Faculty

Nicolas graduated from ENSAV National film school (Toulouse) in 2006. He worked as a camera assistant for more than 10 years, with valuable experience as a focus-puller on international projects, such as Overdrive, Knightfall, and Carnival Row. He has also worked on more than 200 commercials. Moreover, Nicolas has had the opportunity to work closely with cast members like Omar Sy, Gerard Depardieu, Scott Eastwood, Ana de Armas, Sam Neill , Tim Roth, Donald Sutherland, William Fichtner, Carrie-Anne Moss, Nathalie Baye, and Tomer Sisley. Recently, he worked on the TV series Lupin (Netflix), Arte (Canis Familiaris 2023), Canal + (Neuf Mec 2022), the Czech feature film Jak přežít svého muže (2023), and among others.

In addition to the many credits listed above, he continuously works as a cinematographer for short-movies, commercials, and features films. He is passionate about travel, photography, and storytelling, which gives him the opportunity to share his knowledge with directors all over the world.

His recent projects were internationally-acknowledged and awarded in Nashville, Hollyshorts, Sitges, Girona, London, Kolkata and many other festivals.

Robin Kasparik graduated from Tomas Bata University in Zlín in directing and screenwriting. His short film “Séance” (2009) was screened at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival in Hollywood. He received permission to adapt Stephen King’s short story “I Am the Doorway” for film, and this work won Grand Jury Prize at the Nashville Film Festival 2017 and was screened at the horror/fantasy festival in Sitges. He also worked on multiple big co-production film sets in Prague for Netflix, HBO and Disney +  and etc.  

George Cremaschi was born in New York, where he studied music and composition. He has worked professionally as a musician, composer and recording engineer since the 1980s throughout the US, South America and Europe. He has appeared on over fifty commercially available recordings as a

musician, and written and produced countless compositions and scores for many settings from solo to orchestra, electronics, film, dance, poetry and theater.

He works regularly with a variety of international and local groups, frequently participating in interdisciplinary site-specific collaborations with choreographers, video artists and light designers, and also is the co-founder and leader of Prague Improvisation Orchestra (PIO), a 15-member group working with a wide range of improvisational concepts. In addition to teaching film sound production and post-production at FAMU, where he has been sound mentor on hundreds of short film projects since 2011, he teaches sound art and sound production at

Prague City University and has been guest lecturer at conservatories in Belgrade, Brno, Malmö, Oakland, Prague, Tallinn and Vienna.

Nicole is originally from Toronto, Canada, where she completed her Bachelor degree in Fine Arts at OCAD University, specializing in drawing and painting. Now she is based full-time in Prague and owns a studio dedicated to Color Grading.

Nicole has worked on multiple feature films such as Princess Cursed in Time 2 (Czech fantasy feature film), a documentary feature film titled “Venezuela: Country of Lost Children” from the director Marc Wiese, and “Tanja: Up in Arms” by the director Marcel Mettelsiefen. Additionally, Nicole has color-graded a large variety of short films, music videos, experimental films, and commercials for international brands (LG, Skoda, Deloitte).

Although Nicole’s main passion is color grading, she has previously also directed and shot films with major success in the festival circuit. Her short film, “Supine” premiered at Bucheon, won the Melies D’Argent at Hardline Film Festival, and competed at Sitges for the Melies d’Or. Her expertise doesn’t stop there: Nicole is also a talented cinematographer, and her Iceland-based feature film “Redux” (2022) was nominated at the Icelandic Oscars in 2023.

Michael Havas was born in Czechoslovakia in 1947 and soonafter his family was forced to emigrate. Michael grew up in New Zealand, where, in 1968, he graduated his MA with honors in English and German literature. Then in 1969-71, he was granted the Swiss Federal Scholarship at the University of Zurich, where Michael did his postgrad studies in medieval German and modern Swiss drama. Then Michael graduated from FAMU in 1979 with a master’s degree in documentary film.

Since 1972, Michael has written, directed and produced over 60 films, many of which have won international awards. He has worked for numerous TV networks and organizations, such as BBC Bristol, Channel 4, The Discovery Channel, New Zealand TV, Maori TV, Condor Features Zurich, Nomad Films International Australia, Czech Television, ARD, ZDF, ORF, Swiss TV, MTV Europe, Bertelsmann Publishers, Beyond Films Australia, Ravensburger Film and TV Germany, Koninck International London, Lumen Films Paris, Max Planck Society, and Amnesty International.

Michael has worked with such reputable filmmakers as Caroline Kennedy, Sir Peter Ustinov, Peter Gabriel, Erich von Däniken, Joseph Svoboda, Ester Krumbachová, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin, Michael Frayn, Denis Marks, the Brothers Quay, Rem Petrov, HSH Hans Adam of Liechtenstein, David Crystal, Jan Švankmajer, Jiří Bárta, Pavel Koutský, Olivia Newton-John, Veronika Žilková, Jan Malíř, Igor Luther, Axel Corti, Martin Šácha, Julian Arahanga, Steve Lichtag and many others.

