// Presented as part of December's The Future is Female (Directors) II Series //

Agnieszka Holland / 2014, Cameraimage, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Monte Carlo, New York, NYT Critics' Pick, Palm Springs, Rotterdam / 243'

On January 16th, 1969, twenty-year-old Jan Palach, a student of history and political economy, set himself on fire in Prague's Wenceslas Square. This act of self-immolation, intended as a protest against the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by Soviet armed forces, captured the attention of a nation in mourning. Young female lawyer Dagmar Buresová takes on the legal battle Palach's family wages against the occupying totalitarian regime, defending the sacrifice of one young man for his nation's freedom.

Conceived in a three-part episodic structure, Burning Bush is a sweeping depiction of a pivotal moment in Czech history. Having directed episodes of The Killing, The Wire, and House of Cards, Agnieszka Holland's original mini-series premiered at Rotterdam, New York, and Hong Kong, where it won the SIGNIS Award. Burning Bush won 11 Czech Lions, including Best Film and Best Director, and is a New York Times Critics' Pick.