Year: 2012
Country:
CZECH REPUBLICA
Language:
Czech, Spanish, Japanese
Run Time:
90 minutes
Věra Čáslavská is a Czech Olympic champion who, in 1968, was voted the world's second most popular woman after Jackie Kennedy. A cheerful blonde who excelled in every area of gymnastics, Věra shot to fame in 1964 after winning three gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics. Four years later, in Mexico City, she won four more. But Věra's life has not been all sunshine and adulation, and VERA 68 tells her story. One courageous act of silent protest changed her life forever. In 1968 the Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia, and at that year's Olympics all eyes were on Věra. As the Soviet anthem played, she simply turned her head aside. An outcast in her newly Socialist country, she was reduced to cleaning houses in disguise. But as the Cold War ended, President Vaclav Havel hired her as an advisor. Věra remains an ebullient woman who notes that life -- like gymnastics -- has some ups and downs. May Věra Čáslavská continue to celebrate her ups. (In Czech, Spanish, and Japanese with subtitles) – B.B.
Sunday, April 07, 2013 at 2:00 PM
Monday, April 08, 2013 at 9:15 AM
Sidebar
Women of the World
Genres
Documentaries
Recommended for Middle School +
Competition
Reel Women Direct Award for Excellence in Directing by a Woman
Director
Olga Sommerová
Filmography
"The Blessed Damned Poet Bohumil Hrabal" (1998), "What Women Dream About" (1999), "The Lost Soul of a Nation" (2001), "21 Spokespersons of Charter 77" (2010), VERA 68 (2012)
Producer
Pavel Bercik
Screenwriting
Olga Sommerová
Cinematography
Olga Spatova
Editing
Jakub Voves
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