Libuše's carrier

When acting as Cinderella Libuše is already 19 years old, would you have guessed that? Her first role was the granddaughter of "Babicka" in the TV-adaption of the best known book of Božena Němcová (left).

On the new Czech DVD Václav Vorlíček reports, how he chose Ms. Šafránková for Cinderella: "I faced the important task, to cast the main characters. I had quite a big casting for the role of Cinderella and after having seen about 25 to 30 girls, I remembered the film "Barunka" where a girl played the title character, who had to be at the right age by now. So I invited Libuše Šafránková, she read the script and was taken with it. You could see, that she would deal with it with some verve. We tried some scenes and she won the casting." So come that in 1972 Libuše Šafránková got the female lead in 3nfc.

Beside her sister Miroslava Libuše can bee seen in 1975's "Little Mermaid" (after a fairytale of Hans Christian Andersen) and plays with Pavel Trávnícek 1982 in "The Third Prince" and "The Saltprince". Beside more fairytale- and children's films Libuše Šafránková appears in "serious" films, like "Assasination in Sarajevo" (1975) as Jelena. In the film "Kolya", which became famous far beyond the Czech Republic, she played Klara and received the Czech Lioness of 1996 in the category best female leading actress (below left). Besides acting in further films, she can be seen on the stage of the Czech National Theater in Prague.

Libuše Šafránková, born on 7. 6. 1953 in Brno is when acting as Cinderella 19 years old, would you have guessed that? The picture on the left side is taken from the TV-film "Dr. Munory a jiní lidé ...." (which means: Dr. Munory at the Other People) from 1997. It looks like Libuše has changed not a bit. Her first role was the granddaughter of "Babicka" in the TV-adaption of the best known book of Božena Němcová (right).

On the new Czech DVD Václav Vorlíček reports, how he chose Ms. Šafránková for Cinderella: "I faced the important task, to cast the main characters. I had quite a big casting for the role of Cinderella and after having seen about 25 to 30 girls, I remembered the film "Barunka" where a girl played the title character, who had to be at the right age by now. So I invited Libuše Šafránková, she read the script and was taken with it. You could see, that she would deal with it with some verve. We tried some scenes and she won the casting." So come that in 1972 Libuše Šafránková got the female lead in 3nfc.

Beside her sister Miroslava Libuše can bee seen in 1975's "Little Mermaid" (after a fairytale of Hans Christian Andersen) and plays with Pavel Trávnícek 1982 in "The Third Prince" and "The Saltprince". Beside more fairytale- and children's films Libuše Šafránková appears in "serious" films, like "The Day That Shook the World" (1975) as Jelena. In the film "Kolya", which became famous far beyond the Czech Republic, she played Klara and received the Czech Lioness of 1996 in the category best female leading actress (below left). Besides acting in further films, she can be seen on the stage of the Czech National Theater in Prague.

Her most recent film is "All my beloved ones" (Všichni moji blízcí) playing 1938 in Czechoslowakia shortly before the Nazi-occupation. Libuše Šafránková plays the wife of the jewish doctor Jakob Silberstein (played by her husband Abrhám), who tries on living normally with his big and slightly excentric family. But the Nazis' brutality reaches the Sibersteins' house, so after the suicide of one of Jakob's brothers the family decides to rescue at least David the youngest son. He is entrusted to Nicholas Winton (played by Rupert Graves). Nicholas Winton really existed and saved 664 jewish children taking them from Czechoslowakia to England.

Termporary the the actress's last fairytale film is "Elixír and Halíbela". In this film, Libuše plays the charming and intelligent witch Halíbela, who bets her son Elixír, that the two insufferable princesses, who have been sent to Halibela and elixir for better educationill not change (but of course they do...). Libuše Šafránková granted the paper "Televize" an interview:

Interview with Libuše

"In this fairytale you play a rather unusual, kind witch. Are there such witches in your ideas, too?
I do not imagine witches, so they don't have a specific shape for me. But sometimes I feel, as if I encounter them. They look like common women, but they can do magic.

Did you like playing no princess, but a witch?
Yes, I like playing a witch.

What was the reaction on this role at your home?
Enthusiasm, especially by the youngest generation.

