CAST & CREW
Producer, director, screenwriter, production designer: Petr Vachler
Actors: Bumblebee | Jan Budař | Barbora Seidlová | Josef Polášek | Andrea Kerestešová | Vladimír Javorský | Petr Buchta | Theodor Vachler | Aneta Krejčíková | Valerie Vachlerová | Viliam Vachler | Robert Jašków | Hanuš Bor
Petr Vachler – producer, director, screenwriter, production designer
“Let’s imagine that you lose your car and you think that someone has stolen it. A feeling of sadness, misfortune, you maybe even shed a few tears? But then you ultimately find it in a confusing parking lot or on a side street. Now you feel relief and happiness, at least until your car finally gets all rusty and falls apart. And then I ask what joy one must feel when he finds himself? That’s why today I say that it is more important to find myself than to find a forgotten car in an expansive parking lot or on a side street, even though both are very important. The film The Meaning and Mystery of Life is also about this.“
Filming dozens of hours of material with personalities from all corners of the earth was fantastic work. Seeking the answers to questions delving into the meaning of life and of fear, love, and death with so many crusaders and respondents was an immense joy, and making such a film is a gift of a lifetime”, says Petr Vachler.… MORE HERE
Bumblebee
„So you wanted to see me, and you have always asked how come I can fly with this fat…“
When we yearn for someone to share with us the deepest truth, we want it to be our parents, our loved ones, friends, mythical beings, talking animals, or just a voice. Many of us may imagine a different form of godhood. And then some people manifest, for example, a bumblebee.
Jan Budař – Max
„Look, imagine that matter is mostly composed of empty space, meaning that we could theoretically pass through a wall…“
There are people who search for the truth their whole life and may not be prepared for it yet. They might not be at the right place at the right time and in the right state. They find out that not everything in the world is so dogmatic, so immutable, and academically definitive. Life offers Max unexpected relationships, loves, and mystical twists.
Barbora Seidlová – Eva
„I am, for example, also afraid to meet someone…“
Do we burn bridges? Do we no longer want to see a whole number of people, friends? Are we afraid of meeting people? Do we hate the ones we have spent our whole lives with? Are we capable of breaking up families, and destroying friendships, for insignificant reasons? How strong do we have to be to forgive one another and ourselves? Are we able to?
Josef Polášek – Robert
„As a doctor, I shouldn’t recommend this…“
Being educated does not equal being wise. The roles that we play offer us opportunities that we may or may not use. Merely collecting information might not be enough to understand the meaning of life.
Andrea Kerestešová – Viky
„I am sorry. I truly loved him and I had no idea what it would cause…“
How many people have we loved in our life, and how many more are we going to? Are we alone even when we are surrounded by our closest ones? Does everything has to be how we want it, and is our truth the most important one? How do we come to terms with the fact that our closest people lie to us, and we lie to them in turn?
Vladimír Javorský – Homeless man
„I might be sleeping under a bridge, but otherwise, I’m healthy….“
Everything in life is merely lent to us for a limited time. It is up to us what we do with it. Even our body is on loan and he who doesn´t realize it will suffer his whole life. There are people, however, who can play their role with perfection. Even those at the very bottom.
Petr Buchta – Jirka
„Hey, you ´haven’t ever really heard me! You allowed it for me to be this way, but it wasn’t the solution…“
It is the desire of all of us to learn a lot while we´re here, and inactivity leads to boredom and later depression. If our life is empty, we end up experiencing even feelings of despair and distaste for life. Nevertheless, everything is right so that we can discover what we wanted to discover. Every step moves us forward, even towards seemingly a failure.
Theodor Vachler – Petr
„Dad, tell us that you won’t leave us?“
For the majority of their lives, children see us as beings who know everything. They trust us boundlessly. We are their models, their support. When we realize that children have the same opportunities as us, it completely changes our outlook on life and children themselves, and we become one.
