Pavel Štingl (b. 1960, Prague) studied documentary filmmaking at Prague’s FAMU. His graduate film focusing on young doctors Learning to Fear (1985) won various awards and established one of the chief lines of his work. In the early 1990s he began a lengthy, award-winning series of major political documentaries examining countries of the former Soviet Bloc. In 1995 he founded K2, his own production company, where he produced several documentary series and a number of comprehensive documentary coproductions, including major works covering important events in 20th century history: The Story of the Patrie Survivors (1996), **** Pairs of Shoes (1997), Stone and Knowledge (1998), The Lost World of Karel Pecka (2000), and The Second Life of Lidice (2002). His films have been screened at numerous foreign and domestic festivals, winning a variety of awards.