The 20th Century Documentary Film Festival UNBroken and Sacrificed 2023
PROJECTIONS FOR SCHOOLS
This year, we have prepared a total of six screenings for schools over three mornings, accompanied by debates with filmmakers or memoirists.
SEMINAR FILM AS A MUSEUM MEDIUM
The topic of the seminar, the recording of which you can listen to here, is feature films, animated films, podcasts, filming memoirs and other audiovisual elements in the museum exhibition. The seminar was held as a side event of the Unbroken and Sacrificed Festival on 17 October 2023 in cooperation with the Faculty of Education of the Charles University. Lecturers: Andrzej Jerie, Aleš Kapsa, Petr Koura and Petr Blažek. Jan Samohýl, moderator.
CONFERENCE 1953. THE END OF STALINISM?
Outwardly public mourning, at home secret joy and high hopes. But did the death of Stalin change anything fundamental in the Czechoslovak state? If you were unable to attend the 1953 conference . The End of Stalinism?, which was jointly organized by the Museum of the Memory of the XXth Century and the Institute for the Study of the Second Century on 23 March 2023 at the Old Town Hall, we offer here the complete two-part recording.
What is it about: what exactly did Gottwald die of and how did his death affect the life of his doctor? Did our Communist Party have any room for independent action at all, or did it function only as a 100% gear of Soviet will? Public robbery in the name of currency reform and the protests against it; dilemmas and pitfalls of resistance groups in a situation when the State Security used sophisticated and hard-to-detect provocations; 1953 on the airwaves of Radio Free Europe and much more... the order of contributions can be found here:
STUDENT CONFERENCE GO HOME, IVAN! 1968 - 2023
The Museum of the Memory of the XXth Century and the Smíchov Secondary School of Industry and Gymnasium invite you to a student conference entitled GO HOME, IVAN! 1968 - 2023 /The Occupation ofthe Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in 1968 and possible parallels to current events in Ukraine
The conference, which will take place on 6 February 2023 from 9 am to 3 pm , should introduce students to one of the milestones of our modern history in a broader context and confront it with the current Russian aggression in Ukraine. The aim is to get students to think in a historical context and independently formulate parallels and differences between 1968 and the conflict taking place to our east today. The presentations will be given by Petr Blažek (The Prague Yatra 1968 - general and international context), Jan Kalous (The occupation and the beginning of normalization), Prokop Tomek (The stay and departure of Soviet troops) and David Svoboda (The current conflict in Ukraine).
Date: 6 February 2023 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Place: 72/25 Preslova Street, Prague 5 - Smíchov
If you are interested in participating, please contact Jan Samohýl at jan.samohyl@mpxx.cz
-------------------------------
The 20th Century Documentary Film Festival INDEPENDENT AND SACRIFICE 2022
Student video reportage from the festival
The short documentary was made by students from the Smíchov Secondary School of Industry and Gymnasium under the guidance of teacher David Řehořka. The reportage was made within the framework of the Preslova Media House, which is part of the Smíchov school. The show of documentary films about the 20th century, Unbreakable and Sacrificed, is organised by the Museum of Memory of the XXth Century in cooperation with many partner institutions. We would like to thank the students of SSPŠ for their excellent cooperation.
Seminars, workshops, conferences
9. 11. How a documentary film is made/workshopfor high school and university students, museum educators and the public
In the age of smart mobile phones and affordable digital cameras and editing software that can be easily installed on a computer, it seems that almost anyone can shoot and edit a documentary. But is this true? What makes a good film a film? And where do you start when you want to try to make your own little documentary? And how did today's respected documentary filmmakers get started?
Meet with prominent figures in the field, inspiring insights into current topics and ways of filmmaking.
GUESTS: Olga Sommerová, Arkadiusz Gołębiewski, Pavel Štingl. Jan Samohýl and Veronika Bendová
10. 11. New trends in documentary filmmaking/ workshop for high school students, university students, museum professionals, documentary filmmakers and the public
How does today's documentary film cope with the competition of the video market, where anyone with a mobile phone and one good arm can shoot a moving sequence? How does the inflation of moving images popping out of browsers and social networks affect contemporary documentary? How have people's attitudes towards privacy and the disclosure of their personal belongings changed? And hasn't documentary film responded to this by leaning towards a greater degree of staging and "edginess"? Respected documentary filmmakers will talk about new trends and tendencies and current work in the Czech Republic and Poland.
