I get out of the taxi and it's probably the only city which in reality looks better than on the postcards, New York. - Milos Forman
Information
- Founded:
- 1995
Events
2 upcoming eventsSee All
- TRANSFER
Czech Center New York
Tuesday, November 3 at 6:30pm - New Czech Films
BAM Rose Cinemas
Tomorrow, November 18 at 6:50pm
Photos
2 of 40 albumsSee All
Rebel Waltz: Underground Music From Behind the Iron CurtainCreated last Wednesday
Transfer - Exhibition openingCreated about a week ago
No one has added fan photos.
Czech Center New York TV and DVD needed!! We need 5 televisions and DVD players for our upcoming video installation exhibition “If You See Something”. If you have an old TV or DVD player that you don’t need, please consider donating it to our exhibition. We will be happy to pick it up (and return it after the exhibition if you'd like.) Please contact the Czech Center at info@czechcenter.com or 646 422-3399. Thanks!
Czech Center New York Photo: Beowulf Sheehan
Czech Center New York
The annual series of new Czech films is celebrating its 10th anniversary along with the entire program of BAMcinématek. Co-curated by Irena Kovarova and organized by BAMcinématek and the Czech Center New York, the series is a part of the 2009 Czech Independence Day Celebrations.
New Czech Films
November 18-22, 2009
Tic...kets: BAM.org or (718) 777-FILM
All films in Czech with English subtitles.
PROGRAM:
Wednesday, November 18
A Well Paid Walk (2009) 85 min. North American Premiere!
6:50*, 9:40pm *Q&A with Miloš Forman
Thursday, November 19
Who's Afraid of the Wolf? (2008) 90 min. NY Premiere!
4:30, 6:50*, 9:40pm *Q&A with Maria Procházková
Friday, November 20
Citizen Havel (2009) 120 min
6:50, 9:15pm
Saturday, November 21
René (2009) 83 min. NY Premiere!
2, 6:50*pm *Q&A with Helena Třeštíková
Tobruk (2008) 100 min
4:30, 9:40pm
Sunday, November 22
The Karamazovs (2008) 110 min
2, 6:50pm
I'm all Good (2008) 102 min. NY Premiere!
4:30, 9:15pm
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A WELL PAID WALK (DOBŘE PLACENÁ PROCHÁZKA) (2009) Directed by Miloš Forman. With Jiří Suchý, Dáša Zázvůrková, Petr Stach, Petr Píša, Tereza Hálová. The young marriage of Vanilla and Uli is fast approaching a break-up. The inevitable is stopped in its tracks by a postman and the delivery of a telegram from a rich aunt from Liverpool announcing her arrival and £1 million inheritance for their child. The problem is, they have no child… A selection that will delight especially Czech audiences with fond memories of the legendary Semafor Theater, A WELL PAID WALK (a.k.a. A WALK WORTHWHILE) is a filmed stage production of a play penned by duo Suchý&Šlitr that celebrated much success in the ripe era of the 1960s in Czechoslovakia. Miloš Forman was then asked to direct (together with Ján Roháč) a TV film version of this comic opéra bouffe, a b&w delight of a movie. Coming a full circle, Forman teamed up with his twin sons Matěj (set designer) and Petr (stage co-director) to direct WALK for the stage of no less than the National Theater in Prague, and then filming this delightfully expanded piece to preserve it for posterity. In the age when the Met beams its opera productions in HD to cinemas worldwide, it is only fitting to see Czech stage directorial debut of the brilliant Czech American film director brought onto a US film screen. North American Premiere! Q&A with Miloš Forman.
WHO'S AFRAID OF THE WOLF (KDOPAK BY SE VLKA BÁL) (2008) Directed by Maria Procházková. With Dorotka Dědková, Jitka Čvančarová, Pavel Řezníček, Martin Hofmann. The story of relationship troubles in a young family is portrayed fully through the eyes of a five-year old girl. The child believes that the only explanation of the strange behavior of her mother is that she was abducted by aliens and replaced by one of them. The real reason is the arrival of a former lover who attempts to win the mother over by bringing her back on stage and attempting to revive her operatic career – something she had to give up to bring up her child. Procházková employs elements of animation to depict the girl's imaginative world that also includes her dreams and favorite fairytale of Little Red Riding Hood (hence the title). The film premiered under the slogan "finally a love story you can watch with the kids" at the Berlin IFF this year and follows Procházková's previous successes on the festival circuit with her animated short films and her feature debut SHARK IN THE HEAD that premiered in North America at the Toronto IFF in 2005. New York Premiere! Q&A with Mária Procházková.
CITIZEN HAVEL (OBČAN HAVEL) (2008) Directed by Pavel Koutecký and Miroslav Janek. There is no better documentary film to be screened on the twentieth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution (November 1989) than the portrait of Václav Havel documenting his life and two terms as the President of the Czech Republic. Spanning 13 years, the film brings on the screen the political and private, the funny as well as the serious parts of an uncommon and unrivalled political career of the non-conformist playwright, philosopher, dissident and altogether exceptional Czech President. Throughout the film appear Havel's friends and political rivals along with celebrities of the cultural and political world including the Rolling Stones in an hilarious scene when the President gives them a tour of the Prague Castle. Film director Pavel Koutecký had an exceptional access to the 'President's kitchen' – no other politician has allowed filmmakers so close. After the director's tragic death just before the start of the film's post-production, another exceptional filmmaker took over the project – Miroslav Janek directed the film in its final form. The documentary was quite unexpectedly a box office hit in Czech cinemas and became the historically first documentary to receive Czech Lion Award by the Czech Film Academy in a newly established category.
