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Czech BooksHeresy and Rebellion in Prague
The Prague Writers’ Festival which begins on June 6 is all about the
encounter of ideas. Over the last twenty years this annual event has become
a lively forum for writers from many parts of the world, and the diversity
of their work and thought has been the festival’s greatest strength. This
year it revolves around the theme of Heresy and Rebellion, pointing to the
perennial tension between the writer and the society in which he or she
lives. A couple of days ago I met the festival director, Michael March, to
talk about this year’s event. We began by looking at the festival’s roots,
which go back more than 30 years. In the late 1970s Michael March started
organizing readings in London by writers from behind the Iron Curtain, and
in the process he found out just how little people knew about Central and
Eastern Europe.
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One on OneFAMU dean Pavel Jech: sometimes it’s too easy to make a film here
The Czech Film and Television Academy, or FAMU, has been educating
filmmakers for over 60 years. Among its students were such personalities of
Czech and international cinema as Miloš Forman, Jiří Menzel, Agneiszka
Holland and Jan Svěrák. In this edition of One on One we talk to Pavel
Jech, the dean of the famed film school. Pavel Jech was born in Prague but
grew up in the United States, where his parents moved after 1968, when he
was only two months old. After graduating in history at Columbia University
in New York, Pavel Jech returned to Prague in 1990 where his life took a
different turn.
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SpecialVelvet at the Film School – discussing the legacy of the Velvet Revolution
Our special programme marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of communism
was recorded on November 9 in front of a live audience at Prague’s
celebrated film and TV academy. Radio Prague’s Jan Richter chaired a
fascinating and lively discussion about the Velvet Revolution, its legacy
and meaning for today. On the panel were: Jiří Stránský: a Czech writer
who spent much of the 1950s in communist prisons; Václav Bartuška: a
student activist at the time of the revolution and the first person to be
given access to the StB (secret police) files – he is now the Czech
Republic’s ambassador at large for energy security; Silvie Mitlenerová:
a current Charles University Student and a student activist in Democracy
Check-Up, a student initiative; Petr Slabý: a film maker and journalist,
and a student activist at the time, studying at FAMU; Pavel Jech: the dean
of FAMU, who spent the revolution in New York! The panel also answered
questions from the audience. Here is a transcript of the discussion
(shortened to fit the format of Radio Prague’s broadcasts), which began
with Pavel Jech saying a few words about why it was taking place at FAMU:
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ArtsArt of storytelling meets art of dissent at 19th Prague Writers’ Festival
The capital event of the Czech literary calendar began this week with the
start of the 19th Prague Writers’ Festival. Each year the festival
brings
dozens of major personages to the Czech Republic from across the world.
This year the theme of “the art of storytelling” is being discussed
among the literary greats of, what festival founder Michael March calls,
“three ancient civilisations: China, Arabia, and Berkley, California.” More
Current AffairsPrague Writers’ Festival opens 19th year
Sunday evening saw the opening of the Czech Republic’s main annual
literary event, the Prague Writers’ Festival, at the city’s Laterna
Magika theatre. Now in its 19th year, the festival continues its mission of
bringing the crème de la crème of the literary world to Prague, and Czech
writers to the world’s attention as well.
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