Celebrate Vaclav Havel’s 90th birthday through four days of film, theater, conversation, art, and food, revealing the artist, friend, dissident, and human behind the historical figure who continues to inspire.
Friday, October 2
5:30 PM | Workshop: Discovering Vaclav Havel and Prague
6:00 PM | Film: Citizen Havel
Preceded by a three-minute archival film, Vaclav Havel’s Address on Jan Palach’s Sacrifice. A drinks reception follows the main feature to celebrate the festival’s opening.
8:40 PM | Film: A Report on the Party and the Guests
Saturday, October 3
4:30 PM | Film: Every Young Man
6:30 PM | Film: Havel’s Audience with History
8:30 PM | Film: The Firemen’s Ball
Sunday, October 4
11:00 AM | Podcast: Dissent Lab with Sergei Lebedev
A live recording of the Vaclav Havel Center podcast with Russian writer and journalist Sergei Lebedev, exploring historical memory, authoritarianism, and personal responsibility.
3:00 PM | Film: Jan Svankmajer Shorts Series
5:30 PM | Film: Havel Speaking, Can You Hear Me?
Monday, October 5
7:00 PM | Theater: Unveiling
A new English-language production of Havel’s darkly comic one-act play, followed by a discussion of his theatrical legacy and a birthday celebration with goulash inspired by Kančí na daňčím.
Havel 90 Festival is organized by the Czech Center New York in collaboration with the Vaclav Havel Center and with support from the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association and the Czechoslovak Society for Arts and Sciences, New York Chapter.