Marek Matousek is a Czech-American filmmaker with two decades of industry experience across screenwriting, directing, and teaching. His portfolio includes feature films like Christmas Story; TV series such as Dad in Trouble; documentaries; shorts like Say My Name; music videos; and commercials. His assorted experience highlight his versatile storytelling and directorial skills.

Most notably involved in projects like The Letter for the King, Anthropoid or The Courier as an assistant director, Marek has collaborated with global talents, contributing to internationally-acclaimed productions. He’s also performed in various on-screen roles, enriching his understanding of the filmmaking process. Marek was educated in the USA under esteemed mentors like Davis Alexander and Bruce Hickey, and he studied alongside industry professionals such as Randall Wallace and James Bruner. Marek leverages his experience to mentor the next generation of filmmakers, focusing on the art of storytelling and the nuances of directing.

Mihir is a dedicated and passionate freelance cinematographer with strong attention for detail and a sensitivity for the visual presentation of a story through lighting, camera movement, and aesthetics. He comes originally from India and is now based in full-time in Prague, Czech Republic. Mihir completed his vocational bachelors degree in Media and Communication, specializing in Camera, and continued his studies at Prague Film school.

He focuses on aligning with the director’s vision and helping them to achieve their ideas visually. Mihir believes that a DoP’s work is a process of constant learning. He has worked on various feature films, short films, commercials, and music videos as a DOP and/or 1st AC. His recent projects were internationally-acknowledged and awarded in the Rome Film Festival, Cannes World Film Festival, Madrid Short Film Festival, and many more.

Kiril Todorov is originally from Burgas, Bulgaria. After graduating from Sofia University, he studied his master’s degree in Film and TV directing at New Bulgarian University. He started his VFX career as VFX artist and 2D Compositor in Worldwide FX, Nu Boyana Film Studios in Sofia. After moving to Prague, he worked as a VFX artist in UPP, one of the largest post-production houses in Europe. In this role, he has worked on Hollywood movies like Wonder Woman, Allied, Terminator: Dark Fate, and others.  Kiril is skilled in editing, color grading, and directing. His career spans several music videos, commercials, TV programs, and more, giving him a range of expertise in the post-production world.

Matěj Podskalský is a screenwriter, director, and editor. He studied directing and editing at FAMU in Prague. Matěj focuses on animated films, but he is highly motivated and passionate about all audiovisual storytelling.

Matěj worked as a screenwriter and editor on the short animated film Red Shoes (Anna Podskalská, 2021), which was selected for the Cannes Film Festival. He is currently writing a screenplay for an animated feature film called Firebird, which is supported by the Czech Audiovisual Film Fund.

Matěj also has a lot of experience in the post-production field – he worked for four years in the post-production studio, UPP, where he collaborated on international films and tv series such as All Quiet on the Western Front (Netflix), Das Boot (Bavaria Fiction), Munich Games (Sky Original), and others.

Mgr. Barbora Holubova Ph.D. graduated from the Faculty of Arts of Charles University (UK) in Italian Studies. She then got her PhD. in pedagogy from the Faculty of Education at Charles University. She wrote her thesis on Didactics of Film/Audiovisual Education.

From 2013 to 2015, Barbora got her secondary school teacher training from the Institute for Professional Development, Faculty of Education at Charles University.

She worked at the Faculty of Education as an organizer of in-service-teachers´ training and then she taught courses of Czech Film History to US students at the Institute of Preparatory Studies, UK. She finished her Ph.D., focusing on film education at the Faculty of Education UK.

Varvara Satunova is a film editor and mixed media filmmaker. She is a graduate of FAMU Prague in editing and of Masaryk University Brno in film studies. Varvara focuses on film language and audiovisual storytelling, often combining her theoretical knowledge with practical experience. She focuses on documentary, fiction, and experimental films.

Varvara worked as an editor on the short-film-poem We are the Epicentres of Earthquakes (Tomáš Hlaváček, 2020) and feature documentaries Housing Against Everyone (Tomáš Hlaváček, 2021), and The World According to My Dad (Marta Kovářová, 2023). She is currently working on other 2 projects as an editor – a feature documentary titled People on Sale, by Oleksi Chubun and Jan Hecht, and an experimental poem, In the Light of Noema by Tomáš Hlaváček. She is also developing her own found-footage film, A New Image of Man.

Jiri Fusek is a producer with a wide range of skills and expertise. With experience in film producing, directing, editing, content creation, marketing, web design, and even front-end development, he brings a multi-disciplinary approach to his projects. He studied film production at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and continued to work there as a production supervisor and film production teacher for the next 5 years. He has successfully collaborated with major brands like Nike, Skoda Auto, STRV, Red Bull, and Jagermeister during his career. Currently, he holds the position of head of production at famous theater companies in Prague,  Jatka78 and Cirk La Putyka.

