Bielik, Palo

Palo Bielik , pseudonym Jan Bukva ( December 11, 1910 , Neusol, Austria-Hungary, now Banska Bystrica-Senica , Slovakia - April 23, 1983 , Bratislava , Slovakia) - Slovak actor, director and screenwriter, one of the founders of the Slovak cinema. Wife - Slovak actress Martha Chernitska-Bielikova (1920-2002).

After graduating from the metalworking technical school in Banska Bystrica in 1929, he changed many professions (he was a draftsman, a collector, a seller, a gendarme). He played in the amateur theater in Banska Bystrica . In the role of the Slovak national hero Yanošík from the play of the same name by Jiří Magen, he was seen by the famous Slovak artist and director Karel Plick and recommended Martin Fritsch to play the main role in the film Yanošík ( 1935 ). The success of the film led Palo Bielik to the Slovak National Theater in Bratislava, where he worked from 1939 to 1942 . In 1943 - 1945 he was the director of short films in the company " Nástup / Nastup . " During the Slovak National Uprising, together with Karol Krškom, he made documentary shots of rebel battles, on the basis of which the documentary “ For Freedom ” appeared in 1945 . After 1945 he became a director of full-length feature films that had great success with the audience.

In 1955 , Palo Bieliku was awarded the title of Honored Artist, in 1968 - the title of People’s Artist of Czechoslovakia .