Zuzana Justman

Zuzana Justman (born 20 June 1931) is a native of the former Czechoslovakia, which she left in 1948. As an American, she lives and works in New York, New York as film documentarist and writer. Since November 1989 she visits her first country, now Czech Republic.

Her brother was Jiří Robert Pick (1925–1983), Czech writer and playwriter. Together with their parents, they were imprisoned in the Nazi Terezín concentration camp from 1943 until the end of World War II. Their father died in Auschwitz, the three survived.

After the communist putsch ("Victorious February") of 1948 she left, together with her mother, for Argentina. The seriously ill Jiří stayed in Prague. Detesting the Peron regime, she left Buenos Aires in 1950 to study and live in New York City.

Zuzana Justman graduated from Vassar College and Columbia University in Russian and Slavic studies.

After that she worked as writer and translator before making her debut in 1989 with "Terezin Diary", a documentary about the World War II concentration camp in occupied Czechoslovakia based upon her diary she wrote when incarcerated there for two years. In 1993 she wrote, produced and directed "Czech Women: Now We Are Free".

For "Voices of the Children", a 1997 documentary about three concentration camp survivors, she received in 1999 the Emmy for best historical program, the Certificate of Merit at the Chicago International Film Festival, in 1998 the Gold Plaque at the Chicago International Television Competition, in 1998 Best Documentary and Audience Choice for Best Documentary awards at Film Fest New Haven, in 1997 the Silver Apple from National Educational Media Network.

Her 2006 adaptation of her brother's 1982 play "The Unlucky Man in the Yellow Cap" (in original "Smolař ve žluté čepici" ), was performed at the FringeNYC festival in August 2006.

She is married to Dan, a psychiatrist, and she has two sons, David (*1965) and Philip (*1963) .

Film documentaries

* "A Trial in Prague", 2000 – director, producer, screenwriter [A. O. Scott: " [http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?_r=1&title1=Trial%20in%20Prague%2c%20A%20%28Movie%29&title2=&reviewer=A%2e%20O%2e%20Scott&pdate=&v_id=&oref=slogin Loyalty to Communism Rewarded by Execution] ", review in NYT, September 14, 2001]

* "Voices of the Children", 1997 – director, screenwriter

* "Czech Women: Now We Are Free", 1993 – director, screenwriter (with J. Becker, L. Studničková)

* "Terezin Diary", 1989 (screenwriter, executive producer), directed and produced by Dan Weissman [Vincent Camby: " [http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?title1=TEREZIN%20DIARY%20%28DOCUMENTARY%29&title2=&reviewer=Vincent%20Canby&pdate=19910816&v_id= Remembering the Horrors of the Nazis' 'Model Camp'] ", review in NYT, August 16, 1991]

Theatre

* "The Unlucky Man in the Yellow Cap" [website of " [http://www.unluckyman.com/ The Unlucky Man in the Yellow Cap] " adaptation of J.R. Pick's drama, performed at the FringeNYC festival, August 2006] [Matt Johnston: " [http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/prnn/271.htm The Unlucky Man in the Yellow Cap] " (New York International Fringe Festival Reviews), The New York Theatre Experience, August 12, 2006] , directed by Marcy Arlin, lyrics, translation and cooperation Alex Zucker, other lyrics by Peter Fish (also music), Zuzana Justman, J.R. Pick, performed at the FringeNYC festival, August 2006

References

Biography

* Jiří Voráč: "Český film v exilu: kapitoly z dějin po roce 1968" (in Czech, "Czech film in exile: chapters from history after 1968" ), Host, Brno 2004, ISBN 80-7294-136-4