TOBRUK (2008) Directed by Václav Marhoul. With Jan Meduna, Petr Vaněk, Martin Nahálka and Robert Nebřenský. A humanistic story about Czech soldiers in exile who fought on the side of the Allies against Nazis and Fascists in the infamous battle of Tobruk in North Africa during WWII. A naïve young soldier joins the Czech troops. He soon finds out that there is only a very thin line between heroism and cowardice. Courage is the will power, which no man has enough to spare. When used, it is soon exhausted. Director Marhoul avoided the flashy style of many war films in favor of allowing the story of the young soldiers to be experienced by the audience through the visual depictions of the desert. For his second feature film, an homage to soldiers whose actions were not allowed to be celebrated under the Communist regime, Marhoul received a well deserved praise from critics, audience and the Czech Film Academy – receiving not only Czech Lion awards but also a national nomination for the award of the European Film Academy.
RENÉ (2008) Directed by Helena Třeštíková. This raw authentic documentary film tells the story of René whose life was being captured on camera since he was seventeen. Třeštíková followed his hopeless journey between prison (on a number of sentences mainly for theft) and brief periods outside the prison walls in the director's preferred time-lapse method. In 2008 the film comes to an end, leaving the charismatic now 37-year-old René diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (and high IQ) still getting in trouble with the law, but also as the author of two published books. Sawing the fruits of her long and successful filmmaking career, Třeštíková finally gets the attention on international scene that she deserves – for RENÉ she received Prix Arte from the European Film Academy and also won the Media European Talent Award at Cannes this year for her next project MIRACLE which follows a now 35-years old man already from his birth. NY Premiere! Q&A with Helena Třeštíková.
THE KARAMAZOVS (KARAMAZOVI) (2008) Directed by Petr Zelenka. With Ivan Trojan, Igor Chmela, David Novotný. A Czech theater company travels to Poland to presents its dramatization of Dostoyevski's Brothers Karamazovs at an alternative festival that uses as stage the still functioning steel works. A drama of morality, human nature, conscience, guilt and punishment, reverberates between the stage and real life, in the comical relationships between the actors and the director, and the tragic story of a steel worker that develops in the background. He comes to the ensemble with a special request: to perform the play just for him and so the rehearsal becomes a performance for only one spectator. Suddenly, the biggest drama does not take place on the stage, but in the auditorium. Director and screenwriter Zelenka, one of the most original authors of current Czech cinema, ingeniously weaves the story while allowing the viewer to experience the cast in both, theatrical and film acting on one screen, to much of delight.
I'M ALL GOOD (U MNĚ DOBRÝ) (2008) Directed by Jan Hřebejk. With Miroslav Vladyka, Boleslav Polívka, Jiří Schmitzer. With a delightful caper plot, the trio Šabach (author) Jarchovský (screenwriter) and Hřebejk (director) succeeded yet again at preserving the touch of a not-so-distant past while creating an entertaining comedy. As much as in their past films (Cozy Dens, Pupendo, Up and Down) it's a great opportunity for an ensemble cast. It looks back at the 1990s, when Czechs were taking their first steps in the new and unknown territory of burgeoning capitalism in the country. Six friends, gardeners and fishermen, meet up at a picturesque pub on a river island in Prague. The tranquility of their card games is interrupted when one of them falls victim to conmen at an open-air market. Just like in the old westerns, the friends decide to take the law into their own hands. Thanks to their friendship, bravery, cunning, good luck and above all the worldly-wise and accomplished magician, Mister Class (a.k.a. Mrklas played by Polívka of DIVIDED WE FALL fame), they succeed. New York Premiere!
Read More
New Czech Films
November 18-22, 2009
Tic...kets: BAM.org or (718) 777-FILM
All films in Czech with English subtitles.
PROGRAM:
Wednesday, November 18
A Well Paid Walk (2009) 85 min. North American Premiere!
6:50*, 9:40pm *Q&A with Miloš Forman
Thursday, November 19
Who's Afraid of the Wolf? (2008) 90 min. NY Premiere!
4:30, 6:50*, 9:40pm *Q&A with Maria Procházková
Friday, November 20
Citizen Havel (2009) 120 min
6:50, 9:15pm
Saturday, November 21
René (2009) 83 min. NY Premiere!
2, 6:50*pm *Q&A with Helena Třeštíková
Tobruk (2008) 100 min
4:30, 9:40pm
Sunday, November 22
The Karamazovs (2008) 110 min
2, 6:50pm
I'm all Good (2008) 102 min. NY Premiere!
4:30, 9:15pm
---
A WELL PAID WALK (DOBŘE PLACENÁ PROCHÁZKA) (2009) Directed by Miloš Forman. With Jiří Suchý, Dáša Zázvůrková, Petr Stach, Petr Píša, Tereza Hálová. The young marriage of Vanilla and Uli is fast approaching a break-up. The inevitable is stopped in its tracks by a postman and the delivery of a telegram from a rich aunt from Liverpool announcing her arrival and £1 million inheritance for their child. The problem is, they have no child… A selection that will delight especially Czech audiences with fond memories of the legendary Semafor Theater, A WELL PAID WALK (a.k.a. A WALK WORTHWHILE) is a filmed stage production of a play penned by duo Suchý&Šlitr that celebrated much success in the ripe era of the 1960s in Czechoslovakia. Miloš Forman was then asked to direct (together with Ján Roháč) a TV film version of this comic opéra bouffe, a b&w delight of a movie. Coming a full circle, Forman teamed up with his twin sons Matěj (set designer) and Petr (stage co-director) to direct WALK for the stage of no less than the National Theater in Prague, and then filming this delightfully expanded piece to preserve it for posterity. In the age when the Met beams its opera productions in HD to cinemas worldwide, it is only fitting to see Czech stage directorial debut of the brilliant Czech American film director brought onto a US film screen. North American Premiere! Q&A with Miloš Forman.
