Documentary's first screening seeks reel revolution

On The Prague Post's Opinion page last week, Paralympics medalist, marathon winner and second-grade teacher Sherry Ramsey Schulz described her recent visit to Prague as an experience that made her "feel disabled" in a way previously unknown to her in her travels. Anyone who has had the comparatively mild experience of hauling heavy luggage around the city will immediately understand the reason for this.

Rare indeed is the route to a given location that is free of steep stairwells, daunting cobblestones, cliff-like curbs and other obstacles to ambulation.

Director Tomáš Škrdlant has just completed filming on a new documentary that highlights the difficulties experienced by the disabled in the Czech Republic and the efforts of activists and local politicians to make some long-awaited changes. Škrdlant's previous efforts include The Unwelcome, an ambitious documentary similar to the British documentary series Up with a particular focus on following the lives of the marginalized and disabled as they unfold over the course of 20 years.

"[Schulz] has traveled alone all over the world," Škrdlant told The Prague Post. "She was shocked by the situation in Prague, so we've made a film about the problem and will present it just before the municipal elections."

Prague Needs Revolution will premiere with English subtitles at Bio Oko Aug. 30 at an event attended by local political leaders Zdeněk Tůma, Jiří Dienstbier, Markéta Reedová, Petra Kolínská, Petr Hána, Marián Hošek and others. The film, in which Schulz also appears, consists of interviews with wheelchair-bound residents of Prague, university students and visitors, all of whom face exceptional difficulties in attempting to live independent lives without adequate access to large parts of the city.

Unlike the United States, with its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and other West European countries, the Czech Republic is among the least accessible to the disabled, according to the community-based organization Asistence o.s. and other NGOs currently working on the problem.

In a city where more than 100,000 residents are over the age of 70, accessibility issues are not solely the concern of the severely disabled. Even those marginally afflicted experience considerable problems. Škrdlant and his collaborators hope that calling attention to this fact will motivate people to take action.

Erik Čipera, a representative of Asistence, lists efforts to add the rights of the disabled to City Hall's manifesto, tapping into the Transport Ministry's budget and various European structural funds in search of financing, and specifically targeting improved access to the city's subway system as top priorities.

Škrdlant's documentary may go some distance toward promoting such concerns with aspiring local politicians. Unlike other agit-prop projects on similar subjects, Škrdlant and Co. seem motivated solely by a desire to improve the lives of their fellow Praguers rather than any personal artistic or financial concerns.

Whether their high-mindedness rubs off on the powers that be remains to be seen.

James Walling can be reached at
jwalling@praguepost.com