''Czechoslovakia 1968'' (also known as ''Czechoslovakia 1918-1968'') is a 1969 short

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

about the "

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

", the

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The ...

. The film was produced by the

United States Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA) was a United States government agency devoted to propaganda which operated from 1953 to 1999. Previously existing United States Information Service (USIS) posts operating out of U.S. embassies wor ...

(USIA) under the direction of Robert M. Fresco and

Denis Sanders Denis Sanders (January 21, 1929 – December 10, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He was the brother of Terry Sanders. Biography He was born in New York City, the son of sculptor and designer Altina Schinasi. ...

and features the graphic design of Norman Gollin. It won the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for Best Documentary Short Subject and in 1997, was selected for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

having been identified as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Controversy

In 1972, Senator James L. Buckley obtained a copy of ''Czechoslovakia 1968'' to show on New York television stations. The chairman of the

Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for authorizing and overseeing foreign a ...

, J. William Fulbright, objected to the broadcast based on an interpretation of the Smith–Mundt Act, which would prohibit the domestic dissemination of material produced by the USIA. Fulbright complained to the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

, but the

Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

refused to intervene based on the interpretation of existing US law. In 1972,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

amended the Smith-Mundt Act, based on this event, to explicitly prohibit the domestic dissemination of materials produced by the USIA. The USIA was abolished in 1999.

Accolades

*1970 -

Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject This is a list of films by year that have received an Academy Award together with the other nominations for best documentary short film. Following the Academy's practice, the year listed for each film is the year of release: the awards are announ ...

1970, Oscars.org
/ref>

References

External links

"Czechoslovakia 1968"
essay by Robert M. Fresco at National Film Registry
"Czechoslovakia 1968"
essay by Daniel Eagan in ''America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry'', A&C Black, 2010 , pages 656-657
''Czechoslovakia 1968''
at the

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

*
The film in its entirety on YouTube
*
Czechoslovakia 1918–1968
' on

MUBI Mubi (; stylized as MUBI; the Auteurs before 2010) is a global streaming platform, production company and film distributor. MUBI produces and theatrically distributes films by emerging and established filmmakers, which are exclusively available ...

{{AcademyAwardBestDocumentaryShort 1961–1980 1969 films 1969 short documentary films 1972 controversies in the United States American anti-communist propaganda shorts American short documentary films Best Documentary Short Subject Academy Award winners Czechoslovakia–United States relations Documentary films about the Cold War Films directed by Denis Sanders Films scored by Charles Bernstein Films set in 1968 Films set in the Czech Republic Films set in Slovakia Films about Soviet repression Prague Spring United States Information Agency films United States National Film Registry films American collage films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in popular culture English-language short documentary films

Controversy

Accolades

See also

References

External links