Shadows of the Past

"Forgive your enemies but never forget their names." (J. F. Kennedy). For the first time people from the opposing sides of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, Czechs and Russians face each other on screen. Shadows of the past tells the story of a Russian dissident who protested the invasion, the daughter of one of the hundreds of people killed by the invading soldiers, a Soviet soldier who played an active role in the invasion and a Czech driver who witnessed the shootings. The stories of these everyday people, playing out in the background of a decision by powerful politicians, are a confrontation of motivations, attitudes, judgements and also of the repercussions they faced for their decisions. All this from todays perspective – forty years later. Who is guilty and who is a victim in a regime that gave people the choice of staying faithful or betraying themselves?