Events

September 05, 2013, 6:00 PM

The Embassy of the Czech Republic launches the festival with Václav Havel's Evening on September 5, at 6 pm. The program includes the presentation Prison Experience of Václav Havel in Memories and Documents, with special guests Petra Čáslavová (Political Prisoners.eu) and Tomáš Bouška (ASPEN Prague). The screening of Jan Novák's film Citizen Havel Goes on Vacation (Občan Havel jede na dovolenou) follows the presentation. The documentary recreates Václav Havel’s trip across Czechoslovakia in 1985, when he was still the country's most prominent dissident. In the course of one week, he was twice thrown into jail for 48 hours of preventive detention and followed by over 300 plain-clothed policemen. The event will conclude with the opening of the exhibition Olga Havlová: In the Memories of Her Friends and in the Photographs of Bohdan Holomíček (sponsored by ÚSTR Prague and PANT Ostrava). Explore the many nuances of Havel's personality at this very special kick off to the festival. 
Photo © Oldřich Škácha
2004 - Václav Havel gives an interview in a former cell of detention in Bartolomějská street.

 

September 11, 2013, 8:00 PM

The Avalon Theater will screen the documentary Václav Havel, Prague - Castle (Václav Havel, Praha - Hrad) by Czech director Petr Jančárek as part of the Lions of Czech Film Series on September 11, at 8 pm. The documentary takes viewers inside the Castle, presenting an up close and personal portrait of the former President of the Czech Republic. The film also chronicles Havel’s first trips to European countries, the USA and the Soviet Union, as well as the first visits of Pope John Paul II and the Dalai Lama to the former Czechoslovakia. Explore the many layers of Havel's life through this extraordinary documentary.
Photo courtesy of Petr Jančárek

September 12, 2013, 7:00 PM

West End Cinema will feature director Jana Chytilová's documentary The Plastic People of the Universe on September 12, at 7 pm. The documentary takes viewers inside the Castle, presenting an up close and personal portrait of the former President of the Czech Republic. The film also chronicles Havel’s first trips to European countries, the USA and the Soviet Union, as well as the first visits of Pope John Paul II and the Dalai Lama to the former Czechoslovakia. Examine a band that gave new meaning to the underground movement in the former Czechoslovakia and later jammed with U.S. President Clinton at the White House. (Jana Chytilová, 2002, 74 minutes, Czech with English subtitles)
Photo courtesy of the Czech Center in Prague

September 13, 2013, 7:00 PM

On September 13, at 7 pm, the Embassy of the Czech Republic will welcome three prominent theatrical directors, including: Oscar-winning director Jiří Menzel, Czech physical theater actress and director Miřenka Čechová, and U.S. theater director Gail Humphries Mardirosian, for an intimate evening entitled the Directors' Café: Directors' Approach to Havel. Engage in the exploration of theatrical directing from the different viewpoints of each of the directors, as well as get a sneak peek of upcoming shows, while enjoying Czech cuisine, compliments of DC's Capitol Prague Restaurant.
Photo courtesy of the Czech Center in Prague

September 18, 2013, 6:00 PM

The Delegation of the European Union to the United States welcomes Czech actress Miřenka Čechová, who will present her lecture "The Expressive Body" as part of the Delegation’s ongoing series Conversations in Culture on September 18, at 6 pm. During the lecture, Čechová will explore her special approach to movement for dance and the theatre. As an artist who integrates music, technology, visual arts and a variety of technical influences into her work, Čechová will explain how movement interacts and is influenced utilizing demonstrations of her work. The discussion will focus on the body as the actor’s instrument and how the many elements of movement (breath, joints, look, energy, impulse, voice, imagination, ideas, and emotions) are eloquently expressed through the body.
Photo courtesy of Miřenka Čechová

