Prague Spring Leader to Get New Film

Alexander Dubček, briefly president of Czechoslovakia in the late 60s, to be subject of The Human Face

Jason Pirodsky

Written by Jason Pirodsky Published on 28.04.2016 09:38:54 (updated on 28.04.2016) Reading time: 1 minute

Slovak politician Alexander Dubček was one of the key figures of the all-too-brief Prague Spring in the 1960s, even becoming leader of Czechoslovakia before he was forced to resign following the Warsaw Pact invasion by Soviet forces.

After working in the forestry service for the next twenty years, he returned to politics during and after the Velvet Revolution before his death in 1992. 

Now, he’s getting his own movie, an international co-production between the Czech Republic, Italy, and France to be helmed by acclaimed Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky.

Konchalovsky, who emigrated to the United States in 1980, is best known, perhaps, for Hollywood productions like Runaway Train and Tango and Cash.

“Dubček’s story is one of a man who crossed a border, flying in the face of fear,” the director stated in a press release. “He stopped worrying about eavesdroppers, secret agents, and the occasional barking from Moscow, and decided to act as a free man.”

The movie, titled The Human Face, will not be a biopic of Dubček but rather a political thriller that focuses on key events in his life and holds parallels to greater political contexts, according to screenwriter Karol Hlávka.

Given the period which the film covers, at least portions of it can be expected to shoot in Prague. Other filming locations include Slovakia, Russia, Italy, France and Spain; filming is expected to commence in mid-2017.

The Human Face is set to premiere in 2018, on the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. 

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