Kamila Zlatušková: I got tired of sitting at home and getting upset about where Czech politics is heading

What made you decide to pursue screenwriting in your youth?

Actually, it wasn't primarily about film. I've always been fascinated by stories and people, but I was much more drawn to television. In the late nineties, I saw things like Trier's The Kingdom on ČT2 and realized that television doesn't have to be film's poorer cousin at all. Quite the opposite. It can be authorial, bold, and at the same time speak to a huge number of people. That's why I went to study television and radio dramaturgy and screenwriting. In the end, I've spent my entire professional life somewhere between storytelling, television, documentary, production, and searching for new talent. Actually, even Serial Killer and the Television Institute are a continuation of that very same fascination.

Together with Barbora Antonová, you revived the activities of the more than 150-year-old and historically significant Brno women's association Vesna in 2021. What kind of response did it receive?

For me, Vesna was never some abstract historical association. My grandmother was its chairwoman, so it's also a piece of family history. But Barbora Antonová and I definitely didn't want to create a museum of glorious past. We wanted to find out if Vesna could have meaning in the 21st century too. And it turned out it could have enormous meaning. From a small initiative, it very quickly became a vibrant place around which a community formed and which began to help women and families in very practical ways. For me, the most interesting thing about it is precisely that continuity. More than 150 years ago, Vesna responded to what women needed in their time. And today's Vesna is actually doing the same thing. Only the needs are different.

What made you decide this year to agree to lead the joint ticket of ODS, TOP 09 and independent candidates in Brno?

It was a combination of two things. One was very personal: I got tired of sitting at home and getting upset about where Czech politics is heading, especially in areas I understand professionally, namely culture, media and especially public service media. And the second was a specific offer in Brno. When it became clear that Markéta Vaňková would not be running again, it stopped being a hypothetical joke and I really had to answer the question of whether I was willing to leave the comfortable position of someone who comments on politics and take responsibility for something. In the end, I told myself yes. I am independent and I've been saying from the beginning that I intend to keep my own opinions. That was an important condition for me.

What does your dad say about this, who was elected to parliament for the ANO movement in the past?

Dad was a member of parliament elected for ANO thirteen years ago, in a completely different phase of that movement's existence. And already during his term, he disagreed with it on a number of issues. So I definitely wouldn't make this into some kind of family battle of ANO versus ODS. Besides, we're both quite strong-willed people and we've never needed to have the same opinion on everything. I think he's much more interested in whether I know why I'm doing this and what I've gotten myself into than the political brand.

How do you view the current political situation?

Current Czech politics is actually one of the reasons why I entered it. I'm bothered by the weakening of trust in institutions, pressure on the independence of public service media, and the questioning of the country's European and democratic direction. At the same time, I don't want to transfer the style of national political battle to Brno. Municipal politics is much more practical. Here you have to agree on where the tram line will go, where you'll build a school, how you'll repair a street, or where

will be built. That's exactly why I keep talking about consensus rather than compromises. I want to find solutions that people who may not agree on other things can agree on.

What are your main biggest priorities if you succeed in the municipal elections?

I don't want to promise that we'll completely remake Brno in four years. I want to complete the big things that are already underway, namely the new main railway station, the large city ring road, or the Janáček Cultural Center. And at the same time, turn much greater attention to everyday life in the city. To affordable housing, safe movement of pedestrians and cyclists, quality public transport, greenery and shade, public space, and better coordination of reconstructions. The city shouldn't be good only in visualizations of large projects. It should be good to live in every day. And I naturally have two topics that are professionally extremely close to me: culture and creative industries and innovation. Brno has fantastic potential in science, technology, gaming, and audiovisual. I want this to be reflected not only in economic statistics, but primarily in the lives of people who live here.

Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?

That's an almost unimaginable horizon for me. If you had asked me a year ago what I would be doing today, I definitely wouldn't have told you that I would be running for mayor of Brno. So I've unlearned making such confident predictions. But I hope I'll still be doing things that make sense to me, I'll still be curious, and I'll still be taking on projects that someone sensible tells me are too complicated. That actually repeats quite regularly in my life. And I would very much like to still be living in Brno in ten years. Just in an even better one. And I hope I'll still have enough energy to do weekend sauna ceremonies. Sauna is my great love, joy, and mental hygiene all at once.

Kamila Zlatušková founded and runs the Brno international series festival Serial Killer, whose first edition was held in 2018. In 2020, she founded an educational platform called Television Institute. She is also the chairwoman of the board of trustees of the Women's Educational Institute Brno, known as Vesna. This April, she announced that she would be the leader of a joint ticket of ODS, TOP09 and independent candidates in the municipal elections in the city.

Sources: author's interview, Wikipedia