At the beginning of February we had to say goodbye to one of the most important pioneers of the Czech fairy tale film, Václav Vorlíček. It makes me sad, but I am full of wonderful memories. He remains a great director and a dear friend. I like to think back to our first meeting at the lovely partner film festival in Zlín almost 20 years ago. His ability to inspire people with stories was unique not only in the film but also in his rhetoric. Of course Václav was also a regular guest at the SCHLINGEL: for the first time in 2002 as a member of the International Jury, in 2006 we honoured him with the Honorary SCHLINGEL Award for his cinematic oeuvre. The media response was enormous and many friends came to Chemnitz to congratulate him. In 2012 our festival programme focused on the Czech Republic - traditionally, SCHLINGEL put productions from geopolitical Eastern Europe in the limelight anyway, but this year the neighbouring country should receive a special mention once again. Of course, Václav was not to be missed here either. He was a unique filmmaker who moved across generations and linguistic boundaries, who was able to build bridges between East and West well before 1989 and whom one will never forget – thanks to his enchanting productions.