Documentary Films - Out of Competition 2008 / Rok 68 – Naděje / Czech Republic 2008
This first part of Viktor Polesný’s documentary series returns to the Prague Spring of 1968. The film, which is pieced together solely from period footage without commentary, chronologically recalls the key moments of the processes of democratisation and revitalisation that were stifled by the August invasion by the five Warsaw Pact armies.
The first part documentary series returns to the Prague Spring of 1968 – to the period of “Socialism with a human face” in which there was a glimmer of hope that society as a whole would fully recover. The film, pieced together solely from period footage without commentary, chronologically recalls the key moments of an era when the process of democratisation and revival was also accompanied by an extraordinary cultural boom. After only a few months, however, the post-January policies and planned economic reforms were stifled by the August invasion by the Warsaw Pact armies, which arrived to “rescue freedom from the planned counter-revolution”.
52 min / Color, DIGIBETA
International premiere
Director Viktor Polesný
/ Screenplay Pavel Kosatík
/ Dir. of Photography Kristián Hynek
/ Music Kamil Holub
/ Editor Zdeněk Patočka
/ Producer Anna Becková
/ Production Česká televize / Czech Television
/ Contact Czech Television, Festival Department
Viktor Polesný (b. 1948, Prague) graduated in documentary film direction from FAMU in 1977 and later worked in ČST and Kratky Film Praha. His extensive work which spans diverse genres is aimed primarily at television viewers. In addition to documentaries (such as Half-life, 1986); Fourty Years Later (2003); participation in the projects GEN, OKO, GENUS), he also directed the series Love Lost (2001) and the follow-up to the cult series Hospital on the Edge of Town.
Czech Television, Festival Department
Kavčí Hory, 140 70, Praha 4
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 261 137 438; +420 261 137 106
Fax: +420 261 211 354
E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
Jitka Procházková
Festival Organizer, TV Representative
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