The Art of Dissent

The story

"The Art of Dissent" celebrates the resilience and power of artistic engagement in Czechoslovakia before and after the 1968 Soviet-led invasion. The documentary's main protagonists - Václav Havel, banned singer Marta Kubisová, and the underground rock group the Plastic People of the Universe (PPU) - became the most recognizable dissidents during the 1970-80s. Havel bridged the disparate clusters of individuals and fused the literary, musical, political, and philosophical nonviolent elements into a hybrid network that eventually toppled the totalitarian regime in 1989.

Cast & crew

Timothy Garton AshSelf - Interviewee

Joan BakewellBBC Interviewer - BBC Archival Film

Shirley BasseySelf - Subject (archive footage)

Kamila Bendova

Kamila BendovaSelf - Interviewee

Mikhail GorbachevSelf - Subject (archive footage)

Tenzin GyatsoSelf - Subject (archive footage)

Robert F. KennedySelf - Subject (archive footage)

Martin Luther King Jr.Self - Subject (archive footage)

Frank ZappaSelf - Subject (archive footage)