A look into what was, could be, and may still be. The banality of the simple perfection of our everyday lives and how it was used against a nation in order to occupy and control. Director Jan Šikl and producer Alice Tabery talk with Nicole J. Adelman about the archives used in the film Reconstruction of Occupation, and about hope, open borders, peaceful protest and more. The film had a World premiere at Karlovy Vary IFF on August 21 and is part of East Silver Caravan 2021.
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Documentary filmmaker Jan Šikl has spent many years seeking out and collecting private film archives. Faded footage of family lives, celluloid echoes of celebrations and everyday moments. Through his work, Šikl came across several hours of footage showing the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. These unique images long remained unseen – until August 21, 2021, when historical memory awakened from a long slumber. Reconstruction of Occupation is a cinematic adventure of a truly archeological nature in which anonymous faces are transformed into living witnesses of the days that sent Czechoslovakia into two more decades of bondage. (Martin Horyna, KVIFF)