WHO'S AFRAID OF THE WOLF (KDOPAK BY SE VLKA BÁL) (2008) Directed by Maria Procházková. With Dorotka Dědková, Jitka Čvančarová, Pavel Řezníček, Martin Hofmann. The story of relationship troubles in a young family is portrayed fully through the eyes of a five-year old girl. The child believes that the only explanation of the strange behavior of her mother is that she was abducted by aliens and replaced by one of them. The real reason is the arrival of a former lover who attempts to win the mother over by bringing her back on stage and attempting to revive her operatic career – something she had to give up to bring up her child. Procházková employs elements of animation to depict the girl's imaginative world that also includes her dreams and favorite fairytale of Little Red Riding Hood (hence the title). The film premiered under the slogan "finally a love story you can watch with the kids" at the Berlin IFF this year and follows Procházková's previous successes on the festival circuit with her animated short films and her feature debut SHARK IN THE HEAD that premiered in North America at the Toronto IFF in 2005. New York Premiere! Q&A with Mária Procházková.
CITIZEN HAVEL (OBČAN HAVEL) (2008) Directed by Pavel Koutecký and Miroslav Janek. There is no better documentary film to be screened on the twentieth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution (November 1989) than the portrait of Václav Havel documenting his life and two terms as the President of the Czech Republic. Spanning 13 years, the film brings on the screen the political and private, the funny as well as the serious parts of an uncommon and unrivalled political career of the non-conformist playwright, philosopher, dissident and altogether exceptional Czech President. Throughout the film appear Havel's friends and political rivals along with celebrities of the cultural and political world including the Rolling Stones in an hilarious scene when the President gives them a tour of the Prague Castle. Film director Pavel Koutecký had an exceptional access to the 'President's kitchen' – no other politician has allowed filmmakers so close. After the director's tragic death just before the start of the film's post-production, another exceptional filmmaker took over the project – Miroslav Janek directed the film in its final form. The documentary was quite unexpectedly a box office hit in Czech cinemas and became the historically first documentary to receive Czech Lion Award by the Czech Film Academy in a newly established category.
TOBRUK (2008) Directed by Václav Marhoul. With Jan Meduna, Petr Vaněk, Martin Nahálka and Robert Nebřenský. A humanistic story about Czech soldiers in exile who fought on the side of the Allies against Nazis and Fascists in the infamous battle of Tobruk in North Africa during WWII. A naïve young soldier joins the Czech troops. He soon finds out that there is only a very thin line between heroism and cowardice. Courage is the will power, which no man has enough to spare. When used, it is soon exhausted. Director Marhoul avoided the flashy style of many war films in favor of allowing the story of the young soldiers to be experienced by the audience through the visual depictions of the desert. For his second feature film, an homage to soldiers whose actions were not allowed to be celebrated under the Communist regime, Marhoul received a well deserved praise from critics, audience and the Czech Film Academy – receiving not only Czech Lion awards but also a national nomination for the award of the European Film Academy.
RENÉ (2008) Directed by Helena Třeštíková. This raw authentic documentary film tells the story of René whose life was being captured on camera since he was seventeen. Třeštíková followed his hopeless journey between prison (on a number of sentences mainly for theft) and brief periods outside the prison walls in the director's preferred time-lapse method. In 2008 the film comes to an end, leaving the charismatic now 37-year-old René diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (and high IQ) still getting in trouble with the law, but also as the author of two published books. Sawing the fruits of her long and successful filmmaking career, Třeštíková finally gets the attention on international scene that she deserves – for RENÉ she received Prix Arte from the European Film Academy and also won the Media European Talent Award at Cannes this year for her next project MIRACLE which follows a now 35-years old man already from his birth. NY Premiere! Q&A with Helena Třeštíková.
THE KARAMAZOVS (KARAMAZOVI) (2008) Directed by Petr Zelenka. With Ivan Trojan, Igor Chmela, David Novotný. A Czech theater company travels to Poland to presents its dramatization of Dostoyevski's Brothers Karamazovs at an alternative festival that uses as stage the still functioning steel works. A drama of morality, human nature, conscience, guilt and punishment, reverberates between the stage and real life, in the comical relationships between the actors and the director, and the tragic story of a steel worker that develops in the background. He comes to the ensemble with a special request: to perform the play just for him and so the rehearsal becomes a performance for only one spectator. Suddenly, the biggest drama does not take place on the stage, but in the auditorium. Director and screenwriter Zelenka, one of the most original authors of current Czech cinema, ingeniously weaves the story while allowing the viewer to experience the cast in both, theatrical and film acting on one screen, to much of delight.
I'M ALL GOOD (U MNĚ DOBRÝ) (2008) Directed by Jan Hřebejk. With Miroslav Vladyka, Boleslav Polívka, Jiří Schmitzer. With a delightful caper plot, the trio Šabach (author) Jarchovský (screenwriter) and Hřebejk (director) succeeded yet again at preserving the touch of a not-so-distant past while creating an entertaining comedy. As much as in their past films (Cozy Dens, Pupendo, Up and Down) it's a great opportunity for an ensemble cast. It looks back at the 1990s, when Czechs were taking their first steps in the new and unknown territory of burgeoning capitalism in the country. Six friends, gardeners and fishermen, meet up at a picturesque pub on a river island in Prague. The tranquility of their card games is interrupted when one of them falls victim to conmen at an open-air market. Just like in the old westerns, the friends decide to take the law into their own hands. Thanks to their friendship, bravery, cunning, good luck and above all the worldly-wise and accomplished magician, Mister Class (a.k.a. Mrklas played by Polívka of DIVIDED WE FALL fame), they succeed. New York Premiere!
Read More
Czech Center New York
1989 - WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY
Documentary theatre on the theme of: Freedom! Freedom? Premiere of multimedia project.
“Window of opportunity” is a term used by NASA to describe the complex constellation of conditions during which a rocket can be launched into space. In everyday speech, it means a chance which ought to be ...used, because it may only occur again after a long time. Did we take advantage of our window of opportunity in 1989?
The thematic evening involves a form of documentary theatre that combines a theatrical form with an expert debate. The framework of the evening will be a fictitious live broadcast on RADIO 89 FM. The “broadcast” also incorporates the dramatic comics Kurt and Květa. This stylized performance deals with basic human questions: freedom, betrayal, the feeling of guilt and of being abandoned.
