1968 – Betrayal

Colour, DIGIBETA
Czech Republic, 2008, 52 min
IP – International premiere
Section: Documentary Films - Out of Competition

Synopsis

The second part of the series devoted to the Prague Spring charts the fundamental events which took place during the years 1968–1969. After the leaders of the Czechoslovak Communist Party returned from Moscow, opinions were voiced that the future of the country depended on its ties with the Soviet Union. After hope was steamrolled by the Soviet tanks, the betrayed country once again began living in an atmosphere of fear, lies and hypocrisy. The nation was roused from its profound lethargy only by the death of Jan Palach, the first of the “human torches”. After his burial and after the bloody suppression of the demonstrations on the first anniversary of the occupation, the era of timeless normalisation began.

About the director

Viktor Polesný has also directed made-for-TV films and productions in addition to his many television documentaries and two series. Foremost among them are Traces in Glass (1986), Faust (1988), Imaginary Portrait (1990), Divertimento (1991), Snake Eyes (1993), A Theatre Novel (1994) based on M. Bulgakov, and an adaptation of Franz Werfel’s Class Reunion (2000). His film version of D. H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1998) won a number of awards at TV festivals. Three years ago he made his feature-film debut with an adaptation of Vladimír Páral’s Lovers and Murderers.