Festival Kicks Off!

A full house packed the Czech Embassy for the launch of the Mutual Inspirations Festival in a special evening entitled Václav Havel's Evening on September 5, at 6 pm. Petra Čáslavová (Political Prisoners.eu) and Tomáš Bouška (ASPEN Prague) presented the Prison Experience of Václav Havel in Memories and Documents. They engaged the audience with short video clips from Havel's brother Ivan and others, read short excerpts from Havel's works such as Letters to Olga, revealed pictures of his time as a dissident and gave context to his life during his years in prison. Representatives from ÚSTR Prague and the PANT Civic Initiative opened the exhibition Olga Havlová: In the Memories of Her Friends and in the Photographs of Bohdan Holomíček, an intimate selection of photographs of the former First Lady of the Czech Republic. Guests received festival t-shirts, savored a delicious brew of Pilsner Urquell and enjoyed goulash before the screening of Jan Novák's film Citizen Havel Goes on Vacation (Občan Havel jede na dovolenou), which concluded the event. The documentary perfectly complemented the evening, showing an inside look at Havel's life while he was surveilled by the communist regime. The spirit of Havel was certainly present in an evening of celebration and remembrance.