The comics are made up of three parts which take place in 1975, 1989 and 2009. Each part is connected with a debate among politicians, political scientists, historians and sociologists. The discussions will feature questions on the theme of real freedom, simulated freedom, escaping from the past, the connection between the private and political worlds, and the borders between what was “required” under totalitarianism and what was conscious collaboration.
Beside experts, also participating in the project will be university students, who were born in 1989. The students are also co-creators and actors in the theatrical form.
---
Conceived by Jana Svobodová, Tomáš Vrba, Ondřej Hrab
Written by Anna Grusková
Translated by Mike and Tereza Baugh
Directed by Jana Svobodová
Performed by: Eva Hromníková, Philipp Schenker and, in a special appearance for New York only, Will Bond (SITI Company)
Panelists: Martin Palouš (Czech ambassador to the UN, former dissident)
Martin C. Putna (director of the Vaclav Havel Library, writer, student in 1989)
John K. Glenn ( Policy Director at US Global Leadership Coalition, professor at the George Washington University)
Stage actions and discussion with the participation of American students.
Featuring Václav Havel and Jacques Rupnik in video appearances.
The project was created in cooperation with the Václav Havel Library and the Institutes for Contemporary History in Prague and Potsdam, Germany.
The performance is a part of the Performing Revolution in Central and Eastern Europe - A five-month long festival featuring a wide range of performances, exhibitions, film screenings, and symposia throughout New York City November 6, 2009-March 31, 2010 organized by the New York Public Library.
www.performingrevolution.org
Read More
Documentary theatre on the theme of: Freedom! Freedom? Premiere of multimedia project.
“Window of opportunity” is a term used by NASA to describe the complex constellation of conditions during which a rocket can be launched into space. In everyday speech, it means a chance which ought to be ...used, because it may only occur again after a long time. Did we take advantage of our window of opportunity in 1989?
The thematic evening involves a form of documentary theatre that combines a theatrical form with an expert debate. The framework of the evening will be a fictitious live broadcast on RADIO 89 FM. The “broadcast” also incorporates the dramatic comics Kurt and Květa. This stylized performance deals with basic human questions: freedom, betrayal, the feeling of guilt and of being abandoned.
The comics are made up of three parts which take place in 1975, 1989 and 2009. Each part is connected with a debate among politicians, political scientists, historians and sociologists. The discussions will feature questions on the theme of real freedom, simulated freedom, escaping from the past, the connection between the private and political worlds, and the borders between what was “required” under totalitarianism and what was conscious collaboration.
Beside experts, also participating in the project will be university students, who were born in 1989. The students are also co-creators and actors in the theatrical form.
---
Conceived by Jana Svobodová, Tomáš Vrba, Ondřej Hrab
Written by Anna Grusková
Translated by Mike and Tereza Baugh
Directed by Jana Svobodová
Performed by: Eva Hromníková, Philipp Schenker and, in a special appearance for New York only, Will Bond (SITI Company)
Panelists: Martin Palouš (Czech ambassador to the UN, former dissident)
Martin C. Putna (director of the Vaclav Havel Library, writer, student in 1989)
John K. Glenn ( Policy Director at US Global Leadership Coalition, professor at the George Washington University)
Stage actions and discussion with the participation of American students.
Featuring Václav Havel and Jacques Rupnik in video appearances.
The project was created in cooperation with the Václav Havel Library and the Institutes for Contemporary History in Prague and Potsdam, Germany.
The performance is a part of the Performing Revolution in Central and Eastern Europe - A five-month long festival featuring a wide range of performances, exhibitions, film screenings, and symposia throughout New York City November 6, 2009-March 31, 2010 organized by the New York Public Library.
www.performingrevolution.org
Read More
Archa Theatre - performance
Time:7:00PM Tuesday, November 10th
Location:Czech Center New York
Czech Center New York
Rebel Waltz: Underground Music From Behind the Iron Curtain
Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10013
A weekend-long festival featuring Psi Vojaci Czech Republic), Pankrti(Slovenia) Timpuri Noi (Romania)playing on November 6th from 7 pm, and Kontroll Csoport (Hungary), Dezerter (Poland) and Bez Ladu a Skladu... (Slovak Republic) playing on November 7th from 11 pm.
A powerful and historic event celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. All bands will be making their U.S. premieres.
NOTE: No one under 21 years old will be admitted.
Held on the 20th anniversary of the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, Rebel Waltz: Underground Music From Behind the Iron Curtain is a weekend-long music festival featuring Eastern European bands active in the underground music scene behind the Iron Curtain. Forced to play in illegal venues before 1989 and unable to travel, these bands faced oppression and censorship to make their voices heard.
November 6, Friday, from 7PM
Psi Vojaci (Czech Republic)
Bez ladu a skladu (Slovak Republic)
Timpuri Noi (Romania)
November 7, Saturday, from 11PM
Kontroll Csoport (Hungary)
Dezerter (Poland)
Pankrti (Slovenia)
During the 1980s, the music of these bands served as a form of political rebellion, carrying coded messages against oppressive regimes. Twenty years later, the same music is a celebration of a successful movement for change.
All of the Rebel Waltz bands will be making their U.S. premieres for this festival. A historic event you don’t want to miss!
NOTE: No one under 21 years old will be admitted.
Admission: $15
Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/8
Psí vojáci:
Sophisticated and jazzy avant-garde rock with strong punk influences, lead by innovative piano compositions."
