History of the festival: Dynamic development
The Czech GLBT Film Festival was founded in 2000. The first edition of the festival, then named ‘Duha nad Brnem’ (Rainbow over Brno), introduced 8 feature and documentary films, 3 theatre performances and 3 fine art exhibitions to an audience of 800. The third edition, under its new title Mezipatra, expanded from Brno to Prague.
The name Mezipatra in Czech means "mezzanine", i.e. the space between individual floors: a symbolic space for meeting of all kinds of people, regardless of their particularities.
The fifth edition stressed the international ambitions of the festival by growing attendance of international artist. 8000 viewers attended 67 film screenings and other 20 events – theatre performances, stage readings, exhibitions and music performances. The festival experienced a further expansion – the first Echoes took place in Hradec Králové.
The sixth edition took place in Brno, Prague and for the first time in Český Těšín. 90% of films were introduced as Czech premieres. The film program was broadened by four photograph exhibitions, two of which were created exclusively for the festival as reflections of the main topic, two panel discussions, and a stage reading night, literary night, two concerts and record-breaking fifteen theatre performances. The festival attracted 8 500 viewers.
The seventh edition took place in Brno, Prague and Český Těšín. In the two main cities, 85 films were screened and there were 30 events in off-program. Festival prizes were created by Zdeněk Vacek, a reputable designer and winner of the prestigious competition Designblok. The festival closing was moderated by actress Ivana Uhlířová, holder of Alfréd Radok Prize for Talent of the Year. The patronage was accepted by Mr. Václav Havel and MUDr. Pavel Bém, Mayor of the City of Prague. The interest of wide range of viewers was projected in the attendance of 10 500 viewers.
Mr. Václav Havel and MUDr. Pavel Bém accepted the patronage of next year’s eighth edition too. In 2007, the main topic was rebellion, and 95 screenings in 9 cinemas were shown. Festival Echoes took place in Český Těšín, Olomouc and also in Bratislava, the capital of Slovak Republic. In 2007 the festival spot was created by Michal Pěchouček, one of the most outstanding figures of the young generation of artists and a laureate of Jindřich Chaloupecký Prize. During the Prague section, the second channel of the Public Czech Television broadcasted the festival daily Mezipatra Minutes.
At of the 4th edition, Mezipatra introduced jury awards. The winners have been:
| Main Jury Award for Best Feature Film | Student Jury Award for Best Short Film |
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The ninth edition of the festival is going to be held under the auspices of MUDr. Pavel Bém, Mayor of the City of Prague, and Mgr. Vávlav Jehlička, the Minister of Culture. Mezipatra will take place in four cinemas simultaneously (Art and Sál Břetislava Bakaly in Brno and Světozor a Lucerna in Prague). The festival dates are 31 October – 12 November.