Osa Archivum Catalog

Citizen Havel

Summary: Subtitled Scenes from the Presidential Kitchen, the film takes us behind the scenes of the political and private dramas of Václav Havel's years as president. It captures the former dissident in a great variety of situations: both in political negotiations and in moments when he is not usually before the media, for instance cursing the stitching on a shirt. Among the truly unique events captured on film is Bill Clinton's State visit to the Czech Republic in January 1994, including the private part of the visit in the Reduta jazz club in Prague. Other events are the death of Havel's wife Olga and her funeral in January 1996, the celebration of his 60th birthday in the Archa Theatre, Prague, in October 1996, the forming of the new governments after the elections of 1996, 1998, and 2002, and the preparations for, and course of, the historic 2002 NATO Summit in Prague. We see Havel among friends and colleagues, with world and Czech politicians, even with the Rolling Stones. In the course of 13 years the crew has filmed 45 hours of images and recorded 90 hours of sound material. A truly unique look into events in a country’s transition to democracy.

Item Type	Current Location	Call Number	Status	Shelving Location	Public Note
DVD-ROM	OSA Film Library	FL Record 1514	Available	-	-
Digital film	OSA Film Library	FL Record 1514 (HU_OSA_00003147.mp4)	Available		Access Copy, MP4 format