''Burning Bush'' ( cs, Hořící keř) is a 2013 three-part miniseries created for

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

by Polish director

Agnieszka Holland Agnieszka Holland (born 28 November 1948) is a Poles, Polish film and television director and screenwriter, best known for her political contributions to Polish cinema. She began her career as assistant to directors Krzysztof Zanussi and Andrzej ...

. Based on real characters and events, this haunting drama focuses on the personal sacrifice of a Prague history student,

Jan Palach Jan Palach (; 11 August 1948 – 19 January 1969) was a Czech student of history and political economics at Charles University in Prague. His self-immolation was a political protest against the end of the Prague Spring resulting from the 1968 in ...

, who set himself on fire in 1969 in protest against the

Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...

in the previous year.

Dagmar Burešová Dagmar Burešová (19 October 192930 June 2018) was a Czech lawyer and politician. She specialised in labour law and her defence of Libuše Palachová, the mother of Jan Palach, was featured in the 2013 miniseries ''Burning Bush''. As a pol ...

, a young female lawyer, became part of his legacy by defending Palach's family in a trial against the communist government, a regime which tried to dishonour Palach’s sacrifice, a heroic action for the freedom of Czechoslovakia. The fight for freedom, for moral principles, self-sacrifice and protest in those desperate times led to the moral unification of a repressed nation, which twenty years later defeated the totalitarian regime. The anniversary of Jan Palach’s death inspired a new generation of students to start protests that led to the eventual fall of communism in Czechoslovakia, part of the eventual destruction of the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...

. Lawyer Dagmar Burešová, who spent her life representing dissident opposition leaders, became the first

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

in a free Czechoslovakia. The film is dedicated to

Jan Zajíc Jan Zajíc (July 3, 1950 – February 25, 1969) was a Czech student who committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest. He was a student of the Střední průmyslová škola železniční (Industrial Highschool of Railways) technica ...

Evžen Plocek Evžen Plocek (29 October 1929, Jihlava – 9 April 1969, Jihlava) was a Czech man (reform communist) who committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest. He is usually named together with Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc whose self-immolation ...

Ryszard Siwiec Ryszard Siwiec (; 7 March 1909 – 12 September 1968) was a Polish accountant and former Home Army resistance member who was the first person to commit suicide by self-immolation in protest against the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. Alth ...

and to all who sacrificed their lives while fighting for freedom. At the International TV Festival in Monte Carlo, Ivan Trojan was awarded the prize of Golden Nymph for the Best Actor in a mini-series. It has been selected to be screened in the Special Presentation section at the

2013 Toronto International Film Festival The 38th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 5 and 15, 2013. '' The Fifth Estate'' was selected as the opening film and '' Life of Crime'' was the closing film. 75 films were ...

. The series was later edited into a film. The premiere of the film version was set to be on 12 September 2013.http://www.kinobox.cz/clanek/8188-do-ceskych-kin-miri-horici-ker-v-nove-sestrihane-verzi Czech The film was originally selected as the Czech entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

86th Academy Awards The 86th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2013 and took place on March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. ...

. However

AMPAS The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...

disqualified the film, citing regulations that the film must not have initially appeared on television. The mini-series aired on Czech TV eight months prior to the re-edited version that appeared in cinemas.

Cast

Tatiana Pauhofová Tatiana Pauhofová (born 13 August 1983) is a Slovak actress born in Bratislava. Life and career Tatiana (Tania) Pauhofová studied Acting at Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. She was chosen among the 'Shooting Stars' of European Fi ...

as JUDr.

, a lawyer of the Palach family *

Jaroslava Pokorná Jaroslava Pokorná (born 2 August 1948) is a Czech film and stage actress. She was named Best Actress at the 2005 Alfréd Radok Awards for her role in ''The Wild Duck'' at the Divadlo v Dlouhé. She won the Czech Lion award for Best Supporting Act ...

as Libuše Palachová, Jan Palach's mother *Petr Stach as Jiří Palach, Palach's brother *

Ivan Trojan Ivan Trojan (born 30 June 1964) is a Czech actor, widely considered to be one of the greatest Czech actors of all time. With four Czech Lions for Best Actor in a Leading Role, he has also won two for his supporting roles in ''Seducer'' and '' ...

