Oldřich Lomecký, Mayor of Prague 1

Centuries had passed before camera obscura, which "conjured a devil" in front of astonished viewer´s eyes, turned into the first cinema. During those years, humanity has travelled a journey full of fundamental discoveries.
However, it was nothing to compare with the development that people have gone through during the twentieth and early twenty-first century. Yet, the knowledge of humanity and its ability to control technology, including the "moving pictures", cannot be compared to what our ancestors knew in the early days of the cinema, not to mention the 16th century, when the animation box (camera obscura) of Giovanni Battista della Porta caused bursts of panic in onlookers.
The one thing, that has not changed and will not change, regardless of the level of our technical progress, is people's desire to tell stories through images. The desire, that is eternaly fed by the audience's need to listen to this stories.
Thanks to both, the filmmakers and their audience, we can again celebrate the Days of the European Film, which is, to my great honor, held under my auspices.

Oldřich Lomecký

Mayor of Prague 1