FRMOL production

"The Art of Dissent" celebrates the resilience and power of artistic engagement in Czechoslovakia before and after the 1968 Soviet-led invasion. The documentary's main protagonists - Václav Havel, banned singer Marta Kubisová, and the underground rock group the Plastic People of the Universe (PPU) - became the most recognizable dissidents during the 1970-80s. Havel bridged the disparate clusters of individuals and fused the literary, musical, political, and philosophical nonviolent elements into a hybrid network that eventually toppled the totalitarian regime in 1989.

This documentary tells the story of a singer who became an icon of the Czech music scene during her career. The film captures her journey from her childhood in the Krkonoše Mountains, through her theatrical beginnings at Semafor, to her first successes on the music scene, as well as her battle with serious illness.