Institute of Documentary Film and National Film Archive organized together Velvet Docs series, which presented films that captured the revolutionary year 1989 and what followed (not only) in Czechoslovakia. Velvet Docs took place November 13–17 at Ponrepo Cinema in Prague. Some of the films are now available along with additional titles as part of the curated programme at Dafilms.com.
The year 1989 is a milestone in contemporary Czech history that ended one chapter of the twentieth century and opened the way to a new era for the Czech and Slovak nations. The events surrounding 17 November 1989 are broadly known, being as they are fairly recent, but closer inspection reveals them to be shrouded in fog. There is often agreement concerning the outlines of individual historical events, but specific circumstances are often lost in the flux of parallel narratives and myriad historical figures. The 30th anniversary of the events of November 1989 offered an ideal opportunity to provide a closer view through documentary filmmakers who captured the events of the Velvet Revolution in its first days as well as in the following months and even years, often in a very unique manner or from an original perspective.
13/11/2019 18:30 / All Together... (Eva Štefankovičová, CSK, 1991, 59´)
13/11/2019 20:00 / Rodeo (Raimo Jõerand, Kiur Aarma, EE, FI, 2018, 74’) / in cooperation with Estonian Embassy in Prague
14/11/2019 18:00 / Gentle Revolution (Jiří Střecha, Petr Slavík, CZE, 1989, 70’) + discussion with producer Jarmila Poláková (Film & Sociology), documentary filmmakers Martin Řezníček, Apolena Rychlíková and Martin Kohout. Moderator: Adéla Gjuričová (The Institute of Contemporary History of the Academy of Sciences)
15/11/2019 18:30 / A New Hyperion or Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood (Karel Vachek, CSK, 1992, 207’) + introduction by director Karel Vachek
16/11/2019 18:00 / Future (Josef Harvan, CSK, 1989, 19‘) + Why Havel? (Vojtěch Jasný, CSK, CAN, 1991, 95’)
17/11/2019 15:00 / Films by Pavel Koutecký + introduction by producer Jarmila Poláková
17/11/2019 19:00 / The Death of Stalinism in Bohemia (Jan Švankmajer, CSK, 1990, 10‘) + Graduation in November (Jiří Krejčík, CZE, 2000, 87’)
Photo: Dora Kubíčková (discussion on November 14 and Karel Vachek on November 15)
