Burning Bush, which was broadcast on HBO Europe’s fifteen channels in early 2013, is the story of the Czech student Jan Palach who died by self-immolation in 1969 in protest of the Communist crackdown and the legal fight by his family to clear his name.  

Antony Root, Executive Vice President, Original Programming and Production, HBO Europe, said, "We are delighted to be entering into a distribution agreement with Beta for Burning Bush. The wonderful work of Agnieszka Holland and her team has already been acclaimed by critics and audiences in central Europe. We are now keen to bring the miniseries to the wider international market. We are certain the moving story of Jan Palach's sacrifice and the events that followed will connect with audiences around the world." 

Beta Film CEO Jan Mojto, a native of Czechoslovakia and contemporary of both Palach and Holland, added, “How do we make choices when we face mechanisms of terror in a totalitarian system? Whether in Germany under the Nazi regime or in Eastern Europe under Communist rule, the last century is a source of fascinating stories of betrayal and adaptation but also of courage and revolution. That Agnieszka Holland precisely knows this situation is what makes Burning Bush so intriguing. I am sure this program will appeal to those who remember but it will also inspire younger audiences. We are happy to continue our relationship with Agnieszka Holland following our cooperation on her Academy Award nomination for In Darkness.”

The three part drama is HBO Europe’s most ambitious, big-budget project to date.  

Burning Bush, based on a script by Stepan Hulik and starring Tatiana Pauhofova, Jaroslava Pokorna, Petr Stach and Jan Budar, was produced by HBO Europe (Antony Root, Tereza Polachova) and Nutprodukce Production (Tomas Hruby, Pavla Kubeckova).