FILM AUSTRALIA PRESENTS
Capitalist Drive
A very personal account of one family and its links across two continents and three
generations, despite political divides.
Director/Producer
Barbara Chobocky
Co-Producer
Damien Parer
Writers
Barbara Chobocky, Jeff Bruer
Executive Producers
Penny Robins, Anna Grieve
Duration
55 minutes
A Film Australia National Interest Program. Produced with the assistance of the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation.
Film Australia © 2004
AN AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT OWNED COMPANY, FILM AUSTRALIA IS A LEADING PRODUCER AND
DISTRIBUTOR OF TELEVISION DOCUMENTARIES AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.
www.filmaust.com.au
CAPITALIST DRIVE • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
Contents
Page 3
Synopses
Pages 4 – 6
Production Story
Page 7
Filmmaker biographies
Pages 8 – 9
Credits
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CAPITALIST DRIVE • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
Synopses
One line synopsis
A very personal account of one family and its links across two continents and three
generations, despite political divides.
One paragraph synopsis
A very personal account of one family and its links across two continents and three
generations, despite political divides. In Capitalist Drive, Barbara Chobocky turns the
camera on her own extended family to discover how ordinary people cope with social and
personal upheaval. She explores the parallels between her enterprising cousins negotiating
the first years of free-market democracy in the Czech Republic and the post-war migration of
her immediate family to what her father called “the wild west” - a new life in Australia. Along
the way, she uncovers stories of love and loss, and a rather eccentric attachment to cars.
One page synopsis
A very personal account of one family and its links across two continents and three
generations, despite political divides.
In Capitalist Drive, award-winning filmmaker Barbara Chobocky turns the camera on her
own extended family to discover how ordinary people cope with social and personal
upheaval.
For 40 years, the conflict between capitalism and communism separated her parents and
their children in Australia from relatives in Prague. Yet there are fascinating parallels
between the challenges facing her enterprising cousins as they negotiate the first years of
free-market democracy in the Czech Republic and the experiences of her father as a postWorld War Two migrant to what he called “the wild west”.
Each faced a new world with high hopes for the future, embarking on similar quests for
economic prosperity. But freedom proved to be a double-edged sword...
Capitalist Drive looks at life in the aftermath of the historic changes that shook Europe in the
1940s and 1989, and the struggles involved in starting afresh - no matter where you are. It
uncovers stories of love and loss, dreams and disappointments, including a father’s drive to
succeed and the impact it had on those around him. And as we get to know these characters
and their pasts, we discover shared passions and ambitions, including a rather eccentric
attachment to cars.
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CAPITALIST DRIVE • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
About the making of the film
Capitalist Drive – Production Story
In setting out to make Capitalist Drive, I thought it would show the adventurous side of my
family’s history, particularly from the male point of view.
The title, Capitalist Drive, is a play on words referring to the way the men in my family are
preoccupied with both making money - the Capitalist part - and with cars – Drive.
Ten years ago I made a biographical film called Maria. It was about my mother, Maria
Chobocky, and explored the contemporary social history of Czechoslovakia and Australia
through the eyes of my family; one half living in the Czech Republic and the other half in
Australia. It struck a chord for many whose families had experienced dislocation and hope
as well as despair in migrating to a new country after the Second World War.
In the film, I used letters my mother had written from Australia to her family back home.
These were contrasted with beautifully crafted 8mm home movies that my father made and
sent to Czechoslovakia. They gave a completely different picture of our home life. These
movies were actually propaganda films and only showed the rosiest picture of our lives in
Australia. Home movies didn’t have sound in those days so my father used black and white
title cards to introduce various scenes.
In 1992, after the television broadcast of Maria, a box of original 8mm movie reels arrived
from the US. Unbeknownst to me, my father had shot these during the 1950s and sent them
to his best friend, John Kmenta, in America. John’s wife Joan had seen the film Maria and
subsequently found these original movie reels amongst their family’s memorabilia.
The reels sent to me contained footage that my father had shot, but that I had never seen
before. My father had died at the age of 46 and it seemed like these movies had been sent
to me from heaven.
There were scenes of my mother and friends dancing at a 1950s style calypso party at our
home. I remembered the actual event as a child because it was John Kmenta’s farewell
party.
