Dana Vávrová
Encyclopedia
Dana Vávrová was a Czech-German film actress and director.
. In 1982, she played the main role as Janina David
in the German television mini-series Ein Stück Himmel
, and was awarded the Goldene Kamera
, the Goldener Gong, and an Adolf Grimme Award
. In this mini-series, Joseph Vilsmaier
was one of the cinematographers. Parallel to her acting, she attended the Prague Conservatory
from 1981 to 1985. After some further roles including the films Amadeus
and Pan Tau
, she played the main role of Anna Wimschneider in Herbstmilch
(English: Autumn Milk) under the directorship of Joseph Vilsmaier, whom she had married in 1986. Together with Werner Stocker, she won the Bayerischer Filmpreis
and the Deutscher Filmpreis
for this role.
In addition to acting, she also directed films, the last one being to complete the Artur Brauner production The Last Train, (German: Der letzte Zug
) after Joseph Vilsmaier, who had been directing, was involved in an accident.
Vávrová was awarded a Bundesverdienstkreuz
.
The three daughters of Vávrová and Vilsmaier, Janina Vilsmaier, Theresa Vilsmaier and Josefina Vilsmaier, are also active as actresses. Vávrová's older sister, Hana Heřmánková, is a television presenter in the Czech Republic.
Dana Vávrová died of cancer
in Munich, Germany on February 5, 2009. She was 41 years old.
Biography
Vávrová was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia and played her first main film role in Ať žijí duchové! (English: Long Live the Ghosts!) in 1976, having played a minor role in Jak se točí Rozmarýny. In 1979 she played a minor role in the television mini-series ArabelaArabela (TV series)
Arabela is a television series for children produced for television in Czechoslovakia between 1979 and 1981. The series had 13 episodes and was in the Czech language. Its plot revolved around the members of a regular Czech family, who encounter people who came from the Kingdom of Fairy Tales...
. In 1982, she played the main role as Janina David
Janina David
Janina Dawidowicz , better known as Janina David, is a holocaust survivor and a British writer and translator.-Biography:...
in the German television mini-series Ein Stück Himmel
Ein Stück Himmel
Ein Stück Himmel is a German television series....
, and was awarded the Goldene Kamera
Verleihung der Goldenen Kamera
The GOLDENE KAMERA is an annual German film and television award, awarded by the television magazine HÖRZU. The gold-plated silver award model was created by Berlin artist Wolfram Beck...
, the Goldener Gong, and an Adolf Grimme Award
Adolf Grimme Awards
The Adolf Grimme Award is a television award and one of the most prestigious awards for German television, which is named after the first general director of Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk, Adolf Grimme . It is also called the "German TV Oscar".The awards ceremony takes place annually at Theater Marl...
. In this mini-series, Joseph Vilsmaier
Joseph Vilsmaier
Joseph Vilsmaier is a German film director.-Work:After attending a boarding school near Augsburg, he was trained as a technician to make film cameras and then spent nine years at a music conservatory. Following this he was a member of a jazz group...
was one of the cinematographers. Parallel to her acting, she attended the Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory, sometimes also Prague Conservatoire, in Czech Pražská konzervatoř, is a Czech secondary school in Prague dedicated to teaching the arts of music and theater acting.- Instruction :...
from 1981 to 1985. After some further roles including the films Amadeus
Amadeus (film)
Amadeus is a 1984 period drama film directed by Miloš Forman and written by Peter Shaffer. Adapted from Shaffer's stage play Amadeus, the story is based loosely on the lives of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, two composers who lived in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the...
and Pan Tau
Pan Tau
Pan Tau is a character created for a children's television series. 33 episodes were made in Czechoslovakia in cooperation with German TV network WDR from 1967 on. The project ended with a feature film in 1988. Pan Tau, who generally didn't speak, was played by Otto Šimánek...
, she played the main role of Anna Wimschneider in Herbstmilch
Herbstmilch
Herbstmilch is the German autobiography of a previously unknown peasant woman, Anna Wimschneider , published in 1985, written in simple, everyday language...
(English: Autumn Milk) under the directorship of Joseph Vilsmaier, whom she had married in 1986. Together with Werner Stocker, she won the Bayerischer Filmpreis
Bayerischer Filmpreis
The Bavarian Film Awards have been awarded annually since 1979 by the State Government of Bavaria in Germany for “exceptional achievement in German filmmaking.” Along with the German Film Awards, these are the most highly regarded awards for filmmaking achievement in Germany.The Bavarian Film...
and the Deutscher Filmpreis
Deutscher Filmpreis
The Deutscher Filmpreis is the highest German movie award. From 1951 to 2004 it was awarded by a commission, since 2005 the award has been given by the Deutsche Filmakademie...
for this role.
In addition to acting, she also directed films, the last one being to complete the Artur Brauner production The Last Train, (German: Der letzte Zug
Der letzte Zug
Der Letzte Zug is a 2006 German film directed by Joseph Vilsmaier and Dana Vávrová, and starring Gedeon Burkhard, Lale Yavas, and Lena Beyerling. The film depicts the fate of some of the last remaining Jews in Berlin, who in April 1943 were rounded up at the Berlin-Grunewald station and sent to...
) after Joseph Vilsmaier, who had been directing, was involved in an accident.
Vávrová was awarded a Bundesverdienstkreuz
Bundesverdienstkreuz
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has existed since 7 September 1951, and between 3,000 and 5,200 awards are given every year across all classes...
.
The three daughters of Vávrová and Vilsmaier, Janina Vilsmaier, Theresa Vilsmaier and Josefina Vilsmaier, are also active as actresses. Vávrová's older sister, Hana Heřmánková, is a television presenter in the Czech Republic.
