To see his first film in a cinema (which, by the way, was Winnetou), he left the kindergarten building through a window with a friend and saw it three times in a row; by the evening, a national search for them was on. This passion for moving pictures haseen part of his entire life ever since. The Painted Bird, a film he spent 11 years making, made it to the main competition section of the Venice IFF after a quarter-century when Czech cinema was absent from the forum. Scriptwriter, director, actor and producer Václav Marhoul discusses the beauty of directing and writing scripts and the ugliness of being a producer in a video interview with Vojtěch Klinger.
Having graduated from Prague’s FAMU in 1984, he got his start as an assistant producer and later on as the deputy Head of Production at the Barrandov Film Studios. He became the Studios’ CEO in the early 1990s and held the position for seven years.
Václav Marhoul is also known as an active organiser of cultural events, e.g. as a member of the art group Tvrdohlaví (The Stubborn), military shows organised by Bahna Strašice, celebrations of the end of World War II in Prague and Plzeň, and the cultural programme as part of the Prague summit of NATO member states.
As an actor, he was a member of the Pražská pětka (Prague Five) art troupe (now disbanded) and he still acts in Divadlo Sklep performances.