Based on actual events and characters, this three-part drama created for HBO focuses on the self-sacrifice of a student, Jan Palach, who set himself on fire in 1969 in a protest against the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia. 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.
This emotional story of the actions of a student and the bravery of a young lawyer is, at its heart, a story of basic human values such as truth, honour, 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 twenty years later.
The 20th anniversary of Palach's death inspired a new generation of students to start protests that led to the eventual fall of Communism in Czechoslovakia in 1989, alongside the fall of the Iron Curtain in Europe. The Palach family's lawyer, Dagmar Burešová, who spent her early career defending persecuted opposition leaders, became the first Minister of Justice in a freed Czechoslovakia.
The three-part mini-series was directed by the famous Polish director Agnieszka Holland, who studied at the Prague Film Academy at the time when the events depicted in the film took place. She herself marched in the streets during the Prague spring and spent six weeks in prison for her support of new government reforms.
A small corner of Place d'Armes in the centre of Luxembourg city named Square Jan Palach commemorates the heroic deed depicted in the film.
Refreshments will be offered during the two breaks between the episodes.
With the support of the association Amitiés Tchèque et Slovaque Luxembourg