September 18, 2013, 7:00 PM

The festival presents two exciting events taking place back to back at different venues. On September 18, at 6 pm, the Delegation of the European Union will present Czech actress Miřenka Čechová, who will present her lecture "The Expressive Body" as part of the Delegation’s ongoing series Conversations in Culture. At 7 pm, Bistro Bohem will welcome jazz duo Rudy Linka (guitar) and Apollo awardee Christina Prindle (singer) on for a program entitled Love Story - Jazz and Spirituals that Celebrate the Complexity of Love in Music, dedicated to Václav Havel. Learn more about physical theatre with Miřenka Čechová or savor delicious Czech cuisine while grooving to tunes with the outstanding jazz duo.
Photo courtesy of Rudy Linka

September 19, 2013, 12:00 PM

 Fort Fringe-The Shop will screen The Plastic People of the Universe by Jana Chytilová on September 19, at 12 noon. The documentary traces, over a 30-year span, the legendary Czech underground band that became a symbol of the anti-communist struggle of the seventies and eighties. Their arrest and imprisonment contributed to the origin of Charter77, a human rights manifesto. The film utilizes archival footage, musical excerpts, and interviews with the musicians and their friends, including Václav Havel and Lou Reed. Bring your brown bag lunch to this afternoon program exploring a band that changed the course of history.

September 19, 2013, 8:00 PM

Fort Fringe - The Shop will host the jazz duo Rudy Linka (guitarist) and Christina Prindle (singer) on September 19, at 8 pm, in a special evening entitled Love Story - Jazz and Spirituals that Celebrate the Complexity of Love in Music, dedicated to Václav Havel. Linka founded the Bohemian Jazz Festival in the Czech Republic and was ranked amongst the top ten jazz guitarists by readers of DownBeat magazine. Tap your toes to an evening of fun listening to the jazz riffs and runs of this talented duo.
Photo courtesy of Rudy Linka

September 21, 2013, 8:00 PM

The Ambassador Theater presents the Spitfire Company's preview of Antiwords, directed by  Petr Boháč and performed by prominent Czech physical theater actresses Miřenka Čechová and Jindřiška Křivánková in the Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint on September 21, at 8 pm. The new work draws inspiration from the works of Václav Havel, especially his play Audience and its legendary film adaptation, in which the role of the brewer was played by Landovský with his ability to drink nine pints of beer while in character. Aside from the two actors, major roles are played by oversized heads authored by sculptor Paulina Skavova, and by Sivan Eldar's music composed specifically for this performance. Under communism, Havel’s plays were banned in theaters; therefore, his work was performed in the living rooms, barns, pubs, and other unexpected places, which was often called “apartment theater.” In the intimate space of Flashpoint, enjoy this very special “apartment style” theater preview.
Photo courtesy of Michal Hančovský

September 22, 2013, 2:00 PM

The Ambassador Theater presents the Spitfire Company's preview of Antiwords, directed by  Petr Boháč and performed by prominent Czech physical theater actresses Miřenka Čechová and Jindřiška Křivánková in the Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint on September 22, at 2 pm. The new work draws inspiration from the works of Václav Havel, especially his play Audience and its legendary film adaptation, in which the role of the brewer was played by Landovský with his ability to drink nine pints of beer while in character. Aside from the two actors, major roles are played by oversized heads authored by sculptor Paulina Skavova, and by Sivan Eldar's music composed specifically for this performance. Under communism, Havel’s plays were banned in theaters; therefore, his work was performed in the living rooms, barns, pubs, and other unexpected places, which was often called “apartment theater.” In the intimate space of Flashpoint, enjoy this very special “apartment style” theater preview.
Photo courtesy of Miřenka Čechová

September 24, 2013, 8:00 PM

The Alliance for New Music-Theatre will open The Václav Havel Project, comprised of the performances of Václav Havel’s Unveiling, directed by Miřenka Čechová, and Spitfire Company’s new original work Antiwords (US premiere), directed by Petr Boháč and performed by prominent Czech physical theater actresses Miřenka Čechová and Jindřiška Křivánková, at the Atlas Performing Arts Center on September 24, at 8 pm. Both of the one-act plays draw inspiration from Václav Havel's famous "Vaněk" plays. This project is part of a larger series of new music-theatre works, Radical Transformations, that through word, dance and music tell the stories of individuals and cultures caught in political, social, and personal transition. Share in an evening of powerful theater performed by talented Czech and American actors.
Photo courtesy of Michal Hančovský