Hailing from Prague, Czech Republic, Psí Vojáci was created three decades ago by singer, songwriter and lyricist Filip Topol. Their first performance in 1979 was at the legendary festival Prague Jazz Days, when the band members were hardly over the age of 13. They were immediately registered by Czechoslovakian secret police. The band was prohibited from performing officially, so it appeared only at private underground events. After the democratic changes in Czechoslovakia in 1989, Psí vojáci became a favorite band of local Prague festivals and club scene. Over the years, the band's style as well as the line-up has changed. Since the mid-1980s the band has performed under the name P.V.O. (Psí vojáci osobně) and Prague Juniorklub Na Chmelnici (today Palác Akropolis) became their home venue. They have performed internationally in Hungary, Austria, Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, and the U.S.A. Psí vojáci has also made appearances at foreign festivals such as Eurorock in Belgium (with Jesus And Mary Chain) and Belfort in France (with Carlos Santana). Their songs have been used in several movies (e.g. 'Žiletky' directed by Zdeněk Tyc with Filip Topol appearing in the role of the main character), and scored various works of theater. Psí vojáci's music has its roots in underground and punk, as well as the romantic composers of the late 19th century. Psí vojáci recently celebrated their 20-year anniversary with a sold-out concert at the prestigious Lucerna Grand Hall in Prague.
www.psivojaci.cz
Presented by The Hungarian Cultural Center in collaboration with the Czech Center New York, Polish Cultural Institute, Romanian Cultural Institute New York, the Consulate General of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry of Culture, Republic of Slovenia, and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Rebel Waltz also serves as the opening event for Performing Revolution in Central and Eastern Europe (November 6, 2009 - March 31, 2010), a five-month long festival including the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts’ performing arts exhibition Revolutionary Voices: Performing Arts in Central & Eastern Europe in the 1980s (November 18, 2009 - March 20, 2010
More info: www.performingrevolution.org
Read More
Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10013
A weekend-long festival featuring Psi Vojaci Czech Republic), Pankrti(Slovenia) Timpuri Noi (Romania)playing on November 6th from 7 pm, and Kontroll Csoport (Hungary), Dezerter (Poland) and Bez Ladu a Skladu... (Slovak Republic) playing on November 7th from 11 pm.
A powerful and historic event celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. All bands will be making their U.S. premieres.
NOTE: No one under 21 years old will be admitted.
Held on the 20th anniversary of the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, Rebel Waltz: Underground Music From Behind the Iron Curtain is a weekend-long music festival featuring Eastern European bands active in the underground music scene behind the Iron Curtain. Forced to play in illegal venues before 1989 and unable to travel, these bands faced oppression and censorship to make their voices heard.
November 6, Friday, from 7PM
Psi Vojaci (Czech Republic)
Bez ladu a skladu (Slovak Republic)
Timpuri Noi (Romania)
November 7, Saturday, from 11PM
Kontroll Csoport (Hungary)
Dezerter (Poland)
Pankrti (Slovenia)
During the 1980s, the music of these bands served as a form of political rebellion, carrying coded messages against oppressive regimes. Twenty years later, the same music is a celebration of a successful movement for change.
All of the Rebel Waltz bands will be making their U.S. premieres for this festival. A historic event you don’t want to miss!
NOTE: No one under 21 years old will be admitted.
Admission: $15
Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/8
Psí vojáci:
Sophisticated and jazzy avant-garde rock with strong punk influences, lead by innovative piano compositions."
Hailing from Prague, Czech Republic, Psí Vojáci was created three decades ago by singer, songwriter and lyricist Filip Topol. Their first performance in 1979 was at the legendary festival Prague Jazz Days, when the band members were hardly over the age of 13. They were immediately registered by Czechoslovakian secret police. The band was prohibited from performing officially, so it appeared only at private underground events. After the democratic changes in Czechoslovakia in 1989, Psí vojáci became a favorite band of local Prague festivals and club scene. Over the years, the band's style as well as the line-up has changed. Since the mid-1980s the band has performed under the name P.V.O. (Psí vojáci osobně) and Prague Juniorklub Na Chmelnici (today Palác Akropolis) became their home venue. They have performed internationally in Hungary, Austria, Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, and the U.S.A. Psí vojáci has also made appearances at foreign festivals such as Eurorock in Belgium (with Jesus And Mary Chain) and Belfort in France (with Carlos Santana). Their songs have been used in several movies (e.g. 'Žiletky' directed by Zdeněk Tyc with Filip Topol appearing in the role of the main character), and scored various works of theater. Psí vojáci's music has its roots in underground and punk, as well as the romantic composers of the late 19th century. Psí vojáci recently celebrated their 20-year anniversary with a sold-out concert at the prestigious Lucerna Grand Hall in Prague.
www.psivojaci.cz
Presented by The Hungarian Cultural Center in collaboration with the Czech Center New York, Polish Cultural Institute, Romanian Cultural Institute New York, the Consulate General of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry of Culture, Republic of Slovenia, and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Rebel Waltz also serves as the opening event for Performing Revolution in Central and Eastern Europe (November 6, 2009 - March 31, 2010), a five-month long festival including the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts’ performing arts exhibition Revolutionary Voices: Performing Arts in Central & Eastern Europe in the 1980s (November 18, 2009 - March 20, 2010
More info: www.performingrevolution.org
Read More
Rebel Waltz: Underground Music From Behind the Iron Curtain
Time:7:20PM Friday, November 6th
Location:Le Poisson Rouge
Eduardo Bechara
I just wrote a novel about the samizdat that take place in 1960's Prague, as the thesis of a Master in Creative Writing at Temple University, Philadelphia, U.S.A., and was wondering if somebody that lived in that time period would have the time and will to go over it. I have a Czech nationality as my mother escaped Cze...choslovakia in 1952 and have a couple of books published in Spanish. I can be contacted at: eduardobechara5@gmail.comRead More
Czech Center New York
Opening: Tuesday, November 3, 6:30 pm
The project TRANSFER shows the work of 28 contemporary Czech painters summarizing painting in the Czech Republic in the horizon of the past two decades. The show reflects four significant tendencies in figural painting that depart from the environment of the Prague Academy of Fine A...rts. In its focus are teacher-student relationships engaging in the shifting and transferring of concepts from one generation of painters to another.
