Czech bluegrass might seem like a contradiction; Banjo Romantika (Bidgood and Lange 2015, 54 min.), a feature length documentary film based on UNC alumnus Lee Bidgood’s fieldwork in the Czech republic, explores the Czech musicians’ lives, connections to bluegrass, and understanding of their culture as they blend and reimagine a style imported from beyond the Iron Curtain since the 1950s and cultivate it as their own. Music in the film includes live concert and festival recordings, field recordings of jams and interviews, studio recordings. The film incorporates additional footage with Slovak banjo standout Richard Ciferský.

This event is free and open to the public, and is part of a residency at UNC-Chapel Hill sponsored by the UNC Music Department and the Carolina Bluegrass Initiative (as well as the Slavic Studies program and the Southern Folklife Collection). Lee and Richard Ciferský will be visiting with students and faculty, leading a singing workshop at the CY SK school, and on Saturday 2/10/18 will leading a banjo workshop (2pm, Person Recital Hall) before the screening of Banjo Romantika at 4pm followed by Q&A - discussion with Lee and Richard.