IFAO

The Embassy of Czech Republic in Egypt, the Czech Centres and the Institut français d’archéologie orientale are inviting you to a special event, the screening and debate of the documentary Civilization. A good news about the end of the world (2022, 100 min), in presence of the film makers Petr Horký and Miroslav Bárta. 

The event will take place at the Mounira Palace, 37 al-Cheikh Aly Youssef street, Qasr al-Ainy, Wednesday 11 October at 6 p.m.

 

About the documentary

A narrative documentary by Director Petr Horký and Egyptologist Miroslav Bárta about the transformations of civilizations on this planet and their similarities with our modern world. A dramatic story of our own complexity and challenges, filmed around the world.

So far, all known civilizations that have arisen have perished!

But why shouldn’t we be the first to change the course of history?

The film presents the manifold manifestations of the seven universal laws that define the evolution of civilizations. Scientific evidence shows that civilizations do not develop or collapse by chance, but according to seven universal laws. These laws allow us to understand today's world in the context of long time scales. The growth of bureaucracy, the importance of elites, the role of the social contract, the principal of available resources, the attained technological progress, the ability to adapt to a changing environment and to respond to external circumstances such as natural disasters or global pandemics - these are all phenomena that permeate our modern society, but their similar manifestations are known from the course of all past civilizations. It is these characteristics that eventually contribute to their demise.

Will we face the same destiny or will we be able, for the first time in history, to use the seven laws and change our future?

 

Petr Horký is a director and writer. He spent five years filming with Thor Heyerdahl, travelling to more than 100 countries, reaching both poles of the Earth, crossing Greenland, discovering sunken ships in the Maldives and much more. He has received numerous Czech and international awards for his films and books. P. Horký is a member of the scientific team of the SINOFON, which deals with the anatomy of the interaction of the Chinese state with the outside world.

Miroslav Bárta is an Egyptologist and Archaeologist, director of excavations at the pyramid field of Abusir (Egypt) and member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He led many expeditions to the Western Desert and Gilf Kebir. M. Bárta specialises in the comparative study of complex civilisations and their transformations including the phenomenon of their collapse. His work and many significant discoveries have resulted in a number of internationally acclaimed publications. This documentary is based on his latest book which formulates a theory of seven laws. This theory provides a tool for understanding the evolution of past societies and civilisations, and interpreting our own world from a whole new perspective.