Like my parents, John was a Czech émigré in Australia. He was charming, good-looking and
very cultured. As an eight year old, I fell in love with him and when he won a Fulbright
Fellowship that took him to the US for three years, he promised to marry me, “when I grew
up”.
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CAPITALIST DRIVE • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
Aged 11, I suffered my first broken heart when John came back to Australia with his
American bride Joan, who befriended me, notwithstanding my disappointment and intense
jealousy.
With inspiration from this new batch of 8mm home movies, I set out to make a companion
film to Maria that would focus on how the men in my family adapted to massive social and
historical changes.
For my father, it was the Communist regime’s takeover in Czechoslovakia that led him to
flee his homeland and start a new life in Australia. It was 40 years later, in 1989, that
communism in Czechoslovakia collapsed, catapulting my Czech relatives into a new world of
capitalism, democracy and freedom.
What my father’s story had in common with my Czech relatives is that they each embraced
the unique business opportunities that came about; in my father’s case during the post war
period and for my Czech family, with the collapse of the communist regime.
My cousins in Prague, now the same age as my father when he came to Australia, are
making their way in a new world where market forces are driving their lives and shaping the
future of their country. After the euphoria of the revolution, my Czech cousins told me that
they felt like migrants in their own country. For them it was - and continues to be - a daunting
adventure, full of twists and turns – and as strange and bewildering as it was for my family
arriving in Australia during the 1950s.
Under Communism, my Czech relatives often envied life in the West. To them, the average
Australian family - like my own - enjoyed a millionaire lifestyle. This was something my father
played up in those home movies he sent back to Prague.
But at last, the tables seem to have turned, and three of my cousins’ parents received
massive real estate settlements when the Czech government handed back private property
that was seized by the communists. My relatives are millionaires - at least on paper. But in
reality, the properties are a both a burden and a blessing because after 40 years of public
ownership the buildings are derelict.
In one way or another, all the members of my family - those who fled to Australia and those
who stayed in the Czech Republic - have found capitalism to be a double-edged sword.
For 40 years, people in Eastern Europe idealised the day when communism would fall. That
day arrived, but the years since have not lived up to the expectations. For many, democratic
reforms and freedom have not delivered what they hoped for. The ongoing debate between
capitalism and socialism continues. The rights of the individual versus the rights of the
collective are still central to the social debate, both in Australia and the Czech Republic.
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CAPITALIST DRIVE • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
When Czechs tried to imagine what a free market economy and democracy would be like,
they looked towards the West. My Czech family looked to Australia.
In 1989, political dissident and dramatist Vaclav Havel became President of Czechoslovakia
in the new government formed after the “Velvet Revolution”. Having spent many years in
prison, one of his first acts as President was to release and pardon vast numbers of inmates,
including many criminals. This was because it was almost impossible to differentiate those
accused of criminal offences from the political activists. Many of the political activists had
been incarcerated on the basis of false charges and evidence brought against them.
The immediate consequences of this led to an escalation in violent crimes, which under the
former regime had been relatively low. As taxi drivers, my uncles and cousins became
vulnerable targets for these criminals. They have all been attacked on several occasions and
now one carries a gun in his taxi.
In making Capitalist Drive I was faced by inexplicable parallels in the lives of family members
living separately and thousands of kilometres apart, some coincidences sad, some wryly
amusing. What is it about families? Genes may account for a lot, but what is it about cars?
Economics and politics are not easy subjects to expound upon. However, looking at the
consequences of contemporary social change through my family’s eyes has given me a
unique perspective of the inescapable forces that shapes the lives of all of us.
Director, Barbara Chobocky
August 2004
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CAPITALIST DRIVE • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
About the filmmakers
Barbara Chobocky — Writer/Director and Producer
Barbara Chobocky is a well-known Australian writer, producer and director with many
successful and award-winning projects to her credit. She has served on the Boards of
Women and Film and Television (WIFT), the Australian Screen Directors Association
(ASDA) and was the founding convenor of ASDA's Documentary Sub Committee.
Barbara has continuously been involved in industry consultations with various bodies
including the Australian Film Finance Corporation, Australian Film Commission and Film
Australia. Her company, Documentary Films Pty Ltd has produced a number of films dealing
with social issues including award-winning titles Pins and Needles, Witch Hunt, Maria, Billion
Dollar Crop and (in association with Film Australia) The Raid. She produced and directed
Viva la Diva: Portrait of Yvonne Kenny, a documentary about one of Australia's best-known
classical sopranos. Barbara directed and co-wrote with Jeff Bruer Welcome to the Waks
Family – a Film Australia National Interest program in association with Documentary Films.
