Waves (Vlny)

Two decades before the cascade of revolutions brought down communist governments throughout Europe in 1989, there was the Prague Spring uprising of 1968, in which a brief programme of political and cultural liberalization was ultimately crushed by a Soviet-led invading force of over half a million Warsaw Pact soldiers.

This film detailing the brave, doomed last stand of the International News Office at Czechoslovak Radio against censorship and authoritarianism not only is a story of the flawed, very human individuals who find themselves thrust into the crossroads of history, but also a stirring—and timely—meditation on how a lost battle fought valiantly can inspire the people and ideas that ultimately win the war. What, Waves forces us to ask, would I sacrifice in their position?