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Shortly after the nominations, the Czech document named Rene won the main prize. This document, directed by Helena Trestikova, was portraying a Czech criminal Rene Plasil. It was the first Czech winner of the European Film Academy.

Rene was so successful that it also defeated its Czech opponent Obcan Havel (Citizen Havel) - recently played in Minnesota on 10/07 and London Film Festival on 10/22 and 10/26, and Muz na Lane (Man on the Rope) - the winner of this year’s Karlovy Vary festival. This was a big surprise for everybody, even for Helena Trestikova, since the nominations for this “European Oscar” were only announced last week.

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Clanek v CESTINE dole.

It is hard to live abroad and speak a second language. We do speak English at home but sometimes we just miss watching Czech and Slovak movies or reading books and periodicals that our family members bring over during their visits. We were also very happy when we found out that we could also find some very priceless pieces of Czechoslovak history right here in the United States.

One of the places where you can find Czech and Slovak publications is The University of Chicago Library. Their Archives of Czechs and Slovaks Abroad (ACASA) consist of several thousands of books, brochures, almanacs, periodicals, and personal papers of Czechs and Slovaks, who have lived outside of Czechoslovakia for a while. Most of them were published in North America in the past 150 years. Their collection, however, also includes titles originating in Western Europe, Australia, or South America.

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Our October calendar lists all activities for Czechs and Slovaks around the world. One of them is a concert of a Czech band called Plastic People of the Universe (PPU). We have to admit, at the time we were preparing our calendar of events, we did not know the band or its contribution to the freedom of all Czech and Slovak citizens.

A couple of days ago we decided to find articles about the band and to watch their video clips. What we found was great music and a remarkable life story of their pride and resistance to the Czechoslovakian Communist party.

The band was formed by bassist Milan Hlavsa right after the Soviet invasion on August 21^st, 1968 in attempts to stop the Prague Spring, a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia. The name was taken from Frank Zappa’s song entitled Plastic People. The same year Russians initiated a “normalization” program to reestablish moral and social behavior to make it more appropriate for a Communist country.

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Christmas time is always special in the Czech Republic. You can watch many great Czech comedies, family movies, or fairy tales. Many new fairy tales are purposely premiered on Christmas Eves. This year, Czechs will have a chance to see a new fairy tale musical, this time on New Year’s Eve, which is also featuring one unforgettable celebrity of American fables - Tami Stronach.

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We update our Events regularly; thus, for more recent updates, go to our page “Events (Akce)” or CLICK HERE.

Pro informace v CESTINE, kontaktujte CzechFolks (e-mail nebo komentar dole).

NOTE: Our Meetup Schedules are listed below. For more details about Czech Meetups CLICK HERE.

Concerts:

Jaromir Nohavica - details in October Schedule below

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During the communist regime, many great Czechoslovak movies were isolated from the rest of the world or were destroyed. Today, Czech filmmakers have freedom to create their work of art without being afraid of censorship. Czech movies are viewed around the world receiving admirations and prizes. The new movie, called The Karamazovs, was selected by the Czech Film and Television Academy (CFTA) for the best non-English speaking film.

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Clanek v CESTINE dole.

A couple of days ago I introduced to you a new Czech national anthem composed by Varhan O. Bauer. Little did I know there will be more of them created for other official Czech holidays. Why is there so much interest in remaking our anthem? Can we even do that?

The new initiative of the Czech Prime Minister, Miroslav Topolanek, led to four new arrangements of the Czech national anthem. The public airing, according to Mlada Fronta Dnes, will be on Sunday, September 28^th, to celebrate the national holiday of Czech Statehood. Topolanek also declared that these new versions of the national anthem were performed by the orchestra of the National Theatre in Prague conducted by Jiri Belohlavek.

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Clanek v CESTINE dole.

The national Czech anthem was composed over 170 years ago by Frantisek Skroup as the opening scene of a patriotic opera called Fidlovacka. The opera was written by Josef Kajetan Tyl at a time where Czechs were only a small ethnic minority within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The anthem is known to every Czech living at home or abroad as a festive patriotic piece. But to the Czech conductor and composer Varhan Orchestrovic Bauer it is envisioned as a melancholic and sad folk song that needs a makeover.

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Clanek v CESTINE dole.

On Friday, Sept 19^th 2008, the Czech Senate approved a bill amendment that would make it easier to attract qualified staff from abroad to the Czech Republic. This movement is expected to bolster the Czech Republic’s supply of skilled workers from outside the European Union. If the amendment is signed by the president, the first green cards could be issued in January 2009. People’s reactions vary, though. Will this movement do any harm to the Czech nation?

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Clanek v CESTINE dole.

The Czech government has pledged 10 million crowns (~$630,000) in flood recovery for Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In the next month or two, the US Czech and Slovak Museum will be able to use this gift to repair damages to the building and its contents from the floods in June 2008. The total damage to the museum’s five properties in Czech Village is about $9 million but the gift is a wonderful gesture of support and solidarity that proves that Czechs in USA are still connected with their home country.

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Clanek v CESTINE dole.

On September 4^th, our Czech Ambassador in Washington, D.C. Petr Kolar, held a ceremony at which Dagmar White, daughter of General Antonin Hasal (1893 - 1960), donated her father’s WWII uniform to the permanent collection of the Military History Institute in Prague. This generous gift showed how much this family is still connected to the Czech Republic, Antonin Hasal’s home country.

General Hasal was born in 1893 in the Austro-Hungarian town Nova Hut pod Nizborem. During World War I, he was called to serve in the Austro-Hungarian Army but he decided to volunteer for the Czechoslovak legion in Russia. He returned to Czechoslovakia as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1920 and later he became Lieutenant General.

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Pro informace v CESTINE, kontaktujte CzechFolks (e-mail nebo komentar dole).

09/18/2008 and 09/19/2008 – Minnesota: Dozinky – Czech Harvest Festival

Time: 10 AM – 5 PM

Location: New Prague, Minnesota

More information HERE

09/18/2008 – New York: Czech New (Y) Dance!

Time: 7 PM

Location: Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73^rd Street, New York City

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