Two documentary films will be screened to commemorate the events of August 21, 1968 in Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovakia: Portrait of a Tragedy (1968), directed by David Tucker, and Ask at Home: 68 (2018), directed by Barbora Bereznakova.
Czechoslovakia: Portrait of a Tragedy, directed by David Tucker, 1968, 47min, is a documentary film shot over six weeks before the Soviet-led invasion. It includes interviews with protagonists of the Prague Spring and people on the street, reflecting an overall sense of possibility and optimism rather than worries about suppression that followed a few months later. The film was recently restored by The Wende Museum, thanks to the late Rudolf Perina, a consultant and interpreter during the filming who later became a US diplomat specialized in European East-West relations.
Spytaj sa vasich: 68 (Ask at Home: 68), directed by Barbora Bereznakova (2018, 28min.). This documentary film is a result of an interactive project presenting memories of the events of August 21, 1968, that ordinary people across Slovakia and Slovaks abroad shared on a website. The film was broadcast on Slovak TV on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the invasion and projected simultaneously in public spaces in number of Slovak cities.
venue: BBLA at Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10021
Free and open to the public. Suggested donation $5. Seats are limited, on first-come, first-served basis. RSVP online at Eventbrite.
This event is organized by the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Science (SVU) New York with support of BBLA, in cooperation with the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York, Consulate General of Slovakia in New York and The Wende Museum of Cold War.