Prarthana Gupta (Ana) is a Freelance Production Designer, Visual Artist, and Creative Designer from India, currently based in Prague, Czech Republic.

With her background in Theatre, Psychology and Art, she is able to understand and create visual media that brings us closer to the human psyche and all its weirdness. She has designed for various short films, music videos, commercials, and feature films. While she works as a production design tutor at PFI, she also doubles as a sculptor, production designer, and graphic designer for film and TV.

Dalibor Mraz (1992) is a filmmaker, music composer and co-owner of the film company QQ studio Ostrava. He studied at the Janáček Conservatory in Ostrava and graduated from the College of Business and Law. Dalibor is the holder of 4 national music awards. At the age of 10, he started composing music for university films. In 2006, at the age of 14, he directed his first short student film called Lednice. As a sixteen-year-old, he composed the music for the full-length film How Many Stories Have a Day, which premiered in New York. Currently, he invests in film development and expands his portfolio also with films of his own production and co-production. Its focus is very broad. From music and film production and creation, sound processing, management to idea making.

Jan Tesitel is a graduate of directing from FAMU in Prague. During his studies, he shot a short film, People Involved, which was nominated for Best Student Film at the Czech Lion Awards (2011). His first feature film David (2015) premiered in the East of the West competition at Karlovy Vary Film Festival. He is currently in the development stage of his second feature film Plague, produced by Unit and Sofa Praha. He also works as a director on numerous programs for Czech Television and commercials. Jan worked as an Assistant Director on the films Listopad (2014) by Gary Keith Griffin and Ghoul (2015) by Petr Jákl. Currently he is directing new film from creators of czech fairy tail Princes Cursed in Time called Golden Hair (2025).

Cyrus Voris has been a screenwriter and television creator, writer and showrunner with his long-time partner and fellow NYU graduate, Ethan Reiff, since the early 90s. Cyrus has written screenplays for TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS DEMON KNIGHT (1995), BULLETPROOF MONK(2003), the Ridley Scott/Russell Crowe ROBIN HOOD (2010) which began as the spec script NOTTINGHAM and Dreamworks Animation’s Academy Award Best Animated Feature nominee KUNG FU PANDA (2008); In television he has Created and Showrun such series as Fox’s BRIMSTONE (1998), CBS’s ELEVENTH HOUR (2008-2009), TNT’S LEGENDS (2014-2015) and the Emmy and Golden Globe nominated Showtime series SLEEPER CELL (2005-2006); most recently he has Executive Produced the Netflix Indian Limited Series BARD OF BLOOD (2019) and Netflix & History Channel’s KNIGHTFALL (2017-2019).

Lukas Daniel Parik is a Czech composer, screenwriter and writer. He wrote music, lyrics, libretto and screenplay for the rock symphonic musical King Arthur. He composed one of the most successful Czech soundtracks for the movie Princess Cursed in Time and he is also one of the screenwriters. Parik is the author of creative concepts, screenplays and music for dozens of commercials and also an experienced teacher of writing and music (composition, piano, guitar, singing, theory).

Ajay Kulkarni is a freelance cinematographer based in Estonia, Czech Republic and India. He has collaborated with directors across the world in the fields of Music Videos, Commercial Ads and award-winning short films. With his background of Biotechnology Engineering and further studies in Film School, he has excelled in understanding the storytelling language and translating them into visuals with modern technics. He has been awarded in various International Film Festivals, such as LA Film Festival, LV Prasad International Film Festival, Rolling Stones and more.

Igor Kristof is President of the CSFA – Czech Stunt Fighters Association – a stunt coordinator, sword master and film producer. He is the youngest of the brothers who founded the Three Brothers production company back in 1991. In 1975 he also co-founded the stage fencing group, ‘The Cadets’.

With The Cadets, he helped give rise to the fame of the Kaltenberg Knight Tournament and, with more than 3 000 performances, has gained acclaim for the art of stage fencing throughout Europe, USA and the United Arab Emirates. Between years ´90-´93 he independently directed group performances in Germany and Denmark. He created dozens of choreographies for TV and film projects and, as Assistant Director, has more than 60 documentary productions behind him, in most case international projects. Since the 90’s he has also been producing feature movies and TV series.

Czech scriptwriter and script editor. Anna got her master’s degree in Screenwriting and Script editing at FAMU. She started teaching screenwriting at FAMU before graduation as an assistant teacher, then worked as a full-time teacher of screenwriting and film language at the film department of SPŠST Panská (high school). She wrote shows for TV Nova and ČT Déčko, dialogues and scripts for indie computer and mobile games (Dandara game awarded in 2020 by Apple TV Award), edited scripts of awarded animated short films. She worked as a chief writer of 2nd season of Pan profesor (The Teacher) series for TV Nova.