September 25, 2013, 8:00 PM

The Alliance for New Music-Theatre will present The Václav Havel Project, comprised of the performances of Václav Havel’s Unveiling, directed by Miřenka Čechová, and Spitfire Company’s new original work Antiwords (US premiere), directed by Petr Boháč and performed by prominent Czech physical theater actresses Miřenka Čechová and Jindřiška Křivánková, at the Atlas Performing Arts Center on October 24, at 8 pm. Both of the one-act plays draw inspiration from Václav Havel's famous "Vaněk" plays. This project is part of a larger series of new music-theatre works, Radical Transformations, that through word, dance and music tell the stories of individuals and cultures caught in political, social, and personal transition. Share in an evening of powerful theater with talented Czech and American actors.
Photo courtesy of the Czech Centre in Prague

September 26, 2013, 12:00 PM

Fort Fringe - The Shop will screen director Jan Novák's documentary Citizen Havel Is Rolling Barrels (Občan Havel přikuluje) on September 26, at 12 noon. In 1974, banned playwright Václav Havel worked in a brewery so that he would not be accused of social parasitism. He ended up rolling barrels and filtering beer for nearly a year even though he drove a Mercedes to work. His experiences started him down a new path in writing. He wrote his first autobiographical play Audience, in a single night. The film relates stories of the genesis, the productions and the cultural reverberations of Havel’s influential one-act. Bring your brown bag lunch, as you watch this documentary giving insight into the early life and works of Václav Havel. 
Photo courtesy of the Czech Center in Prague
 

September 26, 2013, 8:00 PM

Fort Fringe - The Shop will feature acclaimed Czech physical theater actress and director Miřenka Čechová in a theatrical demonstration of her original performance Antiwords inspired by Václav Havel’s Audience on September 26, at 8 pm. During her demonstration, she will decode the theatrical language shw is using, present sequences of her work with commentary, as well as perform a major part of the theatrical work Antiwords. Enjoy an evening with the director as she shares her experience and insight into the nuances of physical theater.  
 

September 29, 2013, 4:00 PM

The Trinity Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Richard Fazio, will perform the world premiere of Life in Truth (Život v pravdě) by composer Joseph Santo on September 29, at 4 pm, at the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. Santo, a professor from the Catholic University of America, composed the piece using words from Václav Havel’s riveting speech to the joint session of Congress on February 21, 1990, following the collapse of the communist regime and the Velvet Revolution. The program also includes Antonín Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances and Leoš Janáček’s Lachain Dances. Enjoy an afternoon of inspiring music celebrating the vibrant spirit of Václav Havel.
Photo courtesy of the Trinity Chamber Orchestra

September 30, 2013, 7:30 PM

The U.S. Army Concert Band, conducted by Colonel Thomas H. Palmatier, and members of the Cathedral Choral Society, under the direction of Maestro J. Reilly Lewis, will present a musical tribute to the late Czech President Václav Havel in the program The Power of the Human Spirit at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on September 30, at 7:30 pm. The program is dedicated to the legacy of the late president with majestic pieces such as Janáček’s Sinfonietta: Fanfare, Glagolitic Mass: Organ Solo, Otčenaš (Our Father), featuring tenor soloist, Staff Sergeant Matthew Heil; and Dvořák’s Mass in D major, Op. 86: Sanctus and Benedictus. The program is an artistic reflection of two key historical events embodied in the work of Czech composers including Karel Husa’s multi-movement masterpiece Music for Prague, composed after Prague Spring (1968), and Petr Eben’s Prague Te Deum, created during the time of the Velvet Revolution (1989). Share in an evening of Czech classical music performed by some of America’s best artists.
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army Concert Band

