In 1958, he graduated in
Czech language and
literature from the Faculty of Education of
Charles University in
Prague. His work consists of more than 300 musical texts and plays, and he has appeared in 32 feature films. Among his film scripts are the Academy Award-winning
Kolya and
The Elementary School, both directed by his son
Jan Svěrák as well as
My Sweet Little Village. With his close friend
Ladislav Smoljak and their radio colleague Jiří Šebánek, he created the fictional
polymath Jára Cimrman for the radio programme
Vinárna U pavouka in 1966. Cimrman was voted
The Greatest Czech in 2005, but barred from winning because of being a fictional character. Zdeněk Svěrák also founded a charity organization, , which focuses on helping paralyzed individuals. Svěrák has won three
Magnesia Litera awards for his writing. In 2004 he won the Readers' Choice award for his book
Jaké je to asi v čudu. He went on to win the same award in 2012 for the book
Nové povídky. His third Readers' Choice award came in 2014 for
Po strništi bos. In 1989, he was a member of the jury at the
39th Berlin International Film Festival. ==Filmography==