Arguably the leading Czech filmmaker of his generation, Jan Sverak saw his first feature film, "Elementary School" (1991), earn an Academy Award nomination as Best Foreign-Language Film, a feat he duplicated with his fourth, "Kolya" (1996).Sverak was raised in the Czech film world as the son of star actor Zdenek Sverak, who also starred in and scripted "Kolya". Graduating from the Film Academy of Music and Drama (FAMU) in Prague, he directed his first short film, "Good-Bye Little Station" in 1984. (Sverak was rejected in his application for the narrative branch of the school and had to take
