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Lions of Czech Film: Burning Bush

(This article expired 25.07.2015.)

Date: 13 August 2014 6:45 PM - , Venue: Avalon Theatre

On August 13, at 6:45 pm, the Avalon Theatre will feature for one night only world-renowned director Agnieszka Holland’s internationally hailed epic film BURNING BUSH (Hořící keř), which garnered a historic 11 Czech Lion Awards. The film is a powerful story of Jan Palach, a Czechoslovak student who set himself on fire to protest the Soviet invasion of his country in 1968.

“CRITIC’S PICK! Thoughtful, gripping…does a remarkably persuasive job of capturing the nightmarish and sometimes grimly comical quality of life under totalitarianism…a tight and suspenseful ethical thriller.” – A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Holland’s work illustrates the scar that the invasion left on the face of the nation as well as what Václav Havel called “the moral contamination” that spread as a result the communists’ attempt to return the country back to totalitarian normalcy. The storyline begins with Palach’s heroic act and subsequently follows Dagmar Burešová, a young female lawyer who defended Palach’s family against the totalitarian regime as it attempted to discredit Palach’s sacrifice. Burning Bush is a stunning story of a fight for freedom, moral principles, and self-sacrifice.(Dir: Agnieszka Holland, 2013, 234 min., Czech with English subtitles)

This epic three-part drama was HBO Europe’s most ambitious, big-budget project to date.
Please note: There will be a 15 minute intermission between Part 2 and Part 3 of the film.

The screening is part of the Lions of Czech Film Series in collaboration with the Embassy of the Czech Republic.

Tickets will be available via www.theavalon.org/movies/burning-bush/ or at the door.

Location: Avalon Theatre, 5612 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC

More about the film: http://www.hbo-europe.com/burningbush/
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlvshoNsY7g

Awards:
The film won 11 Czech Lion Awards, including Best Director (Agnieszka Holland), Best Cinematography (Martin Strba), Best Screenplay (Stepan Hulik), Best Supporting Actress (Jaroslava Pokorná), Best Film, Best Editing (Pavel Hrdlicka), Best Music (Antoni Lazarkiewicz), Best Costumes (Katarina Hollá), Best Make-up (Zdenek Klika), among others. It has been screened at the International TV Festival in Monte Carlo, the 2013 Telluride, Toronto and New York Film Festivals, among others.

About the Director:
Agnieszka Holland is a Polish director and screenwriter born in 1948 in Warsaw. Holland studied at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU) because, according to her own words, she was fascinated by Czechoslovak films of the 1960s and admired directors such as Miloš Forman, Ivan Passer, and Věra Chytilová. The director observed the events of the Prague Spring of 1968 herself and spent six weeks in prison for supporting government reforms. Agnieszka Holland has directed more than thirty works. She was nominated for the Oscar in 1985 for Angry Harvest, in 1990 for Europa, Europa and 2012 for In Darkness. She has also directed television episodes of The Wire, Treme, and The Killing. Recently, she was asked to direct two episodes of House of Cards.

About the Lions of Czech Film Series:    
This marks the eighth year of collaboration with the Avalon Theatre to present the Lions of Czech Film Series. This film series gives the Washington, DC, community an opportunity to view Czech films that are popular hits in Europe and have received numerous honors and awards at film festivals. Most of the films have received the prestigious Czech Lion Award, the Czech equivalent of an Academy Award. All of the films have limited distribution in the United States. The Lions of Czech Film Series offers an invaluable opportunity to see the best of Czech cinema in the nation’s capital.