The
Ohio State University
Photography & Cinema Alumni Society
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Mojmir Drvota
Where in the World Is Mojmir Drvota?
To see Mojmir Drvota today you would think he hadn’t skipped a beat since his days at Haskett Hall. The gentle manner, the quiet voice and the engaging smile are ever present, as is the mischievous twinkle in his eye. And though he may be a bit more frail at 74 years of age, Mojmir still looks fit and healthy. But not all has gone well for Dr. Drvota in recent years. About four years ago he underwent an angioplasty. Though the operation was a success, the procedure left a gaping wound in his leg that took several months to heal.
Shortly after the angioplasty, he suddenly developed (and for no apparent reason) a mysterious ailment that left him, for the most part, unable to eat or digest food. He lost 50 pounds and, by his own account, “looked like a prisoner from a World War II concentration camp.”
And the worst was yet to come. A serious heart attack left him semicomatose. He lay in his bed, faced the wall and did not speak to anyone for 2 years. Today, he credits his wife and daughter for his recovery. “They never gave up... They constantly talked to me... They made me fight back."
After another visit to the hospital he was inexplicably once again able to eat! “After struggling for years without being able to take food I was suddenly able to eat - eat anything!” Since then he has slowly gained his weight back.
Before his heart attack, Dr. Drvota had completed a novel, Did Rene Petru Get To Heaven. Written in his native Czech, he hopes to have it translated to English and published. Then, just after he had awakened from his two year coma, and while he was recovering, something very strange happened. Dr. Drvota spent days searching throughout his home for the manuscript to a second novel he had written. “I was looking everywhere for it. I looked like mad because I could not find it! I thought someone must have thrown it away while I was sick.” Laughing, Mojmir continued, “Then I realized the novel was in my head! I had been thinking about it for two years while I was in bed, but I had not yet written it down! I thought it was already finished but it wasn’t even started!” Mojmir proceeded to write and complete that novel as well. The title: Did the Aliens Land in Bukovice.
Today Mojmir would like to visit Prague and the former Czech Republic. His health however does not permit it. He currently sees his doctor once a month and he must remain in the U.S. in the event of another medical emergency. He is steadily improving. His daily regimen includes a five-minute walk and a slice of pizza! Little by little he is getting stronger. He continues to write, having recently completed Four Probes, a short philosophical essay on the human experience and life in the world.
He often thinks of his former students and the many friendships made during his 20 years at OSU. “I would love to tell them all ‘hello’" he expressed with a loving smile. “Please, say ‘hello' for me.”
Mojmir Drvota was a professor at The Ohio State University Department of Photography and Cinema in the 1970s and 80s. He taught a variety of courses but is best remembered for his courses in Film History, Theory, Genres and Directing.
He wrote and directed several plays and films in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to this country. The only film for which there is English Language information is "Daleká cesta" (aka Distant Journey-1950)
You may write to Dr. Drvota c/o the Photo & Cinema Alumni Society's return address. We will forward your letters to him.
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You can buy some of Professor Drvota's books at Amazon.com and help support the Alumni Society.