Writer, editor and expert in central/Eastern European film, Michael Brooke, will introduce the film, it’s themes and place in the Czech New Wave.

Miloš Forman classic of the Czech New Wave, a beautifully observed exploration of love, youth, optimism and disappointment.

Two thousand young girls and two hundred men are employed at a shoe factory not far from Prague. One day, to the delight of the girls, it is announced that a battalion of troops will be stationed in the town. When they arrive, the girls frustratingly find that they are veterans. One of the girls, Andula, meets a pianist playing with a band from Prague.

As in Peter and Pavla, Forman’s skill lies not so much in the plot but rather in the exquisite and precise interpretation of the varied aspects of the human personality. He combines love and understanding of his adolescent characters with an ability to extract the maximum amount of humour from each situation.

Michael Brooke is a writer, editor, and multimedia producer. A specialist in British and central/eastern European cinema, he is a regular contributor to Sight & Sound and the Journal of Film Preservation and more occasionally elsewhere. He is also a prolific contributor to various Blu-ray labels, including Indicator (where he’s the in-house Technical Producer), Arrow, Eureka, Radiance, Second Run and many others as booklet essayist, featurette creator, and audio commentator.

Celebrating 75 Years of Contemporary Films. Bringing bold cinema that inspired generations of British audiences and filmmakers — a festival of screening events with special guests across London this September and October