This video features candid interviews with the filmmakers-including Vera Chytilova, Jiri Menzel, Jan Nemec, Ivan Passer, and Jan Sverak, among many others-who created the Czech New Wave. They recount the struggles they faced as they tried to realize their artistic visions in a constantly shifting political landscape, from the heady days of the mid-Sixties, through the repressive period of "Normalization," and up to the present-day, ten years after the Velvet Revolution. Their sometimes startling comments reflect the moral and spiritual crisis that pervades the Czech Republic today. At the heart of their struggle is the role moral integrity plays in determining the fate, not only of an artist, but perhaps an entire nation.
Directed by Robert Buchar
2000, color, 144 mins

Purchase: $295.00 Rental: $95