The first edition of the Unbreakable and Sacrificed documentary film festival, which featured films about historical figures and dramatic events of the last century, ended last night. It featured films by Czech, Slovak and Polish filmmakers, including Olga Sommerová, Martin Vadas, Helena Třeštíková, Pavel Štingl, Kristina Vlachová, Veronika Tóthová and Arkadiusz Gołębiewski. The festival was organised by the Museum of the Memory of the 20th Century as its first multi-day event.
The films included in the film showcase mainly returned to the two totalitarian regimes in Czechoslovakia. The name of the festival refers to the fate of many people who resisted the Nazi occupation or the Communist regime, often at the cost of the greatest personal sacrifice. One of the aims of the Museum of the Memory of the 20th Century is to commemorate the opponents and victims of the totalitarian regimes and to contribute to the understanding of models of authoritarian rule.
"I am pleased that this first year of the Unbroken and Sacrificed Festival is the culmination of our year-long efforts. It's a kind of first birthday present - both to our Museum and to all those who cheer us on and who support us. We are also at the birth of a tradition that will be here for years to come - as far as the history of documentaries about the twentieth century is concerned. I would also like to thank all those who have been involved in the preparation of this festival and have devoted considerable effort to it. I am glad that, thanks to these efforts, the festival turned out technically very good and audience-pleasing. Even in these difficult times, the festival had a high viewership. I would like to thank the administration of the City of Prague as our founder and supporter, as well as the Polish Institute, which cooperated with us in the preparation of the festival, and also Czech Television for their help in providing the films," says Jiří Šesták, director of the museum.
Three Polish films were included in the festival programme, which is a symbolic beginning of cooperation with a large similar festival in Gdynia, Poland, which we intend to develop significantly in the coming years. This year's edition was prepared in cooperation with the Polish Institute in Prague, which arranged the loan of these films. "I am very happy that the festival was able to be organised even in such difficult times. I am very pleased that we managed to broadcast all the films without any technical problems. Above all, the audience watched, the reactions were positive and we hope that they will remain in our favour next year. And others who couldn't watch via the internet will come," says Petr Blažek, co-author of the festival programme.
The name of the film show is inspired by the Polish one - Unbreakable and Sacrificed is part of the name of the Polish festival. We want to use the name to show that we are really interested in specific people of the 20th century and their stories. This name should also appear in future editions," recalls historian Blažek.
The Director of the Polish Institute in Prague, Maciej Ruczaj, also welcomed the creation of the Museum and its first event: 'Our participation in the festival is understandable, given that we are united by a certain shared experience in Central Europe. A life experience of contact with two totalitarian regimes, first German Nazism and then Soviet communism. In the same way, our histories intersect in many ways in the twentieth century, which is why we have included a documentary about Ryszard Siwiec, who is a kind of precursor to Jan Palach, and whose heroic and brave act of self-immolation was motivated by the invasion of August 68 and was the response of a Polish patriot to the invasion of Czechoslovakia.
"I am convinced that film and art can powerfully bring to light the horrors of totalitarian regimes and their devastating impact on the lives of people. In the individual documentaries, viewers have been able to see how totalitarian regimes and the horrors of war or imprisonment have affected the fate of specific people, and also that specific people always have the opportunity to stand up against arbitrariness and injustice. This is a great example for all of us, and I believe that we must not forget these personalities and victims and heroes, precisely for the reason that it is clear that we do not have to submit to any totalitarianism, but that we can also resist totalitarianism and we can prevent its onset," said Hana Kordová Marvanová, chair of the board of the Museum of the Memory of the 20th Century and Prague City Councillor."
Documentary film director Olga Sommerová received the festival's Lifetime Achievement Award. "I am delighted to have received the Maker of memory from the Historical Documentary Film Festival. While accepting it, I also said that I deserved it because I have made almost 30 films about people who were unbreakable and sacrificed. For fifteen years I have been almost obsessed with recording the victims of totalitarian regimes, especially communism, and showing them to the world as role models of our history. I think we need to look back at our history so that we don't have to repeat it and so that we can defend our freedom."
The second Guardian of Memory Award - an award for activities aimed at defending and upholding memory - goes to Poland. It was awarded to Arkadiusz Gołębiewski, a Polish cinematographer, director, producer and screenwriter. His work concentrates mainly on documentaries with an emphasis on Poland's post-war history. He is the author and producer of films about the Polish road to freedom (Rozbity kamień, Sny stracone, sny odzyskane, Historia Kowalskich, Kwatera Ł and Dzieci kwatery "Ł"), and the author of many cultural and educational initiatives. He is the director of the documentary film festival Niepokorni, Niezłomni, Wyklęci in Gdynia. This festival was the inspiration for such a festival in the Czech Republic.
The first edition of the 20th Century Historical Documentary Film Festival featured 21 documentaries and one feature film. There were 18 Czech films, three Polish films and one Slovak film. This single feature film Katyn (from 2007 by the famous Polish director Andrzej Wajda) was included as the final film of the festival. During the festival, before each film it was possible to watch an introduction by a historian, who reminded the context and the situation the film was about, and after almost every film there was a debate, so the audience could learn the reasons for the creation of the documentary and the various contexts connected with the film's story.
The show took place in Bio Oko. Due to the adverse coronavirus pandemic, introductions, talks and films were livestreamed at: www.muzeum20stoleti.cz and www.nezlomniaobetovani.cz.
For further information you can contact Nadia Ghani at ghani@muzeum20stoleti.cz, gsm: 777 175 155.