Petr Zelenka

Petr Zelenka born 21 August 1967 in Prague Czechoslovakia is a Czech playwright and director of theatre and film His films have been recognized at international festivals in Moscow and Rotterdam In 2008 his film Karamazovi was the Czech Republics official Oscar submission for Best Foreign Language Film An early notable work is a black comedy Tales of Common Insanity 2004 Czech Příběhy obyčejného šílenství which he directed at Dejvické divadlo He received the Alfréd Radok Award for Best Play The play was later staged in other Czech theatres as well as in Poland Hungary Slovakia Slovenia and Germany It was also published in English and translated to Russian For his film Mnâga Happy End he won the 1996 Findling Award at the Filmfestival Cottbus In 2005 Zelenka adapted the comedy as a film released as Wrong Side Up which won two movie festival awards in 2006 and was nominated for six other awards His second most notable play is Teremin inspired by the life of Russian inventor Léon Theremin His 2008 film Karamazovi was the Czech Republics official Oscar submission for Best Foreign Language Film His 2010 election advertisement Přemluv bábu a dědu caused controversy as critics believed it was offensive against elder people1 and an imperfect copy of Sarah Silvermans standup video