How much in your mind is Christmas associated with fairytales?
Our whole big familiy meets each year and celebrates Christmas very traditionally. I cannot remember that we switched on the TV-set once. I am used to this kind of Christmas ceremony since my childhood days. At home in eastern Czech Rebuplic we used to observe classical rural Christmas. We went to the cemetary with the cradle to play Christmas-songs and after that went to the midnight Mass. To date I associate this with Christmas."

Sadly no autographs

Together with her husband Josef Abrahám (who is also an actor) she has got a son. The couple avoids public, after several bad activities by the gutter press. "The founder of the now-defunct tabloid Super, Jiri Janousek, has received a suspended four-month prison sentence for libelling the popular Czech actress Libuse Safrankova. Last year Super falsely claimed that Mrs Safrankova, who is one of the leading actresses of her generation, was receiving treatment for alcoholism and terrorised her husband, actor Josef Abraham." wrote Radio.CZ on Nov. 15th 2002. Considering such nasty and unfounded attacks it is no wonder that it is impossible for fans to reach this great actress. So sadly I cannot tell you any address or possibility to get an autograph.

Fotos

Sadly the very good czech fansite www.cb.ipex.cz/~wendy/actress/ does not exist any longer. Many entries in the guestbook spoke to Libuše directly, as if she would run the page and read the guestbook - this was moving. But there is a new site with many, many fotos:
http://petr-frdlik.net/ls/gallery.htm - thanks to Thomas K. for the hint!

Filmography

Year	Title	International title	Role
1971	Babička (TV)	Babička	Barunka
1972	Rodeo
1973	Bakaláři - První pohled (TV)
1973	Přijela k nám pou
1973	Tři oříšky pro Popelku	Three Nuts/Gifts/Wishes for Cinderella	Cinderella
1974	Jak utopit doktor Mráčka	How to Drown Dr. M. or the End of Water Spirits in Bohemia	Jana
1975	Sarajevský atentát	The Day That Shook the World	Jelena
1975	Můj brácha má prima bráchu	My Brother Has a Cute Brother	Zuzana
1975	Vivat Benovsky		Anna Lentulay
1976	Malá mořská víla	The Little Mermaid	Princess
1976	Paleta lásky
1976	O Terezce a paní Madam (TV)
1978	Brácha za všechny peníze
1978	Princ a Večernice		Evening Star
1980	Vrchní, prchni	Run Waiter Run	Vránová
1980	Triptych o láske (TV)
1981	Křtiny
1982	Sůl nad zlato	The Salt Prince	Princess Maruška
1982	Třetí princ	The Third Prince	Princess Milena
1982	Svatební cesta do Jiljí
1983	Jára Cimrman, ležící, spící	Jára Cimrman Lying, Sleeping	Alzbeta
1983	Slavnosti sněženek	The Snowdrop Festival	Teacher
1985	Vesničko má, středisková	My Sweet Little Village	Jana Turkova
1986	Zla krev
1987	Zuřivý reportér		Katerina
1988	Cirkus Humberto
1989	Člověk proti zkáze (TV)		Vera Hruzová
1989	El mar es azul (Moře je modré)
1991	Žebrácká opera	The Beggar's Opera	Jenny
1991	Obecná škola	The Elementary School	Mrs. Souckova
1992	Náhrdelník (TV)	The Necklace	Josefína Konrádová
1993	Nesmrtelná teta		Luck
1996	Kolja		Klara
1997	Báječná léta pod psa	Wonderful Years That Sucked	Kvido's mother
1997	Dr. Munory a jiní lidé (TV)
1999	Všichni moji blízcí	All My Loved Ones	Irma
1999	Návrat ztraceného ráje	Return to Paradise Lost / Which Side Eden
2001	Elixír a Halíbela (TV)		Halíbela, witch
2001	Cetnické humoresky (7 episodes)
2001	ELFilm		Elf
2003	Stará láska nerezaví (TV)
2004	Falesné obvinení (TV)	False Accusations
2006	Psí kus (TV)
2006	Náves (TV-series, role in episode Policejní smyfonie)		Ruzena Slavíková
2007	Anglická rapsodie	is planned

Sources: