Miloš Forman — Between Performance and Rebellion

Miloš Forman (1932–2018) was one of the leading filmmakers of the Czech New Wave and one of the most influential figures in 20th-century cinema. Shaped by a childhood spent under Nazi occupation and, later, by his experience of exile following the Prague Spring, he developed a body of work deeply concerned with the relationships between the individual, power, and freedom—often fascinated by spectacle and imbued with the flamboyance of his characters.
A graduate of the Prague Academy of Dramatic Arts, he made a name for himself in the 1960s with naturalistic and satirical films. After settling in the United States, he directed works as diverse as the musical Hair, the historical drama Amadeus and Man on the Moon, building a career marked by versatility and international success.
The retrospective we present brings together all of Forman’s feature films, organized around thematic threads that run through his filmography. The programme begins with films in which music and performance take center stage—from portraits of Mozart and Andy Kaufman to musicals. We also explore how this theme intersects with another major motif in Forman’s work: the portrayal of rebellious youth, as seen in Loves of a Blonde or Black Peter. This impulse toward rebellion ultimately leads to films that focus on the clash between the individual and structures of power, institutions, or social conventions, as seen in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ragtime, or The People vs. Larry Flynt.

By revisiting different moments in the filmmaker’s body of work, this programme highlights the consistency of a critical, irreverent perspective that is deeply committed to individual freedom.