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Events
Festival Launch & Exhibition Opening: The Good 100
September 06, 2018, 6:00 PM
The Embassy of the Czech Republic will launch the Mutual Inspirations Festival 2018 – Czech Independence with the opening of the exhibition, The Good 100 on September 6, 2018, at 6 pm. The last century has seen its ups and too many tumultuous downs as the Czech people struggled for self-determination and democracy in the heart of Europe. To reflect on the positive moments and events in each of the one hundred years, the students of Media and Didactic Illustration at the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art from the University of West Bohemia, under the leadership of professor and acclaimed author Renáta Fučíková, have created an intriguing, visual exhibit. The illustrated and educational display demonstrates momentous, good moments of groundbreaking discoveries, artistic creation, incredible achievements, and vibrant life.
Film & Beer: Cosy Dens
September 18, 2018, 7:00 PM
Bistro Bohem will screen the film Cosy Dens (Pelíšky) on September 18, 2018, at 7 pm, as part of the ongoing Film and Beer Series. Set during Christmas 1967, two neighboring families stand on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Mr. Šebek is a loyal supporter of the regime, while Mr. Kraus, a decorated World War II resistance fighter and Czech nationalist, is staunchly anti-Soviet. The two men argue incessantly while their wives try to keep the peace. Meanwhile, the Šebek's teenage son becomes infatuated with the Kraus's daughter. She, though, has a crush on a teenager who has long hair, loves the Beatles, and wears American boots. Treat yourself to this classic early film of acclaimed director Jan Hřebejk.
Theatre: The Good and the True
September 20, 2018, 4:00 PM
Svanda Theatre, one of the Czech Republic's top theatre companies, will perform The Good and the True, a play about two Holocaust survivors, directed by Daniel Hrbek at Georgetown University in the Devine Studio Theatre on September 20, 2018, at 4 pm and 7:30 pm, as part of the series Four Plays from Prague. "A remarkable piece of verbatim theatre" (Yorkshire Evening Post), this play weaves together testimonies of two Auschwitz survivors who led similarly extraordinary lives, but never actually met: Athlete Miloš Dobrý and actress Hana Pravda.
Theatre: Protest/The Debt
September 21, 2018, 8:00 PM
Svanda Theatre will perform Protest/The Debt on September 21, 2018 at 8 pm, and September 22, 2018, at 4 pm, in the Davis Center's Devine Theatre at Georgetown University as part of the theatre series Four Plays from Prague. What happens when two writers meet - one who is not allowed to write and the other who writes whatever he wants? What if the first one has a surprising proposal for the second one? And what if the two of them meet years later when they can write freely but it is not working? Brilliant Václav Havel´s dialogue is confronted with the dramatic attempt of a debuting author.
Theatre: Protest/The Debt
September 22, 2018, 4:00 PM
Svanda Theatre will perform Protest/The Debt on September 21, 2018 at 8 pm, and September 22, 2018, at 4 pm, in the Devine Theatre at Georgetown University as part of the theatre series Four Plays from Prague. What happens when two writers meet - one who is not allowed to write and the other who writes whatever he wants? What if the first one has a surprising proposal for the second one? And what if the two of them meet years later when they can write freely but it is not working? Brilliant Václav Havel´s dialogue is confronted with the dramatic attempt of a debuting author.
Theatre: Pankrác '45
September 22, 2018, 8:00 PM
Svanda Theatre will perform the play Pankrác '45 on September 22, 2018, at 8 pm, in the Davis Center's Gonda Theatre, at Georgetown University. Casting for an execution...Based on the real-life incarceration of five women in the Pankrác Prison during a time of post-WWII national cleansing in Czechoslovakia, this story explores the relativity of guilt, responsibility for one's actions, and the struggle to survive within the machinery of history.
Theatre: Pankrác '45
September 23, 2018, 2:00 PM
Svanda Theatre will perform the play Pankrác '45 on September 23, 2018, at 2 pm, in the Davis Center's Gonda Theatre at Georgetown University. Casting for an execution...Based on the real-life incarceration of five women in the Pankrác Prison during a time of post-WWII national cleansing in Czechoslovakia, this story explores the relativity of guilt, responsibility for one's actions, and the struggle to survive within the machinery of history.
Film: In the Intense Now
September 29, 2018, 2:30 PM
The National Gallery of Art will present the Washington premiere of director João Moreira Salles’s new cine-essay In the Intense Now, in the East Building Auditorium introduced by Michael Kraus on September 29, 2018, at 2:30 pm. The film combines anonymous archival footage and reflective voice-over to survey the societal chaos of the late 1960s. More importantly, however, In the Intense Now is a poetic experiment in the communication between personal history and global events, as Salles mixes tourist footage recorded by his own mother on her trip to China at the start of the 1966 Cultural Revolution with found footage of rebellion from May 1968 recorded in France, Czechoslovakia, and Brazil. As Salles himself states: “We don’t always know what we’re filming.” “An ode to inadvertent cinematic archives, which harbor the gift of accidental revelation” — Diego Semerene.
Photo courtesy of Icarus Films
Millennium Stage: Karolína Syrovátková
September 30, 2018, 6:00 PM
Internationally recognized Czech pianist Karolína Syrovátková, called "a true poet of the piano" (ABQ Review) will perform a solo concert of composers Suk, Janáček, Fibich, and Kaprálová at the Kennedy Center Millenium Stage on September 30, 2018, at 6 pm. She is known for her innovative approach to performing, in which she combines her pianistic and dramatic talents to create shows about great composers. Syrovátková is the winner of several international competitions including the North London and the Sidney M. Wright Presidential Competition. Relax in a memorable evening at the Kennedy Center with the gifted pianist.