Dana Vávrová died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in Munich, Germany on February 5, 2009. She was 41 years old.
Actress
- 1976: Long Live the Ghosts! (Ať žijí duchové!) – Director: Oldřich Lipský
- 1977: Jak se točí Rozmarýny – Director: Věra Plivová-Simková
- 1978: Vražedné pochybnosti – Director: Ivo Toman
- 1978: Kulový blesk – Director: Zdeněk Podskalský, Ladislav Smoljak
- 1979: ArabelaArabela (TV series)Arabela is a television series for children produced for television in Czechoslovakia between 1979 and 1981. The series had 13 episodes and was in the Czech language. Its plot revolved around the members of a regular Czech family, who encounter people who came from the Kingdom of Fairy Tales...
– Director: Václav Vorlíček - 1979: Koncert na konci léta – Director: František VláčilFrantišek VlácilFrantišek Vláčil was a Czech film director, painter, and graphic artist.Between 1945 and 1950, he studied esthetics and art history at Masaryk University in Brno. Later he worked in various groups and ateliers , but his main area became played film...
- 1980: Brontosaurus – Director: Věra Plivová-Simková
- 1982: Ein Stück HimmelEin Stück HimmelEin Stück Himmel is a German television series....
– Director: Franz Peter Wirth - 1983: Levé křídlo – Director: Jiří Hanibal
- 1983: Kluk za dvě pětky – Director: Jaromír Borek
- 1984: Bambinot – Director: Jaroslav Dudek
- 1984: My všichni školou povinní – Director: Ludvík RážaLudvík RážaLudvík Ráža was a Czech film director. He directed the film Poslední propadne peklu in 1982.- References :...
- 1984: AmadeusAmadeus (film)Amadeus is a 1984 period drama film directed by Miloš Forman and written by Peter Shaffer. Adapted from Shaffer's stage play Amadeus, the story is based loosely on the lives of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, two composers who lived in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the...
– Director: Miloš FormanMiloš FormanJan Tomáš Forman , better known as Miloš Forman , is a Czech-American director, screenwriter, professor, and an emigrant from Czechoslovakia. Two of his films, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus, are among the most celebrated in the history of film, both gaining him the Academy Award for... - 1987: Pan TauPan TauPan Tau is a character created for a children's television series. 33 episodes were made in Czechoslovakia in cooperation with German TV network WDR from 1967 on. The project ended with a feature film in 1988. Pan Tau, who generally didn't speak, was played by Otto Šimánek...
– Director: Jindřich Polák - 1988: HerbstmilchHerbstmilchHerbstmilch is the German autobiography of a previously unknown peasant woman, Anna Wimschneider , published in 1985, written in simple, everyday language...
– Director: Joseph Vilsmaier - 1991: Rama dama – Director: Joseph VilsmaierJoseph VilsmaierJoseph Vilsmaier is a German film director.-Work:After attending a boarding school near Augsburg, he was trained as a technician to make film cameras and then spent nine years at a music conservatory. Following this he was a member of a jazz group...
- 1992: Rosenemil – Director: Radu Gabrea
- 1992: Der Nachbar – Director: Götz SpielmannGötz SpielmannGötz Spielmann is an Austrian director and scriptwriter.Götz Spielmann grew up in Vienna. After High School, he lived in Paris for several months. From 1980 to 1987 he studied film direction and script-writing in Vienna at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien...
- 1993: StalingradStalingrad (film)Stalingrad is a 1993 war drama film directed by Joseph Vilsmaier. It depicts combat on the Eastern Front of World War II, specifically the Battle of Stalingrad and showing the German Wehrmacht in a sympathetic light....
– Director: Joseph Vilsmaier - 1993: Pizza Arrabiata – Director: Jochen Richter
- 1995: Schlafes Bruder (Brother of SleepBrother of SleepBrother of Sleep is a 1995 German film directed by Joseph Vilsmaier and based on a novel by Austrian writer Robert Schneider. It was chosen as Germany's official submission to the 68th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, but did not manage to receive a nomination....
) – Director: Joseph Vilsmaier - 1997: Comedian HarmonistsComedian Harmonists (film)Comedian Harmonists is a 1997 German film by Joseph Vilsmaier. It is a biopic about the popular German vocal group Comedian Harmonists...
– Director: Joseph Vilsmaier - 1999: Der Bär ist los – Director: Dana Vávrová
- 2002: August der Glückliche (Fernsehen) – Director: Joseph Vilsmaier
- 2004: Der Vater meines Sohnes (Fernsehen) – Director: Dagmar Damek
- 2004: Bergkristall – Director: Joseph Vilsmaier
- 2004: Grenzverkehr – Director: Stefan Betz
- 2006: Ein Hauptgewinn für Papa – Director: Bodo Fürneisen
- 2006: Lamento – Director: René Sydow, Daniel Hedfeld
- 2008: Die Gustloff – Director: Joseph Vilsmaier
Director
- 1995: Wia die Zeit vergeht (documentary film about the musician Hubert von Goisern) – Regie: Dana Vávrová
- 1996: Hunger – Sehnsucht nach Liebe – Regie: Dana Vávrová
- 2006: Der letzte ZugDer letzte ZugDer Letzte Zug is a 2006 German film directed by Joseph Vilsmaier and Dana Vávrová, and starring Gedeon Burkhard, Lale Yavas, and Lena Beyerling. The film depicts the fate of some of the last remaining Jews in Berlin, who in April 1943 were rounded up at the Berlin-Grunewald station and sent to...
– Regie: Dana Vávrová, Joseph Vilsmaier