Peter Solan

Peter Solan (b. 1929, Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia) studied direction as a first-generation FAMU graduate (1955). He began as a documentarist and in 1959 debuted in features with the first Slovak detective story The Man Who Never Returned. He gained international recognition with the concentration camp drama The Boxer and Death (1962), subsequently joining the ranks of 1960s New Wave filmmakers. This influence is most tangible in Before Tonight Is Over (1965) and in the triptych Dialogues 20-40-60 (1968). His regular co-writers included dramatist Peter Karvaš (The Barnabáš Kos Case, 1964; The Master Didn’t Ask for Anything, 1970) and screenwriter Tibor Vichta (Face in the Window, 1963; Before Tonight Is Over, 1965). During the normalisation era Solan had to transfer to Short Film Studios. He was allowed to return to feature and TV work in the 1980s.

48. MFF Karlovy Vary