The Firemen’s Ball [screening: Havel 90 Festival]

This screening is part of the Havel 90 Festival Film Marathon, a three-day exploration of Havel’s relationship with cinema within a four-day celebration of his life, art, and legacy.

The Firemen’s Ball (Hoří, má panenko) / dir. Miloš Forman / 1967 / comedy, satire / Czechoslovakia / Czech with English subtitles / 73 min.

A small-town volunteer fire brigade plans an evening of celebration, complete with a raffle, a beauty contest, and a ceremonial gift for its retiring chairman. Instead, the prizes disappear, the contestants flee, and a nearby house catches fire. As one well-intentioned plan after another collapses, the festivities descend into glorious chaos.

Working largely with nonprofessional performers, Forman observes the evening’s failures with both affection and merciless precision. Beneath the comedy lies a portrait of a system in which vanity overwhelms competence, petty self-interest defeats collective responsibility, and no one is willing to admit that anything has gone wrong.

Forman’s first color feature and final film made in Czechoslovakia before he left for the United States, The Firemen’s Ballwas banned after the 1968 invasion and later nominated for an Academy Award. Forman and Havel, friends since their youth, shared a gift for exposing bureaucracy and moral compromise through absurdity, humor, and sharply observed human behavior.

Havel 90 Festival is organized by the Czech Center New York and the Vaclav Havel Center, with support from the Bohemian Benevolent & Literary Association.

DISCLAIMER

Tickets and Admission: Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. All ticket sales are final. Please arrive at least 10 minutes before the screening begins; latecomers may be refused admission.

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Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd Street, New York, United States

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