On February 22-23, 2018, Yale will host a conference entitled “Rock(ing) Regimes” featuring Russian, Polish and Czech films. It will look at the effect rock music had on the collapse of the regimes of the Eastern bloc.
The first day of the conference will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Room 102, Linsly-Chittenden Hall, 63 High St. A reception will precede the opening screening of the Russian classic Assa by Sergey Solovyov. First shown in 1987, Assa became a seminal work on Russian rock music and a prominent symbol of resistance to the disintegrating regime. A crime drama and a love story, it features music by Boris Grebenshchikov, Viktor Tsoi, Zhanna Aguzarova, and many others. Rita Safariants, St. Olaf College, will introduce the film, and a Q&A will follow.
The second day of the movie marathon will take place on Friday, February 23, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Rm. 250, Loria Center, 190 York Street. It will start with the screening of The Plastic People of the Universe, a 2001 documentary on the eponymous Czech rock band directed by Jana Chytilová. Named after a Frank Zappa song, the band became the leader of the Czech underground scene in the 70s and 80s despite being banned under the communist rule. The Plastic People of the Universe will be introduced by Karen von Kunes, Yale University, who will also moderate the discussion after the screening. The second film of the day will be Beats of Freedom, a 2010 Polish documentary discussing the rebellious nature of Polish underground music. The documentary features interviews with artists and fans, performance recordings, and unpublished archive materials. It will be introduced by Tomek Lipiński, co-founder of rock band Brygada Kryzys, who appears in the film alongside his fellow musicians from other Polish rock bands. The screenings will be followed by a roundtable discussion about the role of rock music in contemporary cultures.
This conference is sponsored by the European Studies Council at the MacMillan Center and is generously funded by The Edward J. and Dorothy Clarke Kempf Memorial Fund.