Czech Mini-Series Commissioned for HBO Central Europe

BUDAPEST: Writer and director Agnieszka Holland, whose In Darkness is a contender for best foreign-language film at this year’s Academy Awards, is working on a three-part drama for HBO Central Europe about Czech student activist Jan Palach.

The drama will tell the story of Palach, the student who burned himself to death in Wenceslas Square in Prague in 1968 in the aftermath of the Prague Spring and became a symbol of the anti-Communist movement. Holland will direct the mini-series from a script by Stepán Hulík. The three-parter, slated for a 2013 broadcast, will be produced by the Nutprodukce company in Prague.

"Jan Palach’s story, of his personal sacrifice and the impact he had on the freedom movement in Czechoslovakia, is close to the heart of the Czech people," said Antony Root, the executive VP of original programming and production at HBO Central Europe. "This is exactly the kind of story HBO is committed to producing in central Europe."

Linda Jensen, CEO of HBO Central Europe, added,” The story has resonance across Europe as one of self sacrifice for a cause in the face of impossible odds—and we are very excited to have a director of the stature of Agnieska Holland to direct this incredible story.”