2013

Research into the legacy of František Kriegel

This documentary essay sets out in search of the legacy of Franisek Kriegel, doctor, planner, politician, Communist, Chartist and idealist, who in August 1968, as the only member of the Central Committee of the Czechoslovak Communist Party, took the active step of standing against the invasion of the “friendly forces” of the Warsaw Pact by refusing to sign the Moscow Protocol. A prize bearing his name, awarded since the 1980s by Charter 77 Foundation, keeps his legacy in the collective memory and puts a spotlight on his successors. The film tells the life stories of three of them – the civic activist and anarchist, Jakub Polák; the fighter against corruption and senator,Alena Dernerova; and the former director of the State Environmental Fund and whistle-blower in the “Drobil case”, Libor Michalek.

The longer film version includes another František Kriegel Award laureate – Frantisek Lizna.

The film was made with the financial support of the State fund of the Czech Republic for the support and development of Czech cinematography.

© Film&Sociology, Czech Television

This documentary clarifys the Czech-German relationship and dispels disillusions and
misunderstanding. A collection of interviews with contemporary witnesses is taking place in different locations, including the borderlands where German inhabitants used to be a majority. One of the key sequences presents director Samuel Fuller who, as a private in the US army, liberated the town of Sokolov and documented the atrocities at a concentration camp. Another scene describes the town of Hranice in the “As bulge”, where the “Iron Curtain” was closely watched during Communist rule. This mosaic, embellished with picturesque landscape panoramas, also contains the interesting memories of writer Lenka Reinerová. 

The film was made with the financial support of the State fund of the Czech Republic for the support and development of Czech cinematography and MEDIA Programme.

© janacisarfilmproduktion, Film&Sociology

Koutecky is priceless!

Pavel Koutecký, one of the most outstanding of all Czech makers of documentaries and director of the film Citizen Havel, is presented through fragments of his films and individual testimonies from his close collaborators about the origin of these films – about how Koutecký approached the themes to which he devoted himself. Fleeting moments inextricably bound to the essence of Pavel Koutecký come together to form one large fragment, Koutecký’s bequest.

The film was made with the financial support of the State fund of the Czech Republic for the support and development of Czech cinematography

©Film&Sociology, Czech television