Exchange of experiences and sharing of new trends, current documentary filmmaking, contemporary Polish and Czech documentary filmmaking.
GUESTS: Arkadiusz Gołębiewski, Martin Vadas and others. Jan Samohýl and Veronika Bendová
Expert seminar Documentary film in the museum exhibition in cooperation with the Faculty of Education of Charles University
On 12 September 2022, a professional seminar for museum educators, museum experts, archives staff and the general public took place.
Modern museums and exhibition projects increasingly use multimedia elements, including projections or monitors with documentary footage or animated photographs, to increase their attractiveness and visual appeal. What can be the ways of incorporating film into an exhibition, what are the pitfalls, and how to cope with the constant developments in the field of multimedia elements that can make expensive exhibition components look outdated in just a few years? Representatives of major Polish and Czech memory and exhibition institutions presented their contributions at the seminar.
Guests: Alicja Knast, Robert Kostro, Paweł Ukielski, Pavel Štingl, Petr Blažek.
Moderator: Jan Samohýl
Historical walks through Prague for schools
Our museum offers schools historical walks with the opportunity to discuss 20th century topics. This is an approximately 1.5 hour walk in the centre of Prague accompanied by a historian. These events are free for schools. We are currently offering the following topics: February 48 (PhDr. Jan Kalous, Ph.D.), In the Footsteps of Jan Palach (PhDr. Petr Blažek, Ph.D.) and Cubist Prague (PhDr. Jan Samohýl, Ph.D.). We are preparing other walks with our lecturers. We will arrange the specific date and time together. Please contact us at: jan.samohyl@mpxx.cz. We look forward to meeting you.
Selected educational events
The Red Century
In 2021, the Museum of the Memory of the 20th Century has prepared several guided tours of the Red Century exhibition for schools and the public. As part of the project Media House of the Preslova, students of the Smíchov Secondary School of Industry and Gymnasium, with which the Museum of the Memory of the XXth Century has long cooperated, prepared a report from the opening of this exhibition.
February 48
On the occasion of the anniversary of the events of 25 February 1948, the Museum of the Memory of the XXth Century in 2021 has prepared an educational online programme February 48. The programme includes a documentary film conceived as a historical walk through Prague and a discussion with historian Jan Kalous, which took place on 18 February 2021 in cooperation with the Smíchov Secondary School of Industry.
Unbreakable and Sacrificed Festival
Educational programmes were also part of the festival of documentary films about the 20th century , Unbreakable and Sacrificed, which was prepared by the Museum of the Memory of the 20th Century in Prague from 10 to 14 November 2021. Despite the limitations imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, the interest of schools was very good. We look forward to the third edition of the festival, which will take place in November 2022.
From student responses to the second edition of the festival:
"The whole event was very interesting and, I think, well organised. It took place in a pleasant environment of the Bio Oko cinema. The first thing we saw was a documentary about Vlasta Chramostova and her husband, which was really interesting, honest and enriching. We learned a lot of juicy details from their life, both personal and professional. The second documentary about the cult of personality of Julius Fucik was not as engaging, but everything was made up for by a debate with one of the most famous Czech directors, Helena Třeštíková. Overall, I evaluate the event very positively and I would not hesitate in case of further similar offers."
"I enjoyed the Festival of the Unbreakable and the Sacrifice and it was an interesting addition to my teaching after a long time. I was more interested in the first documentary with Vlasta Chramostova and Stanislav Milota. I also liked the fact that the authors talked about the films and gave us more detailed information."
"I still see the festival of documentary films about the strange age of one-party rule as beneficial and timely for us young people, because there will come a time one day when decisions about our country will fall equally on us. Although the train ride across half the country was redeemed by our sleep, in Prague it was made up for by the opportunity to talk about the era and the work itself with its creators and historians. All in all, it was a successful tour and I am glad I had the opportunity to participate."
