Fine Cuts: The Art of European Film Editing

24  Josef Valusiak

Professor Valusiak became a film editor at the time of the Czech New Wave in the 1960s and he edited all the films of one of its leading lights, Jaromil Jires. At the same time he began to develop as a teacher at FAMU, a role he still fulfils with distinction. His erudition and passion are a potent combination.

I was born in a working-class family on 16 December 1934. From childhood I lived in a small town called Jilemnice, which is north of Prague in the Krkonose Mountains, where I graduated from High school. I was interested in reading imaginative and historical literature and in theatre and sports too. I played violin and accordion, but not very successfully. I also acted in some plays with a non-professional theatre group. ...