KCETLink Presents U.S. Television Premiere of 'Burning Bush'
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Ayn Allen or Rachel Coulson
747.201.5886, aallen@kcet.org
747.201.5707, rcoulson@kcet.org
KCETLink Presents U.S. Television Premiere of 'Burning Bush'
Epic Three-Part Mini-Series Details Political Upheaval in
1960s Communist Czechoslovakia
Burbank, Calif. - Jan. 8, 2014 - KCETLink, the national independent public broadcast and digital network, presents the U.S. premiere of BURNING BUSH, a three-part docudrama, originally produced for HBO Europe, by world-renowned Polish director Agnieszka Holland.
BURNING BUSH premieres on KCET (Southern California) on three consecutive Wednesdays: Jan. 14, Jan. 21 and Jan. 28 at 9 p.m. PT. The film also premieres nationally on Link TV (DirecTV 345 and DISH Network 9410) for three consecutive nights, beginning Monday, Jan. 19 - Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
The film will also be available to view online for 90 days beginning Jan. 14 atwww.kcet.org/burningbush and www.linktv.org/burningbush.
Based on actual events and characters and hailed by The New York Times as a "thoughtful, gripping, crisply acted film," BURNING BUSH focuses on the self-sacrifice of student, Jan Palach, who set himself on fire in a protest against the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1969. Young female lawyer Dagmar Burešová led the legal fight brought by his family against the communist politician who slandered Palach's name and his sacrifice for freedom.
The emotional story of the actions by Palach and the bravery of his lawyer bring to light core human values such as truth, honor, justice and courage. Their fight for freedom and moral principles, in a time of censorship and oppression, eventually led to the unification of an oppressed nation, a struggle which defeated the totalitarian regime 20 years later.
Holland, who was a student at the FAMU film school in Prague during this tumultuous period, vividly recreates the political and cultural zeitgeist of Czechoslovakia in the late '60s.
The 20th anniversary of Palach's death in 1989 inspired a new generation of students to start protests that led to the eventual fall of communism in Czechoslovakia, alongside the fall of the Iron Curtain in Europe. Burešová, who spent her early career defending persecuted opposition leaders, became the first Minister of Justice in a freed Czechoslovakia.
Holland is perhaps best known for Europa Europa, which received an Academy Award® nomination in 1991 for Best Adapted Screenplay. Her 2011 feature, In Darkness, also received an Academy Award ® nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. Holland has also directed television episodes of HBO's hit dramas,The Wire and Treme, as well as The Killing.
Additional content and information about the film, including an exclusive interview with Holland, providing insight into the events leading up to the fall of the Iron Curtain, are available online at www.kcet.org/burningbush andwww.linktv.org/burningbush.
The miniseries will also rebroadcast on KCET on three consecutive Saturdays: Jan. 17, Jan. 24 and Jan. 31 at 10 p.m. PT.; and one night on Link TV on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 8 p.m. PT.
ABOUT KCETLINK MEDIA GROUP
KCETLink Media Group, formed by the merger between KCET and Link Media, is a national independent, nonprofit, digital and broadcast network that provides high-quality, culturally diverse programming designed to engage the public in innovative, entertaining and transformative ways. With a commitment to independent perspectives, smart global entertainment, local communities, and opportunities for engagement and social action, KCETLink depicts people and the world through a lens unavailable elsewhere in U.S. media. A viewer-supported 501(c)(3) organization, KCETLink content is distributed nationally via satellite on Link TV - DIRECTV channel 375 and DISH Network channel 9410 - and on KCET in Southern and Central California via broadcast and cable, as well as through various digital delivery systems. For additional information about KCET and Link TV productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org or linktv.org.