Aneta Krejčíková – Helena
„So that’s your entire upbringing?“
Sometimes we truly only think of ourselves, no matter what. And the blame? The blame permanently lies with others. We do not realize at all that what we dislike about others is our own problems, our own shortcomings. In reality, we are only angry with ourselves and cheat only ourselves.
Valerie Vachlerová – Vanda, music composer
„It was this large space…“
Before children come to this world, they know and remember much and remain in touch with their godhood even after birth. If they can keep it is a question of upbringing, environment, and the courage of others to accept this gift of connection. Soon afterward, children find out that here it´s only…
Viliam Vachler – Hugo
„Dad, what is the highest education on the planet?“
Children´s souls are pure; they trust us and gather the experience of their ancestors, mirror themselves in us. And sometimes, when we explain to them how everything on this planet works, they surprise us with their response because they sometimes know and remember much more than us.
Robert Jašków – Karel (gamekeeper)
„I mean, strike me down if I’m lying…“
We want to get to know each other in every way, even sexually, but every intimate relationship has consequences. It is up to us what choices we make and how many flames at once we can try to keep burning without letting them die. And if we do take this test, we do our best not to hurt others.
Hanuš Bor – miller
„How much…?“
Sometimes we look at everything in terms of money, even relationships. But God and life must come first. Money will then follow. But if it is me who is controlled by the money and not I who controls it, then greed will become my hell. Not everything in life has to have a price tag.
Ctirad Hemelík – co-producer
Ctirad Hemelík – organizer of the Biostyl, Esoterika, Ecoworld, and Evolution trade fairs (since 2005), the director and organizer of the Prague Gateways festival (2007 – 2012). Co-founder of the Positive Evolution civic association.
“I enjoy discovering new things that are not visible at first glance. We develop our personalities by gradually uncovering what is hidden inside us. That is why contributing to the creation of the film “THE MEANING AND MYSTERY OF LIFE” was naturally fulfilling, just like meeting the international personalities that appear in the film. The very interesting interconnection of a story with the inspirational thoughts of these personalities leads to creating a unique film that brings an entirely new perspective and contemplation of our lives to cinemas”, says Ctirad Hemelík.
Karel Janeček – co-producer
Karel Janeček – a Czech mathematician, entrepreneur, teacher, sponsor, and crusader against corruption.
“The meaning of our lives, our existence, is one of the most interesting questions for a vast majority of people. For me, the meaning of life is the creation of values. I am delighted to be cooperating on a project that tries to discuss this issue openly and that, I believe, will help people to find inspiration from international personalities”, says Karel Janeček.
CREDITS
| Producer | Petr Vachler | |
| Director | Petr Vachler | |
| Screenplay | Petr Vachler | |
| DOP | Karel Fairaisl | |
| Editor | Petr Svoboda | |
| Music | Valerie Vachlerová | |
| Sound | Petr Kuba | |
