The Way the President Departs

Pavel Kačírek / Czech Republic / 2016 / World Premiere / 51 min.

synopsis

The compilation documentary The Way the President Departstakes us back to the events surrounding the presidential elections in Czechoslovakia in 1992 that led to the dissolution of the federal republic. The film, which uses clips from Czechoslovak Television and Original Videojournal, focuses on the first elections, in which the sole candidate was Václav Havel. It is Havel himself who is the focus of the film. We see primarily his immediate reactions to the changing situation around the elections, whether those intended for the public or expressed within his circle of advisors. In addition to observations of an important Czech politician, the film evokes public life in the 1990s.

“I am sure that for today’s audiences, this behind-the-scenes look at politics will be interesting and stimulating, and they will be surprised at how dramatically the political scene has changed.”

biography

Pavel Kačírek’s (1947) filmography includes primarily films created for television. He made the short portrait film Sen – Fragmenty ze života Záviše Kalandry (1994), the three-part film Preaching At The Fish (1998) about Gustav Mahler, Akta Vladimír Krajina (2011) about resistance fighters from the second World War, and Oskar Nedbal: vzestupy a pády (2014). He also worked on the series Ateliéry (1999) and Pokračování příště (2003).