A graduate of screenwriting at the Prague FAMU, she resigned from her professional life when her twins Andrew and James were born. She created a background for the Oscar-winning director, caring for the children and their extensive headquarters in Connecticut. In time, however, she longed to broaden her horizons and began studying in the United States at the Faculty of Social Sciences.
“In the end, I didn’t finish it, because I would have to go to practice for the last two semesters. And the boys were still in elementary school at the time, so I wouldn’t have time to take them to school in the morning or bring them out of it. So I said to myself: What am I talking about? To have a second degree? ” explains Martina Formanová. “Milos didn’t talk to me, but I felt that it would be unfair to him too, if I suddenly started to pursue some of my interests at the expense of my family.”
But he does not regret the years he lost in his studies. “It improved my English and I met there at the same time with different views on the issues we discussed, which greatly enriched me. It was nice, I enjoyed it a lot. And that diploma would be useless to me anyway. “
In addition, she did not cease to be interested in social issues even after that, she is involved in charitable projects. He currently supports the Innocent Project. “I am trying to help people who are unjustly convicted. But there are absolutely selfish reasons for this, somehow it does me good. I was lucky in life myself, so I feel like I should give it back somewhere. “ he tries not to exaggerate his merits.
“This organization employs lawyers, many of whom work with it for free. They study cases where there are reasonable suspicions that they have not been fairly assessed. I’m planning to visit a female prisoner who has been sentenced to death right now. “ shocks Forman. “I was wondering: will I give it mentally at all? I was in an American prison when Milos filmed Lid versus Larry Flynt, so I experienced it. And I must say that the feeling of anxiety as the individual gates gradually open in front of you is terribly strong. It’s very emotional. And we filmed it in a prison that is far from one of the toughest. “
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Martina Formanová believes that her “protégée” will eventually be pardoned.
“We have been writing for several years, I know her version of what happened, as well as the plaintiff’s version, and I believe she is innocent. But I want to see her in person, meet her. She has very strong support from lawyers now, so I believe that they will be able to reverse her verdict.
When you work with such an organization, you hear a lot of stories, which is very interesting. Maybe it will inspire me to write a book one day, “ says Formanová, who has just christened her last book Nalakuj to rozůžovo in Prague. In it, she remembers, among other things, life alongside Miloš Forman, with whom she lived for twenty-three years.
author: Ivana Bachoríková