| Make-up & Hair Designer | Dana Kohoutová | |
| Costume Designer | Zuzana Kárová, Simona Krompholc | |
| Production Designer | Petr Vachler | |
| VFX supervisor | Tomáš Gaisler | |
| 3D Animation supervisor | Martin Šafus | |
| Dan Stanchev | ||
| Marek Náprstek | ||
| Executive producer | Aleš Týbl | |
| Co-producer | Karel Janeček | |
| Co-producer | Ctirad Hemelík | |
| Max | Jan Budař | |
| Robert | Josef Polášek | |
| Eva | Bára Seidlová | |
| Viki | Andrea Kerestéšová Ružičková | |
| Helena | Aneta Krejčíková | |
| Karel (hunter) | Robert Jašków | |
| Jiří | Petr Buchta | |
| Homeless | Vladimír Javorský | |
| Vanda | Valerie Vachlerová | |
| Hugo | Viliam Vachler | |
| Petr | Theodor Vachler | |
| Miller | Hanuš Bor | |
| Parson | Petr Stach | |
| Dealer | Pavel Šmerda | |
| Undertaker | Jiří Andrle | |
| Undertaker ‘s mistress | Bára Mošnová | |
| Mirek (hunter) | Lukáš Pavlásek | |
| Altar boy 1 | Víťa Nádvorník | |
| Altar boy 2 | Antonín Nádvorník | |
| Bumblebee voice actor – Czech | Dalimil Klapka | |
| Bumblebee voice actor – English | Peter Hosting | |
| Bumblebee created by | Robin Beneš | |
| Petr Vachler | ||
| Interviewees | Shaykha Amat-un-Nur | |
| Brandon Bays | ||
| Vincent Bridges | ||
| Dannion Brinkley | ||
| Rinaldo Brutoco | ||
| Lorna_Byrne | ||
| Carl Johan Calleman | ||
| Ricardo Cervantes Cervantes | ||
| Adjan Chaiwood | ||
| Peter Chappell | ||
| Deepak Chopra | ||
| Andreas Clauss | ||
| Kiesha Crowther | ||
| James A. Cusumano | ||
| Ruediger Dahlke | ||
| Erich Anton Paul von Däniken | ||
| Emahó | ||
| Masaru Emoto | ||
| Sandra Epstein | ||
| Jorge N. Ferrer, Ph.D | ||
| Amit Goswami | ||
| Charles Grob | ||
| Stanislav Grof | ||
| Lino be Guinsada | ||
| John Hawken | ||
| Octavio Rettig Hinojosa | ||
| James Humble | ||
| Desiree Hurtak | ||
| James Joachim Hurtak | ||
| David Vaughan Icke | ||
| Ana Auntie Kapihe | ||
| Mabel Katz | ||
| Konstantin Korotkov | ||
| Lui Krieg | ||
| Ervin László | ||
| Sergei Lazarev | ||
| Ihaleakala Hew Len | ||
| Eduardo Luna | ||
| Paramhans Swami Maheswarananda | ||
| Roy Martina | ||
| Lynne McTaggart | ||
| Dan Millman | ||
| Tim Mitchell | ||
| Henri Monfort | ||
| Anisia Semizool Mongush | ||
| Raymond Moody | ||
| Tim Wallace Murphy | ||
| Cacique Ninawa | ||
| Silvano Paolucci | ||
| Eric Pearl | ||
| Srikumar Rao | ||
| Jan Rak | ||
| Don Miguel Ruiz | ||
| Lance Secretan | ||
| David Steindl-Rast | ||
| Swami Vishwananda | ||
| Jenny Wade | ||
| 2nd DOP | Petr Hojda | |
| 2nd DOP | Miloš Kohout | |
| Asistent Production Manager | Miloš Kohout | |
| Script consultant | Jan Stehlík | |
| Production Manager | Michaela Šveňková | |
| AD | Žaneta Tomášková | |
| Production Assistant | Bohuslava Šašmová | |
| AD | Jiří Andrle | |
| DOP asist. | Jaroslav Kostelník | |
| Focus Puller | Ondřej Kos | |
| On-set Photographer | Tomáš Kostěnec | |
| DOP – Interviews | Tomáš Kostěnec, | |
| Ondřej Urbanec | ||
| Radim Paluš | ||
| Continuity | Zuzana Víznerová | |
| Titti Fügediová | ||
| Video operater | David Vacek | |
| Prop Master | Pavel Chalupa | |
| Assistant Prop Master | Martin Haleš | |
| Stand-by Propman 1 | Michal Haleš | |
| Stand-by Propman 2 | Patrik Semft | |
| Stand-by Propman | Roman | |
| Young Bumblebee voice actor | Viliam Vachler | |
| Key Grip | Robert Koděra | |