Artists:
Alena Anderlová, Karel Balcar, Josef Bolf, Filip Černý, Zdeněk Daněk, Roman Franta, Václav Girsa, Igor Grimmich, Jakub Hošek, Karel Jerie, Marta Kolářová, Igor Korpaczewski, Filip Kudrnáč, Hynek Martinec, Lukáš Miffek, Mikuláš, Jiří Petrbok, Miroslav Polách, Michael Rittstein, Martin Salajka, Zbyněk Sedlecký, Jiří Sopko, Robert Šalanda, Barbora Šlapetová, Jaroslav Valečka
Curators: Michael Rittstein and Kateřina Tučková
Organized by the Czech Center New York and Academy of Fine Arts in Prague.
Supported by the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association and Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York.
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The project TRANSFER shows the work of 28 contemporary Czech painters summarizing painting in the Czech Republic in the horizon of the past two decades. The show reflects four significant tendencies in figural painting that depart from the environment of the Prague Academy of Fine A...rts. In its focus are teacher-student relationships engaging in the shifting and transferring of concepts from one generation of painters to another.
Artists:
Alena Anderlová, Karel Balcar, Josef Bolf, Filip Černý, Zdeněk Daněk, Roman Franta, Václav Girsa, Igor Grimmich, Jakub Hošek, Karel Jerie, Marta Kolářová, Igor Korpaczewski, Filip Kudrnáč, Hynek Martinec, Lukáš Miffek, Mikuláš, Jiří Petrbok, Miroslav Polách, Michael Rittstein, Martin Salajka, Zbyněk Sedlecký, Jiří Sopko, Robert Šalanda, Barbora Šlapetová, Jaroslav Valečka
Curators: Michael Rittstein and Kateřina Tučková
Organized by the Czech Center New York and Academy of Fine Arts in Prague.
Supported by the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association and Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York.
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Exhibtion - A Presentation of the Painting Studios of the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague
Time:6:30PM Tuesday, November 3rd
Location:Czech Center New York
Czech Center New York
The mixed choir ATENEO Palacky University Olomouc was established in 2001 for students interested in choral singing. The choir‘s repertoire covers a wide spectrum, including classical music (from older time periods as well as contemporary works), choral adaptations of folk and popular songs, and also blues, spiritual a...nd gospel compositions.These works are performed either a capella or with instrumental accompaniment. Since it was established, the choir has been conducted by Pavel Rezny, Associate Professor in the Music Department‘s Faculty of Education at Palacky University. Ateneo is comprised of approximately 35 singers between the ages of 18 and 30. Its activities are guaranteed by Palacky University Olomouc with support from the County Borough of Olomouc as well as the Olomouc region. Ateneo performs regularly in concerts in central and northern Moravia and has received top honors in performances abroad as well as international competitions and music festivals in Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, France, Denmark etc. Ateneo cooperates frequently with other musical ensembles including both choirs and chamber orchestras. It has also collaborated with contemporary composers (such as J. Pavlica, A. Tučapský, P. Klapil, R. Pachman, and J. Pospíšil) and participated in the premieres of several compositions (most recently, in the 2008 performance of Antonín Tučapský‘s Missa Clara).
Program:
Pavlica, J.: Velkomoravsky choral
Bortnanskij, D.: Tebe poem
Dvorak, A.: Napadly pisne
Rachmaninov, S.: Bogorodice devo
Stroope, Z. R.: Lamentations of Jeremiah
Lukas, Z.: Lacrymosa
Ruzicka, K.: Our Father
Tucapsky, A.: O vos omnes
Tucapsky, A.: Confitemini Domino
Jackson, R.: Crossin´Ovah
Dvorak, A.: Dyby byla kosa nabrosena
Dvorak, A.: Sipek
Martinu, B.: Chceme my se chceme
Martinu, B.: Bolava hlavenka
Martinu, B.: Pujdeme, pujdeme
Klapil, P.: Daleka seroka
Soupal, J.: Cizmicky moje
Lukas, Z.: Oj, oj, oj
Hrusovský, I.: Zahucali chladne vetry...
Klapil, P.: Kato zlato
Moustaki, G.: Le temps de vivre
Jezek, J.: Ezop a brabenec
Pospisil, J.: V hornom koncu svita
Pospisil, J.: Gde je kostel, tam je fara
Conductor: Pavel Rezny
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Program:
Pavlica, J.: Velkomoravsky choral
Bortnanskij, D.: Tebe poem
Dvorak, A.: Napadly pisne
Rachmaninov, S.: Bogorodice devo
Stroope, Z. R.: Lamentations of Jeremiah
Lukas, Z.: Lacrymosa
Ruzicka, K.: Our Father
Tucapsky, A.: O vos omnes
Tucapsky, A.: Confitemini Domino
Jackson, R.: Crossin´Ovah
Dvorak, A.: Dyby byla kosa nabrosena
Dvorak, A.: Sipek
Martinu, B.: Chceme my se chceme
Martinu, B.: Bolava hlavenka
Martinu, B.: Pujdeme, pujdeme
Klapil, P.: Daleka seroka
Soupal, J.: Cizmicky moje
Lukas, Z.: Oj, oj, oj
Hrusovský, I.: Zahucali chladne vetry...
Klapil, P.: Kato zlato
Moustaki, G.: Le temps de vivre
Jezek, J.: Ezop a brabenec
Pospisil, J.: V hornom koncu svita
Pospisil, J.: Gde je kostel, tam je fara
Conductor: Pavel Rezny
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Mixed choir ATENEO
Time:7:00PM Monday, November 2nd
Location:Czech Center New York at the Bohemian National Hall
Czech Center New York
Doyen of Czech music critics, Jiri Cerny, will present his first music program in New York City. Cerny has been monitoring the music scene since the 1950s. Through his articles, club events, and radio programs, he has been presenting music to generations of Czech music lovers. At present, he regularly presents his own ...music programs on the radio station Praha, occasionally writes articles both about classical and popular music, and organizes club events with music called “Anti-discotheques.”Read More
Lecture & Music
Time:7:00PM Friday, October 30th
Location:Czech Center New York at the Bohemian National Hall
Czech Center New York
Join Lincoln Center in celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution at a retrospective of Czech films from 1989 to the present, plus 60s sidebar.
