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How ‘Waves’ Director Jirí Mádl Reconstructed the Dramatic Battle for Czechoslovak Radio in 1968
‘Waves’ director Jiří Mádl discovered a gap in knowledge about the 1968 Czechoslovak radio station that broadcasted a crucial message.
That gap on the timeline, as Mádl puts it, was the impetus for years of research through archives, books and materials about the group of journalists from the International News Office of Czechoslovak Radio. One of the film’s most pivotal scenes tracks the Soviet tanks that invaded the country as hundreds of citizens surrounded the radio station, trying to prevent them from cutting off the broadcast. The film crew spent two months location scouting to find both the right exterior for the radio station and the best hallways, which proved difficult given how modern many of Czech Republic’s streets look today.
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