THE Czech comedy film Cosy Dens (Pelíšky) will be the ninth film in the Czech Movie Gems festival to be screened at the Manila Cinematheque. Based on novel Hovno Hoří (Shit Can Burn) by Petr Šabach, Cosy Dens, directed by Jan Hřebejk and released in 1999, is set during one of the most tragic days of the 20th century when the emerging democracy in Czechoslovakia was being crushed by the Soviet army invasion in August 1968. This coming-of-age comedy depicts two families in a small suburban apartment building, where both fathers obsessed about politics, while unlike them, their teenage kids, being bored with politics, are instead drawn to the allure of the Capitalist West world — rock and roll, the latest sneakers, and beautiful film stars. Cosy Dens was widely acclaimmed by press, critics, and various award-giving bodies, receiving the Critic’s Prize at the 1999 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival among many others. Indirectly, the film brings to attention that this forthcoming month is the 50th anniversary of the end of the so-called Prague Spring. The film will be shown at the Cinematheque Manila on Aug. 8, 6:30 p.m. Admission is free. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to capacity.

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