Works by successive waves of filmmakers reveal the longings and reversals that have brought Czechs together—or torn them apart—in the wake of free-market democrac...y. The totalitarian nightmare ended two decades ago, but private and shared dreams have often proven elusive, and it’s this slippery business that informs our collection and links its complicities and betrayals.
As the title Ironic Curtain suggests, the crack between post-Communist expectation and reality has caught Czech storytellers in its absurdity and made room for irony to thrive. But not without the hallmark humanism that has traditionally velveted their jest. Curated by Laura Blum in collaboration with the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
The Ironic Curtain: Czech Cinema since the Velvet Revolution
October 23-29
The Walter Reade Theater, Film Society of Lincoln Center, 165 W 65th Street, Lincoln Center, Upper Level Plaza
For tickets & more information please visit www.filmlinc.com & www.czechcenter.com
CITIZEN HAVEL / Občan Havel Pavel Koutecký and Miroslav Janek, Czech Republic, 2008; 120m. The private and public life of dissident playwright-turned-president Václav Havel. Fri Oct 23: 6:30pm
DIVIDED WE FALL / Musíme si pomáhat Jan Hřebejk, Czech Republic, 2000; 122m. Humor is rarely blacker than in this boudoir drama set in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. Nominated for an Oscar. Sun Oct 25: 2:20pm; Wed Oct 28: 6:15pm
EMPTIES / Vratné lahve Jan Svĕrák, Czech Republic / UK, 2007; 100m. Following the Oscar-winning Kolya in 1996, father-and-son team Zdenĕk and Jan Svĕrák returned with a bittersweet smash hit. Sat Oct 24: 6:00pm; Wed Oct 28: 2:15pm
THE FERRARI DINO GIRL / Holka Ferrari Dino Jan Nĕmec, Czech Republic, 2009; 68m. Seminal New Wave director Jan Nĕmec’s autobiographical thriller includes his original footage of the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Prague. Don’t miss it. FAMU dean Pavel Jech to introduce. Screening with:
THE KIND REVOLUTION / Nĕžná revoluce Jíří Střecha and Petr Slavík, Czech Republic, 1990; 37m. The first film to document the Velvet Revolution. Q&A with UN Amb. Martin Palouš. Fri Oct 23: 2:00pm; Sun Oct 25: 7:00pm
THE RETURN OF THE IDIOT / Návrat idiota Saša Gedeon, Czech Republic / Germany, 1999; 100m. This loose adaptation of Dostoevsky’s The Idiot follows a wise fool who leaves an asylum and enters the lives of four romantically linked friends.
Q&A with Ana Geislerová. Screening with:
CZECH PEACE / Ceský mir Filip Remunda and Vit Klusák, Czech Republic , 2004; 19m. The merry pranksters behind Czech Dream present a sneak preview of their newest documentary, a pre-war comedy about recent U.S. plans to install a radar base on Czech soil. Sat Oct 24: 8:00pm; Tue Oct 27: 4:00pm
SOME SECRETS / V let Alice Nellis, Czech Republic / Slovakia, 2002; 93m. Personal and political histories intertwine during a family road trip to scatter a patriarch’s ashes over the Czech-Slovak border. Inspired by William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. Singer/actor Iva Bittová to introduce. Sun Oct 25: 4:45pm; Wed Oct 28: 4:15pm
SOMETHING LIKE HAPPINESS / Štĕstí Bohdan Sláma, Czech Republic / Germany, 2005; 102m. Three friends grapple with loneliness and unrequited desires. Q&A with Aňa Geislerová. Fri Oct 23: 9:10pm; Thu Oct 29: 2:15pm
THE KARAMAZOVS / Karamazovi Petr Zelenka, Czech Republic / Poland, 2008; 100m. A Czech theater troupe stages
The Brothers Karamazov like never before, at a Polish steelworks. Q&A with Petr Zelenka. Thu Oct 29: 6:15pm
THE CREMATOR / Spalovač mrtvol Juraj Herz, Czechoslovakia, 1969; 95m. What better way to ring in Halloween than with this creepy black comedy set in a Czech crematorium in the ’30s? A masterwork well worth discovering. Tue Oct 27: 9:00pm
DAISIES / Sedmikrásky Vĕra Chytilová, Czechoslovakia, 1966; 74m. A surrealist romp and a keystone of the Czech New Wave. Michal Bregant, dean of FAMU International, to introduce. Tue Oct 27: 2:15pm; Thu Oct 29: 8:50pm
LOVES OF A BLONDE / Lásky jedné plavovlásky Miloš Forman, Czechoslovakia, 1965; 88m. This gently rebellious satire breaks with Socialist realism to take a Truffaut-esque look at young adult life. Nominated for an Oscar. Screening with:
THE DEATH OF STALINISM IN BOHEMIA / Konec stalinismu v Čechách Jan Švankmajer, UK, 1990; 10m. Working in stop-motion claymation and documentary, the master image-maker surveys Czech history. Fri Oct 23 4:15pm; Wed Oct 28: 8:40pm
VOYAGE TO THE END OF THE UNIVERSE / Ikarie XB 1 Jindric h Polák, Czechoslovakia, 1963; 87m. Czechoslovakia’s maiden foray into sci fi inspired Star Trek and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Sun Oct 25: 9:15pm; Thu Oct 29: 4:20pm
ECSTASY / Extase Gustav Machatý, Czechoslovakia / Austria, 1933; 87m. An unhappily married Eva falls for a seductive young Adam in this “adult” classic that made Hedy Lamarr a succès de scandale prior to Hollywood. Sun Oct 25: 12:30pm.
Opening and Closing Night: Reception to follow, catered by the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden and Pilsner Urquell
COME CELEBRATE THE 20th ANNIVERSARY OF CZECH FREEDOM!
Read More
Join Lincoln Center in celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution at a retrospective of Czech films from 1989 to the present, plus 60s sidebar.