October 02, 2013, 3:00 PM

Georgetown University, in collaboration with the Embassy of the Czech Republic, the Václav Havel Library, and American Friends of the Czech Republic, will present a panel discussion in Gaston Hall on October 2, at 3 pm, followed by the dedication of Václav Havel's Place and reception in the Alumni Square, honoring the late Czech President, playwright, and human rights advocate – Václav Havel. Guest speakers will include former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Professor Tomáš Haĺik from Charles University in Prague. The dedication will feature the planting of a linden tree, the national tree of the Czech Republic, as well as a bench designed by Havel's court architect Bořek Šípek. Havel’s widow Dagmar Havlová will cut the ribbon opening the site. American artist Suzanne Vega, a friend of Václav Havel, will perform her new song Horizon, inspired by the President. Georgetown was one of the first places that Havel visited after coming to the U.S. in 1990, following the revolution that brought freedom to the nation. "I wanted to visit students because students played a very important role in our Velvet Revolution," Havel said. Join us in honoring Havel through this very special living memorial in Washington, DC.
Photo © Tomki Němec
February 1990, United States. - Václav Havel gives his historic speech at the U.S. Congress.

October 03, 2013, 6:00 PM

Executive Director of People in Need, Šimon Pánek, will give a presentation on the humanitarian organization and its activities at the Czech Embassy on October 3, at 6 pm. People in Need’s (PIN) mission, which serves very close to Václav Havel’s vision, focuses on providing aid to crisis areas and supporting adherence to human rights around the world. A tool for People in Need’s activities is the One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, one of the largest film festivals in the world. The event includes the screening of the documentary Motherland or Death (Patria o muerte). Using Cuban cities as the backdrop to personal stories, renowned documentary director Vitaly Mansky depicts the complexity of contemporary Cuba. The Young Professionals in Foreign Policy will partner with the Czech Embassy on this event.
Photo courtesy of One World

October 04, 2013, 6:00 PM

Documentary director Petr Jančárek will present his latest film project tentatively titled HavelMovie at the Czech Embassy on October 4, at 6 pm. In 2009, the former Czech President Václav Havel offered Jančárek the opportunity to document his life. During the last three years of Havel’s life, unique material was created that captured both public and private activities of a world-renown figure. Explore a very personal view of Havel with the director himself. (Petr Jančárek, 2013, 90 minutes, Czech with English subtitles) 

October 05, 2013, 2:00 PM

Notice: The National Gallery of Art will be closed on Saturday due to the Government shutdown. Therefore, the screening mentioned below will not be taking place.  Please stay posted for any additional updates.

The National Gallery of Art opens a special film program entitled "The Play's the Thing:" Václav Havel, Art and Politics on October 5, at 2 pm, with screenings of The Uninvited Guest, and Every Man, followed The Mist and A Report on Party and Guests at 4:30 pm. Honor the 77th anniversary of Havel's birth through this program delving into the nuances of his extraordinary life.
Photo courtesy of the Czech Center in Prague
 

October 08, 2013, 7:00 PM

Czech documentary director Petr Jančárek will screen his documentary Václav Havel, Prague - Castle (Václav Havel, Praha - Hrad) at West End Cinema on October 8, at 7 pm. The film presents a window into the life of the former President of the Czech Republic. Interviews with Havel, his advisors and staff, as well as Madeleine Albright and others, tell the story of a truly unique period in the history of the former Czechoslovakia and the complex personality of the former President, who suddenly went from being a dissident to becoming the head of a free democratic state. A Q&A session with director Petr Jančárek follows the screening.
Photo courtesy of Petr Jančárek

October 09, 2013, 8:00 PM

Czech director Petr Jančárek will screen the documentary Václav Havel, Prague - Castle II. (Václav Havel, Praha - Hrad II.) at the Avalon Theater as part of the Lions of Czech Film Series on October 9, at 8 pm. The film explores the events between Havel's oath of office in December 1989 and the dissolution of Czechoslovaka in 1992. A Q&A session with the director follows the screening.  
Photo courtesy of Petr Jančárek

October 11, 2013, 12:30 PM

We regret to inform you that due to the government shutdown this event has been canceled.

The National Gallery of Art will screen The Heart above the Castle on October 11, at 12:30 pm, in the East Building Auditorium as part of the film program entitled "The Play's the Thing:" Václav Havel, Art and Politics. In the documentary, Václav Havel takes director Jan Němec behind the scenes of the NATO Summit in Prague 2002. Going into areas normally inaccessible, the film brings the formal world of the politician and the international grandeur of NATO into the everyday rhythms and quirks of humankind. Delve into the life of a man who went from being a dissident to president overnight.
Photo © Tomki Němec

October 12, 2013, 2:00 PM

We regret to inform you that due to the government shutdown this event has been canceled.

