Community Film Practice in 1980s Pilsen. Films by Miroslav Čapek, Jiří Dvorský, and Milan Kohout

This study explores a specific regional cinematic movement at the intersection of amateur, independent, and underground films in 1980s Pilsen. It examines how this development challenged the perception of Czechoslovakian cinema as an environment shaped by institutionally established actors. In this sense, the study proposes an alternative network model to the established value model for interpreting the cultural history of normalization. It also suggests ways to overcome the common political interpretation of alternative cinema of the 1980s. It focuses on three key actors of Pilsen’s cultural scene, Miroslav Čapek, Jiří Dvorský, and Milan Kohout, and on the ways in which this informal production unit navigates the common polarities of the normalization environment.