Works by successive waves of filmmakers reveal the longings and reversals that have brought Czechs together—or torn them apart—in the wake of free-market democrac...y. The totalitarian nightmare ended two decades ago, but private and shared dreams have often proven elusive, and it’s this slippery business that informs our collection and links its complicities and betrayals.
As the title Ironic Curtain suggests, the crack between post-Communist expectation and reality has caught Czech storytellers in its absurdity and made room for irony to thrive. But not without the hallmark humanism that has traditionally velveted their jest. Curated by Laura Blum in collaboration with the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
The Ironic Curtain: Czech Cinema since the Velvet Revolution
October 23-29
The Walter Reade Theater, Film Society of Lincoln Center, 165 W 65th Street, Lincoln Center, Upper Level Plaza
For tickets & more information please visit www.filmlinc.com & www.czechcenter.com
CITIZEN HAVEL / Občan Havel Pavel Koutecký and Miroslav Janek, Czech Republic, 2008; 120m. The private and public life of dissident playwright-turned-president Václav Havel. Fri Oct 23: 6:30pm
DIVIDED WE FALL / Musíme si pomáhat Jan Hřebejk, Czech Republic, 2000; 122m. Humor is rarely blacker than in this boudoir drama set in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. Nominated for an Oscar. Sun Oct 25: 2:20pm; Wed Oct 28: 6:15pm
EMPTIES / Vratné lahve Jan Svĕrák, Czech Republic / UK, 2007; 100m. Following the Oscar-winning Kolya in 1996, father-and-son team Zdenĕk and Jan Svĕrák returned with a bittersweet smash hit. Sat Oct 24: 6:00pm; Wed Oct 28: 2:15pm
THE FERRARI DINO GIRL / Holka Ferrari Dino Jan Nĕmec, Czech Republic, 2009; 68m. Seminal New Wave director Jan Nĕmec’s autobiographical thriller includes his original footage of the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Prague. Don’t miss it. FAMU dean Pavel Jech to introduce. Screening with:
THE KIND REVOLUTION / Nĕžná revoluce Jíří Střecha and Petr Slavík, Czech Republic, 1990; 37m. The first film to document the Velvet Revolution. Q&A with UN Amb. Martin Palouš. Fri Oct 23: 2:00pm; Sun Oct 25: 7:00pm
THE RETURN OF THE IDIOT / Návrat idiota Saša Gedeon, Czech Republic / Germany, 1999; 100m. This loose adaptation of Dostoevsky’s The Idiot follows a wise fool who leaves an asylum and enters the lives of four romantically linked friends.
Q&A with Ana Geislerová. Screening with:
CZECH PEACE / Ceský mir Filip Remunda and Vit Klusák, Czech Republic , 2004; 19m. The merry pranksters behind Czech Dream present a sneak preview of their newest documentary, a pre-war comedy about recent U.S. plans to install a radar base on Czech soil. Sat Oct 24: 8:00pm; Tue Oct 27: 4:00pm
SOME SECRETS / V let Alice Nellis, Czech Republic / Slovakia, 2002; 93m. Personal and political histories intertwine during a family road trip to scatter a patriarch’s ashes over the Czech-Slovak border. Inspired by William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. Singer/actor Iva Bittová to introduce. Sun Oct 25: 4:45pm; Wed Oct 28: 4:15pm
SOMETHING LIKE HAPPINESS / Štĕstí Bohdan Sláma, Czech Republic / Germany, 2005; 102m. Three friends grapple with loneliness and unrequited desires. Q&A with Aňa Geislerová. Fri Oct 23: 9:10pm; Thu Oct 29: 2:15pm
THE KARAMAZOVS / Karamazovi Petr Zelenka, Czech Republic / Poland, 2008; 100m. A Czech theater troupe stages
The Brothers Karamazov like never before, at a Polish steelworks. Q&A with Petr Zelenka. Thu Oct 29: 6:15pm
THE CREMATOR / Spalovač mrtvol Juraj Herz, Czechoslovakia, 1969; 95m. What better way to ring in Halloween than with this creepy black comedy set in a Czech crematorium in the ’30s? A masterwork well worth discovering. Tue Oct 27: 9:00pm
DAISIES / Sedmikrásky Vĕra Chytilová, Czechoslovakia, 1966; 74m. A surrealist romp and a keystone of the Czech New Wave. Michal Bregant, dean of FAMU International, to introduce. Tue Oct 27: 2:15pm; Thu Oct 29: 8:50pm
LOVES OF A BLONDE / Lásky jedné plavovlásky Miloš Forman, Czechoslovakia, 1965; 88m. This gently rebellious satire breaks with Socialist realism to take a Truffaut-esque look at young adult life. Nominated for an Oscar. Screening with:
THE DEATH OF STALINISM IN BOHEMIA / Konec stalinismu v Čechách Jan Švankmajer, UK, 1990; 10m. Working in stop-motion claymation and documentary, the master image-maker surveys Czech history. Fri Oct 23 4:15pm; Wed Oct 28: 8:40pm
VOYAGE TO THE END OF THE UNIVERSE / Ikarie XB 1 Jindric h Polák, Czechoslovakia, 1963; 87m. Czechoslovakia’s maiden foray into sci fi inspired Star Trek and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Sun Oct 25: 9:15pm; Thu Oct 29: 4:20pm
ECSTASY / Extase Gustav Machatý, Czechoslovakia / Austria, 1933; 87m. An unhappily married Eva falls for a seductive young Adam in this “adult” classic that made Hedy Lamarr a succès de scandale prior to Hollywood. Sun Oct 25: 12:30pm.
Opening and Closing Night: Reception to follow, catered by the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden and Pilsner Urquell
COME CELEBRATE THE 20th ANNIVERSARY OF CZECH FREEDOM!
Read More
Time:6:30PM Friday, October 23rd
Location:Film festival @ Lincoln Center
RECENT ACTIVITY
Czech Center New York discussed Event Feedback on the Czech Center New York discussion board.
Czech Center New York wrote on Jiří Černý presents Czech Music of 68/89 's Wall.
