Miloš Forman — Between Performance and Rebellion

Miloš Forman (1932–2018) was one of the central figures of the Czech New Wave and one of the most influential filmmakers of the 20th century. Shaped by a childhood spent under Nazi occupation and, later, by his experience of exile following the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, he developed a body of work deeply concerned with the relationships between the individual, power, and freedom.
A graduate of the Prague Academy of Dramatic Arts, he made a name for himself in the 1960s with his naturalistic and satirical films. Based in the United States, he directed works as diverse as the musical Hair (1979), the historical drama Amadeus (1984), and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), cementing 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 program begins with films in which music, spectacle, and performance take center stage—from portraits of Mozart and Andy Kaufman to musicals. Gradually, 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 and Black Peter. This spirit of rebellion ultimately finds expression in films that explore the clash between the individual and structures of power, institutions, or social conventions, such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ragtime, and The People vs. Larry Flynt. By revisiting different periods in the filmmaker’s career, this programme highlights the consistency of a critical, irreverent perspective that is deeply committed to individual freedom.