Baltic Cinema: Panelstory, or How a Housing Development is Born

Baltic Cinema: Panelstory, or How a Housing Development is Born (adv 12)
Thursday 19 November | 18:30
£6/£4.50* per person

A brand-new restoration of famed Czech director Věra Chytilová’s hilarious satire Panelstory, which brings her lightness of touch to a subject which touches us all: do you help to shape your environment or are you shaped by it?

Panelstory, or How a Housing Development is Born
Panelstory, aneb jak se rodí sídliště
Věra Chytilová Czechoslovakia 1979 1hr 36mins

Life is a construction site for the tenants of the only partially finished prefab housing development in Prague. Between the buildings, young mothers struggle to push their prams through mounds of mud. And things are not any better inside.

Věra Chytilová’s film depicts one day in that construction chaos through the eyes of a handful of people of various ages who must deal with the hodgepodge of permanently makeshift solutions in what was conceived as a ‘garden city’.

In 2002, the director said: “It’s not a critical reaction to the regime; it’s more actually a view of human behaviour.” Nonetheless, her amusing social satire was held back by the authorities and not shown in Czechoslovakia until 1981. (Berlinale)

​‘Wonderfully enjoyable, hilarious, and touching all at once … We find Chytilová at the height of her powers as a filmmaker, combining her characteristically wild shooting style, farcical elements, wonderful use of music, and intricate storytelling abilities’ —Kay Armatage, TIFF

Watch Trailer

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Doors open 18:00; Film starts 18:30. Pop-up cinema bar open from 18:00 for drinks.

Please note we cannot offer refunds on this event.
*Concessions: under 18s, unwaged & 65+

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Together! Solidarity and Community on Screen

November 2026 – March 2027

What makes a community? What brings people together and gives them common purpose? And just what is possible when that common purpose yields strength and resolve — to resist, to maintain, to survive?

In response to our exhibition Close to Home, the films in this season all circle ideas of community and solidarity and ask key questions about the limits of each. They are rooted in stories of working-class lives, from across different countries and times, from Gateshead to Prague via Helsinki. They explore the most basic conditions of life – labour and housing – and the determination, integrity and compassion to fight the erosion of those conditions.

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Baltic Cinema

Baltic Cinema is a year-round cinema programme at Baltic, lighting up our Level 1 Cinema with the best new and archive films. Bringing otherwise rarely-screened work to the North East, Baltic Cinema also expands our exhibitions, offering a chance to explore further some of the themes they raise.

Supported by Film Hub North with National Lottery funding on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network.

Accessibility

We want our events to be inclusive and accessible. If you have any accessibility requests or questions, please email [email protected]. Ahead of your visit, you can find out about Baltic's facilities and accessibility here.