Special Velvet 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:
Silvie Mitlenerová, Jan Richter, Václav Bartuška
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