Shadows of the Spring: The Normalization Era in Czechoslovakia

Dark fairy tales, irreverent comedies, and intimate dramas reveal the inventiveness of Czechoslovak cinema under normalization. Presented across MoMA and Czech Center New York, the series features appearances by acclaimed actress Magda Vášáryová and explores how filmmakers sustained their creative voices under political pressure.

The suppression of the Prague Spring in 1968 transformed Czechoslovak filmmaking. Some directors went into exile; others faced bans, censorship, and demands for politically acceptable work. Yet the films that followed reveal a more varied and inventive cinema than this history might suggest.

Shadows of the Spring brings together work by Jiří Menzel, Věra Chytilová, Juraj Herz, František Vláčil, and other filmmakers who navigated these constraints in strikingly different ways. Fourteen films from 1971–1986 screen at MoMA, complemented by Juraj Jakubisko’s Birds, Orphans and Fools (1969) at Czech Center New York.

Magda Vášáryová will introduce Cutting It Short, …And Give My Love to the Swallows, and Silent Joy at MoMA with curator Christopher Small. She will also join Small for a conversation following Birds, Orphans and Fools at Czech Center New York. Additional introductions throughout the series feature Small and Rastislav Steranka of the Slovak Film Institute.

Program & tickets

The full schedule appears below. Select a film title for details and tickets, and check the venue before booking. Guest appearances apply only to the screening indicated.

MoMA: 11 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019
Czech Center Cinema: 321 East 73rd Street, New York, NY 10021

Tickets are booked separately for each screening through the linked event pages.

Organized by The Museum of Modern Art in collaboration with Czech Center New York. Curated by Christopher Small, guest curator, and Francisco Valente, Curatorial Associate, Department of Film, MoMA. With thanks to the National Film Archive, Prague, and the Slovak Film Institute.