarasota Herald Tribune reviewer Amanda Schurr. "Like real people and unlike most World War II narrative films, the characters are shades of gray—weak and strong, cowardly and brave, crude and graceful," noted Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service correspondent Jane Sumner.