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Jireš,

Public security Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensure ...

(police) officer who investigates Palach's death (fictional character) *

Igor Bareš Igor Bareš (born 15 April 1966) is a Czech actor. Selected filmography Film * '' The City of the Sun'' (2005) * '' Pleasant Moments'' (2006) * ''An Earthly Paradise for the Eyes'' (2009) * '' Men in Rut'' (2009) * '' Největší z Čechů'' ( ...

as Major Dočekal, secret police

StB State Security ( cs, Státní bezpečnost, sk, Štátna bezpečnosť) or StB / ŠtB, was the secret police force in communist Czechoslovakia from 1945 to its dissolution in 1990. Serving as an intelligence and counter-intelligence agency, it d ...

("state secret security") (fictional character) *

Vojtěch Kotek Vojtěch Kotek (born 8 January 1988 in Prague) is a Czech actor and dubber. Selected filmography Film * '' Snowboarďáci'' (2004) * ''Rafťáci'' (2006) * ''Ro(c)k podvraťáků'' (2006) * ''Burning Bush'' (2013) * '' Vlastníci'' (2019) * '' ...

as Ondřej Trávníček, a student activist (

composite character In a work of media adapted from a real or fictional narrative, a composite character is a character based on more than one individual from the story. Use in film *Several characters in the movie '' 21''. *The character Henry Hurt in the docudra ...

) *

Jan Budař Jan Budař (born 31 July 1977) is a Czech actor, director, singer, composer and script writer. Biography Budař was born in Frýdlant near Liberec. He graduated from the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts (JAMU) in Brno in 2000. He ...

as Radim Bureš, Burešová's husband *Adrian Jastraban as Vladimír Charouz, Burešová's superior *Patrik Děrgel as Pavel Janda *Denny Ratajský as

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Boček, Jireš's workmate *Tomáš Dianiška as Mlíko *

Jenovéfa Boková Jenovéfa Boková (born 16 May 1992) is a Czech actress and violinist. At the 2018 Czech Lion Awards she won the category of Best Actress, for her performance in the film '. For her performance in the 2013 film '' Revival'', she received a nomin ...

as Vlaďka Charouzová, Charouz's daughter *

Ivana Uhlířová Ivana Uhlířová (born 23 July 1980) is a Czech actress. After being named Talent of the Year at the 2006 Alfréd Radok Awards, she won the Alfréd Radok Award for Best Actress in 2010 for her role of ''Alžběta'' in the Ödön von Horváth ...

as Judge Orlová *Stanislav Zindulka as JUDr. Sládeček, lawyer, colleague of Burešová *Ondřej Malý as JUDr. Knapp, lawyer, colleague of Burešová *

Martin Huba Martin Huba (born 16 July 1943 in Bratislava) is a Slovak actor and director on stage and in film. In 1964 he graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (VŠMU). He joined the Východoslovenské štátne divadlo (Košice Stat ...

as Vilém Nový, a communist official who defames Palach *Míša Procházková as Zuzanka Burešová, Burešová's daughter *Tereza Korejsová as Lucinka Burešová, Burešová's daughter * Alois Švehlík as

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Horyna, high-ranking Public security commander, superior of Jireš and Dočekal *Hana Marie Maroušková as Ilona Palachová, Jiří Palach's wife *

Miroslav Krobot Miroslav Krobot (born 12 November 1951) is a Czech theatre director and actor. He starred in the film ''The Man from London'', which was entered into the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. His daughter Lenka Krobotová is also an actress. Selected fi ...

as conductor Jiřička *Emma Smetana as Hana Čížková *

Taťjana Medvecká Taťjana Medvecká (born 10 November 1953) is a Czech actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as ...

as MUDr. Jana Ziková, a doctor who treats Palach at the hospital *Pavel Cisovský as comrade Hazura

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burning Bush 2013 television films 2013 films 2013 Czech television series debuts Czech drama films Films directed by Agnieszka Holland Czech Lion Awards winners (films) Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia Czech Film Critics' Awards winners HBO Europe original programming Czech-language HBO original programming Czech films based on actual events