Exhibition: Czechs and Slovaks on Their Difficult Road to Peace and Independence
October 04, 2018, 5:00 PM
The Wilson Center, in collaboration with the Embassy of the Czech Republic and the Embassy of the Slovak Republic, commemorates the centennial anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia with a lecture and opening of the exhibit Czechs and Slovaks on Their Difficult Road to Peace and Independence on October 4, 2018, at 4 pm.
Lions of Czech Film: Family Friend
October 10, 2018, 8:00 PM
The Avalon Theater will screen the dramatic film Family Friend (Rodinný přítel) on October 10, at 8 pm. Set in the early 40s during German occupation, three brothers covertly working for the Czech resistance are discovered and sent to Nazi concentration camps. Their wives and children await their return, residing together in one house. A family friend/doctor named Jiří watches over them. Over time, he falls in love with one of the women. The film tells a story of forbidden love that remains unfulfilled, friendship, desire, departures and returns. It is the first part of director Jan Hřebejk’s Garden Store trilogy (Zahradnictví), also comprised of the films Deserter (Dezertér) and Suitor (Nápadník). The Prague Reporter calls the film “...a first-rate production that ranks right alongside Hřebejk and Jarchovský's finest work.” Enjoy an evening of exceptional filmmaking at the Avalon Theatre.
Conference: From Masaryk to Havel and Beyond: The Struggle for Democracy
October 18, 2018, 10:00 AM
The Embassy of the Czech Republic will hold a prestigious conference, From Masaryk to Havel and Beyond: The Struggle for Democracy, with keynote speaker former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC, on October 18, 2018, at 10 am.
Film: The Oddsockeaters
October 21, 2018, 1:00 PM
The Embassy of the Czech Republic, in collaboration with The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, invites you to a special screening of the animated family adventure Oddsockeaters with director Galina Miklínová on October 21, at 1 pm. Following the screening at 3:15 pm, a limited number of children accompanied by an adult can also attend a workshop to make an Oddsockeater. Registration for both events is required.
Millennium Stage: Martina Fišerová - Jazz Shift
October 22, 2018, 6:00 PM
Prague-born singer/musician Martina Fišerová introduces her original songs meshing harmonic sophistication with unpretentious and personal expression on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage on October 22, at 6 pm. Fišerová has performed with artists at jazz festivals and venues across Europe, as well as Taiwan and Vietnam. As a singer and lyricist, she collaborated on the album These People by renowned Czech bassist Jaryn Janek. In 2012, she released her spontaneously recorded debut jazz CD Clearing Fields, featuing Grammy-nominated hammond organ player Brian Charette. Her latest album Shift puts her mark on the NYC arts scene, created in Europe and the US. Unwind with this exceptional artist at the Kennedy Center.
Concert: Czech Philharmonic
October 29, 2018, 8:00 PM
The Czech Philharmonic, the Czech Republic's premier orchestra, returns to DC for the first time under its new music director, Semyon Bychkov, for a signature program featuring Antonín Dvořák's triumphant Seventh Symphony and a rarely heard work by the 20th-century composer Luboš Fišer on October 29, 2018, at 8 pm, in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Soloist Alisa Weilerstein will perform her "raptly passionate account" (Sunday Times) of the Dvořák Cello Concerto. Relish in an evening listening to this renowned orchestra as part of the 100th anniversary of Czech independence.
Concert: Prague Philharmonic Children's Choir
October 30, 2018, 7:30 PM
The Prague Philharmonic Children’s Choir, one of the most prestigious choirs in the Czech Republic, performs a special selection of Czech and international classics in celebration of 100 years of Czech independence at the Washington National Cathedral on October 30, 2018, at 7:30 pm. The touring choir, ranging in age from 12-18, has performed throughout the world and brings exceptional young talent to the heart of Washington. Among the choir's greatest achievements are appearances at La Scala (Milan), Carnegie Hall (New York), Tchaikovsky Hall (Moscow). The choir will feature such beloved songs as Dvořák’s Ave Maria, Schubert's Psalm XXII, and Bernstein's Gloria Tibi. Share in an evening of angelic voices in tribute to the centennial.
Lecture: Zlín Animation
November 08, 2018, 6:00 PM
Animation opens the door to the realm of fantasy and possibilities. What may seem impossible becomes reality with the vision of an imaginative creator. Lukáš Gregor, head of the Department of Animation at Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Czech Republic, presents an intimate look inside the animator’s studio. He will showcase a colorful selection of student animated exercises and films on November 8, 2018, at 6 pm, at the Embassy of the Czech Republic. Journey into the fascinating world of animation with us at the Czech Embassy.
Millennium Stage: Pavlína Horáková
November 11, 2018, 6:00 PM
Czech mezzo-soprano Pavlína Horáková and her guests Camilla Mraz (piano), Drew Spradlin (piano), Alcorn Ferguson Minor IV (guitar and voice) and Nikita Borisevich (violin) take the audience on a musical journey exploring all matters of the heart that have inspired Czech and Slovak music for centuries at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage on November 11, at 6 pm. Fall in love with Czech and Slovak folk songs, Janáček, Dvořák, Martinů and the rarely performed Figůš-Bystrý and Schneider-Trnavsky. Admission is free.
Film: Those Wonderful Years that Sucked
November 20, 2018, 7:00 PM
Bistro Bohem will screen the smash hit "Those Wonderful Years that Sucked" (Bájecná léta pod psa) on November 20, 2018, at 7 pm. The dark comedy, adapted from a novel by Michal Viewegh, chronicles the life of a Czech family from the 1960s to just after the Velvet Revolution.
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