Adela Babanova
»Return to Adriaport«
In the year 1975, Czech Professor of Economy Karel Žlábek, in cooperation with the project engineering company Pragoprojekt, designed and calculated the shortest connecting link between Czechoslovakia and the Adriatic Sea by underground tunnel. The soil dug up during the construction of the tunnel under Czechoslovakia, Austria and Slovenia (former Yugoslavia) was to be used for building an artificial island in the Adriatic Sea. The island, named Adriaport, was supposed to be a part of landlocked Czechoslovakia.
Professor Žlábek worked on the project throughout his life and brought it to absolute perfection. Despite this, the project ended as a utopian vision buried in the archive of the Ministry of Interior Affairs.
»Return to Adriaport« speaks of the enduring desire of inlanders for the sea. It depicts the meeting of Czechoslovak communist President Gustáv Husák with Professor Žlábek, who is trying to persuade the president to believe in his vision. The two men share a dream of travelling to the sea, of freedom and happiness in the gloomy reality of socialism. The film, a blend of fiction and historical facts, represents another cooperation of Adela Babanova with writers Džian Baban and Vojtěch Mašek.