The National Gallery of Art will screen the films Joseph Kilian and Who Is Václav Havel... on October 12 at 2 pm, followed by And the Beggar's Opera Again at 4 pm, in the East Building Auditorium as part of the film program entitled "The Play's the Thing:" Václav Havel, Art and Politics. Delve into the life of a man who went from being a dissident to president overnight.
Photo © Tomki Němec

October 13, 2013, 4:00 PM

We regret to inform you that due to the government shutdown this event has been canceled.

The National Gallery of Art will screen Havel's directorial debut Leaving (Odcházení) on October 13, at 4 pm, in the East Building Auditorium as part of the film program "The Play's the Thing:" Václav Havel, Art and Politics. In 2008, Havel returned to the theater with a new play, Leaving, in which an ex-government official tries to reenter his former life. His film version premiered shortly before his death in December 2011. As the action unfolds on a rural estate, comparisons to Havel’s own life become clear.
Photo courtesy of the Czech Center in Prague

October 14, 2013, 7:00 PM

CANCELLATION: Due to the government shutdown, this event has been cancelled. Representatives from the Václav Havel Library had expected to be in Washington in connection to the screenings at the National Gallery of Art.

Executive Director of the Václav Havel Library, Marta Smolíková, will present an inside look at the prestigious presidential library during a presentation at the Czech Embassy on October 14, at 7 pm. The Václav Havel Library functions as a center for the documentation and research of modern Czech history, with an emphasis on promoting the ideas and works of Havel: playwright, fighter against totalitarianism, leader of the 1989 Velvet Revolution, Czechoslovak and Czech president, and a symbol of vigilance against despotism. The event includes the opening of the photo exhibition Genius Loci Hrádeček by Bohdan Holomíček. The exhibition presents a personal view inside the life of Havel at his cottage in the village of Hrádeček. Learn more about this unique library in the heart of Europe and see Havel through the eyes of a beloved friend.
Photo © Oldřich Škácha
Václav Havel and his wife Dagmar with U.S. President Barack Obama

October 25, 2013, 12:00 PM

The Library of Congress will screen director Helena Třeštíková’s Sweet Century (Sladké století) in the Pickford Theater on October 25, at 12 noon. The film presents a portrait of several remarkable Czech women, who endured harsh imprisonment under a communist dictatorship, which Václav Havel stood against. Their stories of the horrors of communist prisons are intercut with old propaganda films and archival footage. The film won the award for best documentary at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 1998.

October 29, 2013, 12:00 PM

The Library of Congress will screen documentary director Helena Třeštíková film Hitler, Stalin, and I (Hitler, Stalin a já) in the Pickford Theater on October 29, at 12 noon. The film delves into the life story of Heda Margoliová-Kovalyová, who survives Nazi concentration camps. Her husband then became Secretary of Trade, but was executed during the communist purges in the 1950s. The film explores two of the major totalitarian regimes of the 20th century in which Havel lived during his life. 

October 31, 2013, 7:00 PM

The Embassy of the Czech Republic with the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy conclude the Mutual Inspirations Festival with a '70s-themed Peace Out Party on October 31, at 7 pm! Václav Havel’s first wife Olga Havlová used to throw her own theme parties every summer in celebration of her birthday at their cottage in the village of Hrádeček. Get your funkiest bell bottoms on and come and groove to '70s music as you remember those of the Czech underground movement who helped change a nation.

November 19, 2013, 8:00 PM

The Ambassador Theater will present Protest by Václav Havel and directed by Gail Humphries Mardirosian in the Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint from November 20-December 15, with a preview performance on November 19. In the play, Vaněk meets a friend upon returning from prison and gets involved in a campaign against the government calling for changes in the country. In this unique interpretation, the two male characters of Staněk and Vaněk have counter egos – characters echoed in two females, emphasizing the universality of the characters.
Photo courtesy of Anthony Brenneman