Steve Lichtag

Steve Lichtag was born in 1954 in Znojmo, Czechoslovakia, where he grew up in a family of a military pilot. He graduated from Literary drama conservatoire and worked as an actor in theatres in Karlovy Vary and Jihlava. The following three years after graduation he was regularly seen in film and in Czech television programmes. In 1979 he left for the USA where he taught acting at Florida Academy of Dramatic Arts and started his cooperation with Ta Fantastika theatre. Since 1986 Steve L. Lichtag has began wholly devoting himself to film as a producer and later also as a film director. In 1988 he filmed an important three-part documentary Quo vadis Cambodia in Southeastern Asia and between 1989 and 1991 a six-part documentary series about gulags in then USSR, Siberia - land of sorrow, land of hope. Since 1995 he has carried out a six-part theme work Searching for crystal world and then a famous documentary Carcharias - The great white, which had a premiere on NBC in 2001. In 2004 he made another successful film Dance of the Blue angels about absurd and brutal killing of whales by Japanese fishermen. The film has received a great public acceptance not only in the Czech Republic but also in the world. A screen capture Bizarre world from 2006 points to controversial legal electro fishing on Czech rivers. In the same year he finished so far his last film A myth called shark, in which he comes back to a great white sharks topic. Steve Lichtag's film projects unfailingly gain support and patronage of Departments of the Environment and Foreign affairs. In 2002 he wrote a book called Waiting for white death, which has become a bestseller exceptionally fast; over 20 thousand copies have been sold so far. His second book Dance of the Blue angels was published in 2006, the first edition was sold out at Christmas. Steve Lichtag organizes lectures with his films projection not only for schools and hospitals but also for public all over the Czech Republic. His films regularly appear on Czech television. Bonton film provided distribution until 2006, now it is RGM entertainment; MAAT Film (de) represents him abroad. Mr. Lichtag periodically appears in media, especially in Czech television and Czech radio, and is constantly in the center of media attention. He founded International film festival "Water, Sea & the Oceans", which takes place under the auspices of Department of the Environment, Ústí nad Labem mayor and Jan Evangelista Purkyne University vice-chancellor. He is a president of Crystal Planet foundation aimed at underwater flora and fauna protection. He closely cooperates with such celebrities like William Parks, Dr. Erich Ritter, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Dr. Samuel Gruber or Garry Atkinson. He creates and generates his original projects; he is a member of number of international film committees and institutions dealing with environment and its protection. The name 'Lichtag' is on the list of desired guests at film festivals and professional events all over the world. Considering high audience popularity and quality of Steve Lichtag's projects, they have a great impact on public opinion all over the world. Dance of the Blue angels film has undoubtedly contributed to entry of the Czech Republic into International whaling committee (IWC) and thanks to Bizzare world film a new law is being prepared considering electric power usage on trout streams.