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A masterful cinematic adventure of a truly forensic nature that uses newly-discovered footage to provide a unique perspective on the 1968 military invasion of Czechoslovakia and its aftermath. With an extended introduction by Dr Thomas Lorman.
The discovery of 3 ½ hours of previously unseen, professionally-shot footage of the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia that had been sitting in a garage for more than 40 years triggered a project reconstructing events that took place 55 years ago. Director Jan Sikl, known for his meticulous work with private family film archives, used an open call broadcast on Czech Television to trace the identities of the people and locations depicted in the footage, and acquire further authentic film material. Memories of specific events spring to life, and what starts out as an investigation gradually turns into a reflection of how an historical moment has imprinted itself on us all. The resulting film combines found professional and amateur footage with 18 interviews with those both behind and in front of the camera during that time while documenting Sikl‘s investigative work. Using a lip-reading expert to decipher what is being said in the silent footage, and travelling to visit people and locations across the whole country, Sikl provides a new perspective on these historic events, putting a human face on the invasion and its aftermath while creating a specific form of social memory.
Jan Šikl, Czech Republic, Slovakia 2021, 95’
Thomas Lorman is a lecturer (teaching) in Central European history at UCL’s School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES) where he has been teaching and researching since 2010. His most recent publications are The Making of the Slovak People’s Party: Religion, Nationalism and the Culture War in Early 20th-Century Europe (Bloomsbury, 2020) and A History of the Hungarian Constitution: Law, Government and Political Culture in Central Europe (Bloomsbury, 2020) which he co-edited with Ferenc Hörcher. He also serves as editor of the journal Central Europe.
Admission £5 see booking link below
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