Author´s messages to the visitors
Dear visitors,
in an effort to provide you – the foreign readers more & easier to obtain information about this case, we’ve decided to create an English version of the site.
Here are some basic facts which you should bear in mind:
- the site is being continuously updated
- during the course of next year, we’re planning to add some new sections to the site
- if you want to share your views or discuss anything related to this case, please use the facebook page Olga Hepnarová Pantharei
- if you want to send any messages or suggestions to the author of this website, please use exclusively the following email address: pantharei64@seznam.cz
- all the data published on this website originates either from the private archive of its author or other sources (ÚSTR, AMV, ÚDV, ABS, AKPR, KDH VS, ÚČL AV and others). Its further use in any kind of form without previous approval from the author is NOT allowed.
- the author of the English version of the website (i.e. its translation) is Štefan Moravčík, whom I’d hereby like to thank for his time and effort
Author of the website
July 12. 2021
New Facebook group about Olga Hepnarova: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201187148676217
March 27. 2016
Dear friends,
the movie about Olga is already out for some time now, so it's time to get back to the initial intention yet again – to clarify the life and the act of Olga Hepnarová through Pantharei website. I have prepared a lot of documents which I'd like to process and put on the website during this year. Hopefully, some essential meetings are going to happen this year, from which I expect to obtain documents and testimonies that should fill some important „blank spaces“ of this case. I have written „hopefully“ intentionally, because the current state of huge medialisation of the whole case is not really helping these efforts, so it's possible that those meetings will happen in a quite longer time horizon (here I reminisce about the times when I was given records in a certain state facility, which included information about Olga's stay, because they simply didn't know who she was). So with what kind of content will the website be gradually completed? The section „Eyewitness testimonies“ will be expanded, I will foremostly try to comply with the demands concerning the mapping of Olga Hepnarová's childhood. If everything goes according to plan (which I strongly hope), completely underlying and not yet publicly seen documents will be published. I would like to significantly amend the section „Eyewitness testimonies“, where the „danger of delay“ arises a little bit. The phrase Panta rei is in this particular case very accurate. In conclusion, let me add a small personal remark.- I would like to remind here that Pantharei website was by absolutely no means created for the defense of Olga Hepnarová's act. It's only purpose is to bring this case closer to general public by submitting contemporary files and substantiated testimonies.
Author of the website
March 4. 2016
9224-interview_i-olga-hepnarova.pdf
September 15, 2015
Movie "I, Olga Hepnarova" will be in cinemas from March 24, 2016.
January 2, 2014
Update on the upcoming movie I, Olga Hepnarová
The shooting of the movie is already underway in Poland (the scenes here will primarily depict the exteriors, namely the devastated streets of Cheb), with the remainder of the film due to be shot in the Czech Republic (mainly in the area of the industrial complex Perla in Ústí nad Orlicí) and Slovakia (Tatra Mountains). Though the movie’s budget significantly increased by donations from the Czech Cinematographic Fund, Polish Film Institute (PISF) and Slovak Audiovisual Fund, due to its contemporary nature and three-way coproduction, the producers are naturally considering how to use their resources in the most effective way.
As for the main character (i.e. Olga), the creators of the movie have long been on the lookout for a relatively unknown actress (presumably of Polish or Czech origin) that would have had the same, penetrating look of Olga herself. In the end, they decided that the aforementioned criteria are best matched by the Polish actress Michalina Olszańska – contrary to reports from one Czech newspaper, which wrongly allotted the role of Olga to Czech actress Marika Šoposká (who’ll eventually act in the movie as one of Olga’s friends, though).
For the remaining characters, the current confirmed cast is as follows: Martin Pechlát as Olga’s boyfriend Miroslav David, Klára Melíšková as Olga’s mother, Martin Finger as one of the psychologists, and Gábina Míčová, who’ll drive Olga mad in prison.
The planned premiere of the movie Já, Olga Hepnarová is set for 2015.
January 26, 2014
In December 2013, after 8 days of filming, we’ve successfully completed the first production phase of the movie I, Olga Hepnarová.
During these 8 days, we were shooting the winter scenes from Cheb, namely from the bookbinding workshop, Myslivna restaurant, Olga’s room and also the scenes occurring in the exteriors. Later, we also filmed the interiors in the boarding house in Malešice, Olga’s collision with the drunken man, her first meeting with her boyfriend Miroslav D. in the outskirts of Prague, her visit at a nightclub together with her girlfriend, her rides with the sprinkling truck around the city and also her frenetic rides with the Trabant across the countryside.
All the aforementioned scenes were shot in Poland. The locations in the city of Klodzko served us as a resemblance of Prague in the 1970s, and the places in Nowa Ruda, often far more devastated and deserted than in Klodzko, proved to be the perfect locations for the scenes occurring in Cheb.
All in all, the places in Klodzko and Nowa Ruda proved to be very fitting for us. After all, both cities were once under the German and Czech administration, and in general, they’re both very similar to Prague and Cheb. Also, when walking through certain sections of these cities, one simply cannot avoid the feeling as if the whole place had been frozen in time. For example, in Nowa Ruda, we had come across a cafeteria that had a waitress serving there since as far back as the 1960s! Needless to say she’ll act in the movie as well.
As for the main character of the movie portrayed by the young Polish actress Michalina Olszańska, we were long on the lookout for an actress that would’ve had the same attributes as Olga herself, as we naturally consider her performance to be the most essential for the eventual success of the whole film.
Therefore, we’ve decided to choose a young actress, very similar to Olga. We’ve noticed that Michalina herself has a very specific way of walking and gestures, which suit our demands for the depiction of Olga very well. We’ve learned that the similar moves are often exhibited by the people suffering from autism. Also, when watching Michalina in the movie, you could clearly see her natural wildness blending together with sorrow and feelings of loneliness and oddity, so typical for Olga herself. She’s a very strange girl, who works as a professional driver and is often attracted by females. All in all, Michalina’s face has many sides – that we can attest.
Courtesy of our castings, we’ve also discovered another very talented Polish actress named Marta Mazurek, who acts in the movie as one of Olga’s roommates from the boarding house. Her natural and very authentic appearance in the movie inspired us in many ways.
As for Miroslav D., his often very turbulent and complicated character is being portrayed by Martin Pechlát, who once starred in the legendary but now defunct Komedie Theater, and also acted as a brother of another well-known Czech actor Jan Budař in the movie Nuda v Brně. Right from the start we were convinced that Martin is one of those very few Czech actors, if not the only one, who can be capable of portraying Míra. We know Míra very well as we had the chance to meet him in person. Martin too had the pleasure to meet him, and as he then attested: “Míra – he’s a beast...” The staccatos of nonsensical sentences hurled by him at Olga in the movie, which often make you wonder whether to smile of feel depressed – that’s what defines Míra and his character. As such, it was definitely a challenge for Martin to play this role of “necro-ranter”, moreover because Míra is very sensitive and compassionate with Olga and can identify with her suffering. After all, it was him who she described as her only true friend in her letters from prison.
We took our time with finding the most suitable camera lenses, making various tests along the way. In the end, we chose the Primo lenses from the American company Panavision, which feature the unique soft effect and “gradual depth of field”. They perfectly suit our plans to produce a black-and-white, not too contrast, soft “old school” look – as our cameraman Adam Sikora would say.
We will resume the filming shortly and keep you updated.