Discoveries from Czechoslovakia World Cinema

Svatopluk Innemann’s film Be Prepared! presents the early Czech boy scout movement through a simple narrative. The film extols the virtues of hard work, honor and cooperation just as it displays the fun of wilderness exploration, group cohesion and outdoor leisure. Troop 30 visits numerous historic locations on their travels, such as Orlík Castle and St John’s Rapids.

As a peasant cultivates his land, he pulls technological progress from out of a molehill: railways, highways, mechanization... The fertile lands will be buried under the merciless pressure of technological progress until they become an urban jungle.

The fantastic world of little Thomas, who conjured up beauty and happiness.

In Transcarpathia, Prince Laborets wields a divine ring that ensures his land’s peace and prosperity. Ambitious Hungarian Zoltan seizes the ring after defeating Laborets, unleashing centuries of oppression. Generations later, Prince Fedir Koryatovych leads a revolt to reclaim freedom and restore the ring’s legacy.

An episode of the children's series about a little Mole. This story tells how the little Mole chased a cuckoo living in a wooden clock booth.

A concert by the legendary composer and singer-songwriter in the auditorium of the University of Agriculture in Prague after his return from exile. This was Krylov's third visit to the free Czechoslovakia, where the legendary singer-songwriter spoke about his visit to Slovakia, where he met people in small foothill villages and in the Tatra Mountains.

Promotional film about the benefits of joint farming in unified agricultural cooperatives in Slovakia.

This film is a playful depiction of the festivities around the performance If All Trains of the World by Alex Mlynárčik on June 12, 1971. Deň radosti shows Hanák using the 'inter-genre' style of documentary which made his feature film Obrazy stareho sveta (1971) a masterpiece. Still photography, live action, interviews, old etchings and archive footage of old train journeys are skilfully blended to create a sympathetic and humorous portrait of the romance of an old steam train and the joy of artists and the general public in participating in this children's game for adults. Once again, the avant-garde is imaginatively used to eulogise over traditional values and the past. Deň radosti is important not just for the considerable pleasure it brings; it is the first of a series of films in which artists use film to document happenings. (http://www.ce-review.org/kinoeye/kinoeye3old.html)

A South Bohemian cantorial romance about the search for human happiness.

Documentary about dam rupture.

A satirical look at today's times.

Animated felt figures tell the story of a barnyard full of animals and their faithful watchdog.