Velvet terrorists

Stano, Fero and Vladimír are three men who resisted the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. Three true stories from the normalization era: Stano planned to blow up a speaker’s platform in a stadium on the night before the May Day celebrations. He got five years behind bars. Fero plotted to assassinate President Husák in the hope of unleashing an anti-communist revolution. He, too, ended up in prison. Vladimír engaged in repeated anti-regime activities, most of them involving the destruction of public billboards. He did several stints in jail. Three Slovak directors take a humorous look at the unique courage of these mavericks who managed to rise up from the anonymous and obedient masses. The filmmakers also consider the relevance of their ridiculously naïve terrorist acts – once called serious crimes but today possibly viewed as acts of heroism. An inventive combination of authenticity and staged scenes, "Velvet Terrorists" hovers between documentary and fiction.