Sacramento Film and Music Festival 2009

History has shown that societies which fail to address past injustices are tragically destined to repeat the same mistakes. Narrated by Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons, The Power of the Powerless, examines the harmful effects of erasing history, twenty years after the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia. Juxtaposing the experiences of those who fought against the communist regime, with the silent majority who supported it, The Power of the Powerless investigates why many Czechs today don’t want their communist past dug up, and exposes the alarming impact this is having on young people. Featuring original interviews with dissidents such as former President Vaclav Havel, this film tells the inspirational story of the Velvet Revolution of 1989, and asks why Czech youth aren’t being taught about it. Produced by Agora Productions, a nonprofit production company tackling important issues with limited resources, The Power of the Powerless reveals an alarming truth: nearly an entire generation of youth currently growing up in the Czech Republic have virtually no understanding of their country's communist past, and the struggles of those who endured persecution to realize the non-violent transformation to democracy in 1989. While we are not naive enough to think we can precisely replicate the actual experience of persecution in this film, we strongly believe that the subjects of persecution, responsibility, and human rights are essential issues to raise internationally, particularly for audiences of young people, if we are to continue to build on the privileges of freedom and democracy so often taken for granted. The director of The Power of the Powerless is Emmy-Award winning filmmaker Cory Taylor, who’s recent documentary “A Quiet Revolution,” narrated by Meryl Streep and featuring Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai, was seen on television in 60 countries and used as an educational resource on three continents. Agora Productions will distribute The Power of the Powerless in similar fashion, as the first in a series of six films about contemporary nonviolent change, accompanied by a college level curriculum and cross-cultural study programs.