Jeff Bruer – Co-writer/Editor
Jeff is an award-winning filmmaker, writer and editor. He's worked on all Macumba Media
Productions since 1988 and edited most of them. The documentaries he has edited and/or
written have won many awards, including a Gold Mobie for Women Heal Women in 1995,
two Human Rights Awards for Maria and The Raid, a Dendy Award for Maria and an AFI
Award for Witch Hunt. Jeff was associate producer/editor on Wrap Me Up in Paperbark for
Macumba Media Enterprises (ABC-TV), and co-producer/editor on Saltwater Bluesman, the
pilot for Everyday Brave. Working with Barbara Chobocky, he was cinematographer/editor
of a documentary on opera singer Yvonne Kenny. Jeff was also co-writer and editor on
Welcome to the Waks Family – a Film Australia National Interest program in association with
Documentary Films.
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CAPITALIST DRIVE • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
Credits
CINEMATOGRAPHER/EDITOR/WRITER
“Mike and Stefani” 1949
Jeffrey Bruer
DIRECTOR: R. Maslyn Williams
PRODUCER: Stanley Hawes
CO-PRODUCER
Damien Parer
SPECIAL THANKS
Czech Airlines - Lubos Frank
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
Charles University Economics Department
Cheryl O’Neill
(CERGE-EI) Jan Svenjar
Susie Xu
Jewish Museum Of Prague
Katerina Zinglova
Australian National Maritime Museum
Jacob Drocar
Zanek Lnare- Anna Zrala
TRANSLATIONS
THANKS ALSO TO
Adam Sebesta
Machek Family, Rimmerman Family, Brickcius
Joe Goddard
Family, Barhon Family, Jan Grozdanovic, Blesk
Kathy Frankova
Newspaper, Jan Domabyl, Peter Banks, Rod
Freedman, Jan Katsian, Karel Lasik, Jirasek
Stephanie Zverinova
Family, Norma Mackrell, Waks Family, Har Family,
Doris Grozdanovic
Cassimatis Family, Vaclav Vrana, Marketa Shaw,
Sonia Hofmann, Joseph Osbaldeston, Ivo & Lily
Kalina, Zahalka Family, Frank Baycek, Kmenta
ADDITIONAL CAMERA
Family
Barbara A. Chobocky
Lada Stepan
ORIGINAL MUSIC COMPOSED BY
Neil Duncan
LOCATION SOUND
Jeffrey Bruer
MUSICIANS
Michael Lira - Orchestral Pieces, Bass.
TRANSCRIPTIONS
Reezy Miller
Kay Linton Mann
ARCHIVAL SOURCES
Nigel Gavin- Guitar.
Daniel Weltlinger- Violin.
Daniel Pliner- Piano.
Neill Duncan- Sax, Clarinet, Drums, Keyboard.
Kratky Films-Praha
ABC TV
Film Australia
EXCERPTS FROM
“Concerto for Orchestra” by Bela Bartok
“Ma Vlast” by Bedrich Smetana
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CAPITALIST DRIVE • A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
SOUND MIX
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER’S ASSISTANTS
Michael Gissing
Rebecca Webb
Digital City Studios
Taye Morris
ON LINE EDITING
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR/WRITER
Roen Davies
Barbara A. Chobocky
Visualeyes
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
STORY CONSULTANT
Jeffrey Bruer
Storry Walton
PRODUCED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE
NARRATION COACH
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Juliet Jordan
ABC EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
GRAPHICS
Dasha Ross
Lisa Brereton
David Jowsey
LEGAL ADVISORS
A FILM AUSTRALIA PRODUCTION
Mark Mackrell
In association with
Charles Waterstreet
Documentary Films
FILM AUSTRALIA PRODUCTION UNIT
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Anna Grieve
PRODUCTION AFFAIRS MANAGER
Penny Robins
Martien Coucke
BUSINESS AFFAIRS MANAGER
A NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
Sally Regan
FILM AUSTRALIA LIMITED
© MMIV
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
www.filmaust.com.au
Sueanne Flyght
Sally Creagh
PRODUCTION ACCOUNTANT
Liane Wright
Lisa Calder
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