For the fifth time, Prague will host a showcase of documentaries and feature films under the title Unbreakable and Sacrificed. This year's main theme is film images of 1989 in Czechoslovakia and other Soviet bloc countries.
The Museum of the Memory of the XXth Century, z. ú., is organising the fifth edition of the international film festival Unbroken and Sacrificed from 5 to 8 November 2024 in the Atlas Cinema in Prague. The screening of documentaries and feature films about the fall of the communist regimes and coping with their legacy will be accompanied by debates between filmmakers, memorials and historians. The festival programme also includes screenings and discussions for schools, a showcase of student films, workshops and seminars with examples of archival films. Several films will be shown in their Czech premiere. This year, the museum has also prepared an outdoor exhibition in front of the Atlas Cinema, which traces the five-year history of the festival.
"It is extremely important and actually interesting to remember what history tells us. Especially today, when every day we encounter distortions of history and abuse of the legacy of many personalities who have contributed to freedom in this country," says the Mayor of the Capital City of Prague. Bohuslav Svoboda.
The film show is held under the auspices of the Vice-Chair of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Jitka Seitlová and the Deputy Mayor of the Capital City of Prague. Jiří Pospíšil.
"This year the festival will take us back to the time when our country fought for freedom and democracy. The programme includes authentic footage from the revolutionary days of 1989, showing us the courage and perseverance of those who stood up for our better future. I thank the organisers for reminding us of important moments in our modern history in this lively way. In the five years of its existence, the festival has become an important platform for opening up and celebrating key moments in our history that have shaped our national identity and values," said Deputy Mayor of the Capital City of Prague, Mr. Jiří Pospíšil, Prague's Deputy Mayor for Culture, Tourism, Heritage Care, Exhibition and Animal Care.
The programme will include mostly documentaries, but also several feature films from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Germany, Austria and other countries. Among the invited foreign guests are Arkadiusz Gołębiewski, director and director of the partner Polish festival in Gdynia, Mirosław Jasiński, the main representative of Polish-Czechoslovak Solidarity (the festival will screen the films Forest, Street and Cellar Games and Central Europe Goes to Freedom, which he co-wrote), Ukrainian director Maryna Tkachuk(Family Album), Slovak director Robert Kirchhoff(All Men Will Be Brothers) and Austrian directors Lila Schwarzenberg and Lukas Sturm(My Father, the Prince).
Helena Třeštíková, Pavel Štingl, Martin Vadas, Pavel Křemen, Kristina Vlachová and Olga Sommerová, whose new film Juráček je moj destiny will be screened at the end of the festival, will be among the local filmmakers. The filmmakers will be debated by historians Petr Koura, Petr Blažek, Michal Macháček, Petr Kopal and David Svoboda. Some of the screenings will also be attended by memoirists: former political prisoner and current chairwoman of the board of the Museum of the Memory of the 20th Century Hana Kordová Marvanová, representative of the underground movement František "Čuňas" Stárek (who will present his programme Cáry starých filmů) and former student leader Martin Mejstřík.
"The festival focuses on the themes that the Twentieth Century Memorial Museum is dedicated to. Currently, it is the largest Czech showcase of films dealing with contemporary history. The festival is unique in that it allows people who are interested in history and at the same time like films to meet. Debates between filmmakers and the audience are an important part of the programme. It creates an opportunity for young filmmakers to meet renowned directors. It is a space that is also dedicated to debates about contemporary history not only in Czechoslovakia, but also in other countries of the former Soviet bloc and some Western countries," says Petr Blažek, historian and director of the Museum of the Twentieth Century Remembrance.
A number of domestic and foreign partners are involved in the preparation of the festival. The festival is financially supported by the City of Prague, the Czech-Polish Forum, the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, Prague City Tourism, Prague Collectors, a. s., and the Slovak Institute in Prague. The main media partner is Czech Television. Other partners of the 5th edition of the festival include the Polish Institute in Prague, the National Film Archive, the Military Historical Institute, the Slovak Institute in Prague, Echo24, the Goethe-Institut Czech Republic, the Liszt Institute - Hungarian Cultural Centre Prague, the Embassy of Lithuania in the Czech Republic, the Embassy of Ukraine in Prague and other institutions.
One of the main partners of the festival is the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, whose director Ladislav Kudrna emphasized the reasons for supporting this film showcase: 'Cinematography is a key communication tool, far from being a mere source of entertainment. The Czech Republic has a very good reputation in this respect, not only at home but also abroad. By the very nature of its mission, the ÚSTR supports projects that have the potential to reach the widest public. We are partners in a festival that pushes the boundaries. We cannot forget. Come and see for yourself. "
The film Czechoslovakian Sergej Vojcechovský, produced by the Museum of Memory of the XXth Century and directed by Ludvík Franc, will be premiered at the festival. As part of the festival or accompanying programme, there will be screenings for schools and several seminars on the production of the Original Videojournal, revolutionary student television broadcasting and Czechoslovak Television's coverage of November and December 1989.
Three main prizes will be awarded at the festival: the Jaroslava Jander Award for the Guardian of Memory, the Creator of Memory Award, and the student award for the best documentary about the 20th century, presented as part of a student competition sponsored by film historian Jiří Voráč. The programme and further information is available on the festival's website www.nezlomniaobetovani.cz.
Prague, 30 October 2024
tel: 603 860 454
e-mail: info@mpxx.cz
www.muzeum20stoleti.cz
www.nezlomniaobetovani.cz
Press release: the next edition of the 20th Century Film Festival Unbroken and Sacrificed ( PDF)
Overview of the programme of the 5th year of the Unbreakable and Sacrificed Festival (PDF)