The Art of Dissent — Film Screening
Join us for a film screening of The Art of Dissent, followed by a discussion with producer and director James D. Le Sueur.
- contact: Goldstein Center for Human Rights
We invite you to join us for a film screening of The Art of Dissent, followed by a discussion with producer and director James D. Le Sueur on Oct. 5 from 6:00-8:30 p.m. in the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center.
The documentary celebrates the power of artistic engagement in Czechoslovakia before and after the 1968 Soviet-led invasion. The documentary’s main protagonists — Václav Havel, banned singer Marta Kubišová, and the underground rock group the Plastic People of the Universe — became the most recognizable dissidents during the 1970-80s. Havel fused literary, political, philosophical, and rock ’n’ roll worlds into a hybrid network that eventually toppled the totalitarian regime.
A co-production with Czech TV, The Art of Dissent combines rare archival footage with interviews filmed over three years in the Czech Republic, England, and the United States. James Dean Le Sueur worked closely with Czech TV archivist Martin Bouda to weave historical footage and contemporary interviews into a unique and compelling interplay. Our film celebrates the power and courage of dissent to build tolerance, truth and civil society.
The University of Nebraska at Omaha continues to enforce 6-foot social distancing and encourages attendees a COVID-19 self-assessment through 1-Check UNO, or a similar mechanism, the day of the event.
About the Speaker: James Dean Le Sueur is Samuel Clark Waugh Distinguished Professor
of International Relations and Chair of the History Department at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He completed his PhD in history at the University of Chicago, and was elected Senior Associate Members of St Antony’s College, Oxford in 2002. He has written extensively on the history of decolonization, terrorism and intellectuals and has worked with film for 15 years. The Art of Dissent is his first feature documentary, and he is currently working on three new films. The Peril of Dissent focuses on death threats against writers, artists, athletes and activists by authoritarian regimes and religious extremists after 1989; Before September is a study of terrorism and law in the United States before 9/11; Four Seasons of Covid concentrates on everyday life during the Covid-19 pandemic. He teaches history and filmmaking. He is a producer, editor, writer and cinematographer and is a professional photographer.