Otakar Vávra (28 February 1911 – 15 September 2011) was a Czech filmmaker whose career spanned eight decades. In addition to his own career in filmmaking, he taught generations of directors at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Notably, he was the teacher of several prominent members of the Czechoslovak New Wave. Filmography. Vávra is credited for the following films.