As a director and cinematographer, it's impossible to forget my first electrifying days in Czechoslovakia in 1989. I filmed as thousands of people poured into the streets following the brutal police repression of a student demonstration on November 17th. As the populace rose up and communism collapsed, the blood stained walls, the broken placards, the remains of melted candles in the cobblestones, bore silent witness to the sacrifices the students had made on that fateful night. I was deeply moved and inspired by their courage.

Some years later, during the filming of Fighter in the Czech Republic, I met a young cameraman named Petr. It turned out that as teenagers, Petr and his friends, Jiri and Ondrej, had been in the middle of Narodni Trida on November 17th, 1989. As I listened in awe to their stories from that cold November night, I realized several things. First, the three boys never considered themselves heroes. Second, they had seen what the system had done to their parents and they wanted to change things. Third, they went because they believed in each other.

I was reminded of the days of my own youth protesting against the Vietnam War. The teargas and the tanks, the nightsticks and the bullhorns, staring down the police armed only with placards. I knew that my own experiences were marginally similar to those of the young people in Prague, but I knew that one thing was the same: the belief and trust that we placed in our friends and fellow protestors.

In keeping with this spirit of friendship, Listopad will be created in collaboration with the three young men who stood together on the night of November 17th, 1989. To capture the feeling and urgency of the times, the film will be shot in a documentary style, with a cast and crew from the Czech and Slovak film communities. The climax of the film will be a reenactment of the demonstration, designed to bring the viewer into the intense moments that began the 'Velvet Revolution.' The goal of Listopad is to be a source of self-examination and inspiration for the young and old.

There are always differing opinions about great political or historical events but one thing is certain: the truth belongs to those in the front lines. For me, a hero is a person who takes action not because they believe they will succeed, but because they know it is the right thing to do. For me, the people in the front lines of November 17th, 1989, armed with nothing more than their beliefs, are heroes. I believe we should tell their story. And tell it well.

Excerpt from Come Brother We Go To America
Directed by Gary Keith Griffin | Color, 52 minutes, 1989
Clip of the demonstrations filmed by Griffin in Czechoslovakia in 1989.