At the age of 19, he directed, produced, and edited his three-part television series Blava, which mapped life on the streets of the capital. Marián Geišberg starred in the series, which was broadcast by the then Slovak television station VTV after its completion. During his studies, he continued to be actively involved in the film industry. He assisted on many film projects, shot music videos, and was actively involved in the world of advertising for years. His talent and love for filmmaking led him to study editing at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava.

Kollár’s previous rich experience and exceptional film talent were already evident in his first short film, Prirodzená smrť (Natural Death), starring Anna Šišková, which received positive reviews from domestic and foreign film critics.

Gaining further film experience brought him to Prague, where he worked on the film Kanárek. This film also marked the beginning of Kollár’s long-term collaboration with actor Viktor Tauš. This was followed by collaboration on the Czech adaptation of the film Prirodzená smrť (Natural Death) with Jiří Lábus and, in 2006, the founding of Kollár and Tauš’s company Fog’n’Desire Films. In the same year, the production company Sokol Kollár, now known as KFS production, was established in Slovakia.

In 2007, Kollár produced and directed his first co-production film, Posledné Plavky (The Last Swimsuit), which was seen by more than 100,000 viewers in the Czech Republic and became a cult comedy.

Kollár’s production of specific genres has won many awards and significant nominations and frequent support from the MEDIA and Eurimages programs.

Thanks to detailed and time-consuming post-production, the investigation by young detective Richard Krauz and the mysterious death of a tortured sexton found with a nail in his skull takes place in authentic post-revolutionary Bratislava exteriors. Each film shot required the detailed removal of contemporary buildings, billboards, and retouching of houses.

The film received numerous nominations for the Czech Lion and Slnko v sieti awards, and in both cases, Zuzana Kronerová won an award. The film also won the oldest film award given in Slovakia, the Ingrica, for actress Zuzana Kronerová, actors Marián Geišberg and Ladislav Chudík in memoriam.

The success of the crime film The Red Captain was historically extraordinary in Slovak cinemas. The film’s opening weekend broke twenty-year records for attendance in Slovak cinemas, and in Poland, some critics described it as an unexpected Slovak model of European genre film. It was purchased for television distribution in eight countries.

“I’m trying to bring Slovak viewers back to the cinema with an honest story—to transfer the quality they see in ‘heavier’ or social films to a pure genre, in the case of Red Captain, to crime films.”

Michal Kollár

“Why is The Red Captain such a successful film in every respect – from its visual style to its dialogue and acting performances? It is not a typical case of a Slovak film, whose development ends with the writing of the script and waiting for support from the Audiovisual Fund.”

Film critic Miloš Krekovič.

The film Red Captain was successfully screened at many Slovak and international film festivals and was also shown at one of the so-called A-list festivals – the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

Shortly after the groundbreaking success of The Red Captain, Kollár completed his collaboration with director Hřebejk on the award-winning film trilogy Zahradnictví (Gardening) in 2017.

In 2018, Kollár directed the popular television series Hotel.

“A key factor in my participation in the project was that it was not an endless series, but eight hour-long films. I approached the production as if it were a film for the cinema, which I think was reflected in several aspects, such as the camera work, sound, editing, and especially the acting performances. This freedom in handling the material, as well as the freedom in choosing actors, convinced me that even in the field of private television production, something truly unique can be created.”

Michal Kollár

In 2022, the television series Ultimátum premiered, which was filmed during the peak of the pandemic under very strict and demanding conditions.

As a director, he also completed the epic, production-intensive, and elaborate film Villa Lucia in 2022. It is a comedy combined with elements of a crime thriller. With its interesting and high-quality genre treatment, it aims to contribute to raising the level of contemporary Slovak comedy in cinemas. At the same time, the Villa Lucia project is a showcase of contemporary Bratislava as observed by Kollár.

Kollár is currently involved in the production of the historical detective series Stein and Barbarič, based on the books by Juraj Červeňák, the best-selling author in this genre, as well as other series.

He is a member of the Association of Independent Producers and a member of APA – the Association of Audiovisual Producers in the Czech Republic.