| Grip | Michal Ráliš | |
| Gaffer | Jiří Navrátil | |
| Best boy | Tibor Demčák | |
| Eletrician | Igor Murčo | |
| Pavel Filip | ||
| Genny Operator / Eletrician | Pavel Hoffman | |
| DIT | Lukáš Pospíšil | |
| Sound Recordist | Marek Musil | |
| Boom Operator | Adam Bezděk | |
| Key Costumer | Andrea Figerová | |
| Costume Assistant | Martina Boušová | |
| Make-up & Hair Artist | Radka Vávrová | |
| Location Manager | Lukáš Bech | |
| Construction Manager | Roman Bandas | |
| Production Runner | Martin Kopecký | |
| Stunt Coordinator | Jiří Kuba | |
| Data management | Martin Dobrovolný | |
| Set Decorator | Roman Bandas | |
| Construction | Marek Funda | |
| Michal Ptáček | ||
| Security, BaseCamp | Martin Rambousek | |
| Driver | Milan Hampl | |
| Josef Šveněk | ||
| David Suchánek | ||
| Dan Sadílek | ||
| Driver for actors | Kateřina Velková | |
| Hlavní postprodukce – Studio Pokrok | ||
| Production Manager | Lubo Procházka | |
| Lukáš Borovička | ||
| Post-production Manager | Simona Jánská | |
| Stanislava Turková | ||
| Assistant Editor | Martin Dobrovolný | |
| Jakub Helis | ||
| Color grading | Tomáš Gaisler | |
| Visual Effects Artists 3D | Jan Moštěk | |
| Tomáš Studnička | ||
| Jaroslav Zajíček | ||
| Jonathan Alonso | ||
| Michal Honc | ||
| Tomáš Novotný | ||
| Gabriela Procházková | ||
| Jan Smrž | ||
| Andrej Otepka | ||
| Travis Work | ||
| Jakub Strauss | ||
| Jan Krejčíř | ||
| Character modeling | Jan Blín | |
| Senior matte painter | Michal Čavoj | |
| Antonín Kolman | ||
| Senior compositor 2D | Miroslav Čičmanec | |
| Martin Čičmanec | ||
| Ondřej Lev | ||
| Ondřej Nečas | ||
| 2D compositor | Peter Palárik | |
| Data manager | Michal Moc | |
| Matěj Kořenský | ||
| 3D | Dalibor Cee | |
| Senior 3D animator | Ladislav Rejkuba | |
| Dan Stanchev | ||
| 3D animator | Richard Jirsák | |
| Jakub Sporek | ||
| 3D animation supervisor | Marek Náprstek | |
| Animation supervisor | Martin Šafus | |
| IT Support | Milan Machač | |
| Production accountant | Marcela Kadlecová | |
| Website design | Matěj Kořenský | |
| Social media and marketing | Šimon Bárta | |
| Sandra Žigič | ||
| Sound assistent | Michal Kloss | |
| English version | Myles Claffey | |
| Foley artists | Adelina Stehlíková | |
| Dominika Juhásová | ||
| Sound design | Ben Radosta | |
| Mix assistant | Jan Kohout | |
| Technical support | Petr Samek | |
| Tomáš Jarolím | ||
| Spolupráce: postprodukce Mirage | ||
| Producer | Petr Král | |
| Executive Producer | Barbora Svozilová | |
| Data handling | Martin Kosina | |
| 3D visual artists | Zbyňek Kysela | |
| Veronika Mašková | ||
| Petr Král ml. | ||
| Compositor | Vincent Badia | |
| Robin Mikuláš | ||
| Spolupráce: postprodukce MagicLAB | ||
| Extras casting | DeeDee Agency | |
| Special thanks: | Pavel Eiselt | |
| Martin Hájek | ||
| Alena Ebrecht | ||
| Zdeněk Říčař |
Copyrighted Song Credit
“True Face”
Written by Valerie Vachlerová;
Performed by VALI; Courtesy of VALI ©
“Paradise”
Written by Valerie Vachlerová;
Performed by VALI; Courtesy of VALI ©
“Jesus Sandals”
Written by Theodor Vachler;
Performed by THE-O; Courtesy of THE-O ©
“Rodeo”
Written by Theodor Vachler;
Performed by THE-O; Courtesy of THE-O ©
“Mauglí”
Written by Theodor Vachler;
Performed by THE-O; Courtesy of THE-O ©
©
VAC – Vachler Art Company
