Ivan Passer

Ivan Passer (10 July 1933 – 9 January 2020) was a celebrated Czech film director and screenwriter, memorialized for his involvement in the influential Czechoslovak New Wave and his direction of American films such as Born to Win (1971), Cutter's Way (1981) and Stalin (1992). Born in Prague, he was the son of Marianna (Mandelick) and Alois Passer. An alumnus of King George boarding school in Poděbrady, Passer shared its hallowed halls with future renowned filmmakers Miloš Forman, Jerzy Skolimowski, and Paul Fierlinger as well as playwright Václav Havel. Though he began his academic journey at FAMU in Prague, he didn't complete the program, instead embarking on a film career starting as an assistant director on Ladislav Helge's Velká samota. Known for his powerful collaborations, he worked with Miloš Forman on all of Forman's Czech films, some of which garnered Academy Award nominations. In 1969, following the Warsaw Pact invasion, Passer, along with Forman, departed from Czechoslovakia. Both made their way to the United States, where Forman earned Academy accolades and where Passer would helm significant American films.