František Čáp

František Čáp
František Čáp and Metka Gabrijelčič
Born	(1913-12-07)7 December 1913 Čelákovice, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary
Died	12 January 1972(1972-01-12) (aged 58) Ankaran, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia (now Slovenia)
Occupation	Film director Screenwriter
Years active	1939–1948 (Czechoslovakia) 1950–1970 (West Germany) 1953–1965 (Yugoslavia) (now Slovenia)

František Čáp (7 December 1913 – 12 January 1972), also known as "Franz Cap" in Germany, was a Czech film director and screenwriter. He directed 32 films between 1939 and 1970.

Čáp was born in Čachovice (now in central Czech Republic). As an already established professional, he moved to Ljubljana in 1952, following an invitation by Branimir Tuma, director of Triglav Film. In 1957, he moved to Portorož, a coastal town in southwestern Slovenia, where he lived until his death.

Čáp's first Yugoslav film, romantic comedy Vesna (1953), had elements of Heimatfilm and pre-World War II Czech and Austrian melodrama, and proved highly successful both artistically and commercially, as did its sequel Ne čakaj na maj (1957).

In 1956 Čáp shot one of his best-known films, Die Geierwally (The Vulture Wally), based on the novel by Wilhelmine von Hillern, in Germany. X-25 javlja ("X-25 Reports", 1960), a World War II spy thriller set in Zagreb, saw extensive international theatrical release. However, after his poorly received comedy Naš avto ("Our Car", 1962), Čáp was unable to find work in Yugoslavia, and he turned to directing films and television series in Germany and Austria.

In 1941 at the Venice Film Festival he won a commendation from the jury for his film Noční motýl (The Moth). At the 1946 Cannes Film Festival he won the Grand Prize for his film Muži bez křídel (Men without Wings). In 1954 and 1955 at the Pula Film Festival he won the Big Golden Arena for Best Film.