29th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival

24. 10.–2. 11. 2025
Log inČeštinaEnglish
Who Will Watch the Watchman? Dalibor, or the Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin

Who Will Watch the Watchman? Dalibor, or the Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin

Karel Vachek / 2002 / 220 min.


synopsis

The most characteristic theme of the film, whose actors are symbolically “imprisoned” in the space of Prague’s National Theatre, is that of subversive battles launched against any sort of establishment (in politics, scholarship, and culture) and the rules or “laws” that frequently work against them—rules that, of course, also offer a moral justification for battle. Vachek, in this film, is interested in figures who engage in these kinds of battles, a majority of whom have already suffered some kind of setback.

biography

Karel Vachek (1940) creates multi-layered philosophical and social essays. In 2004, he published the book The Theory of Matter. Films: Moravian Hellas, 1963, Elective Affinities, 1968, New Hyperion or Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood, 1992, What Is to Be Done? (A Journey from Prague to Český Krumlov, or How I Formed a New Government, 1996, Bohemia Docta or The Labyrinth of the World and the Lust-house of the Heart A Divine Comedy, 2000, Who Will Watch the Watchman? Dalibor, or the Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin, 2002Obscurantist and His Lineage or The Pyramids’ Tearful Valleys, 2011.

more about film

director: Karel Vachek
script: Karel Vachek
photography: Karel Slach
editing: Renata Pařezová

Film at festival

festival edition:2020
section:Vachek 80
awards:Nejlepší český dokumentární film

Info

director:Karel Vachek
original title:Kdo bude hlídat hlídače? Dalibor, aneb klíč k chaloupce strýčka Toma
year:2002
running time:220 min.

Section


Festival partners

Ministerstvo kultury
Fond kinematografie
Město Jihlava
Kraj Vysočina
Creative Europe Media
GEMO
Česká televize
Český rozhlas
Aktuálně.cz
Respekt
Dafilms

Newsletter

I confirm that I agree with Principles Relating to Personal Data Processing for Ji.hlava IDFF. More info here.

Days until the festival

0