Three JANA BOKAVÁ Documentaries in Jan, Feb and March: Celebrating 40 Years of Czech Filmmaker’s Latin American Ventures
IN FOCUS: JANA BOKOVÁ
30 January, 27 February & 26 March 2020
Czech Centre at the Czech Embassy Cinema
26-30 Kensington Palace Gardens, Kensington, London W8 4QY
A tribute to the UK–Czech filmmaker Jana Boková celebrates her prolific career spanning over 40 years, four countries and more than 25 films, and showcases her three major themes: home & identity, city portraits and a passion for Latin American dance and music. While winning many awards for the BBC Arena and Omnibus series, Boková’s documentary Havana became a direct inspiration for Julian Schnabel’s Venice Film Festival winner Before Night Falls. Boková’s way of weaving the stories of people and their everyday lives into powerful and atmospheric city portraits also inspired the musician Eric Clapton to commission her to become his own personal documentarist. More information and full programme
HAVANA
+ Q&A with director Jana Boková and BBC producer and presenter Alan Yentob
30th January 2020, 7 pm
Free admission | Register via Eventbrite here
This extraordinary documentary moves between the pre-revolutionary past and the volatile present of Castro’s Cuba in 1989 and consists above all of residents talking about their homes, their city and Cuba in the midst of Havana’s dilapidated, ruined beauty. Full of striking images and captivating music this is a wonderfully lyrical and honest homage to Havana and its people. More info
27th February 2020, 7 pm
Free admission | Register via Eventbrite here
The great city of Buenos Aires is still reeling from the economic crisis, but – paradoxically – out of the daily suffering of the porteños one of the strongest tango revivals ever has risen. Boková celebrates the lives of the tangueros and tangueras – old milongueros, local dancers, tango teachers, foreigners and tango stars aged from 20 to 80 – who all share their tango stories of love, family and nationality, and shows how the political and the aesthetic are inextricably interwoven. More info
BYE BYE SHANGHAI+ Q&A with Jana Boková and Henrietta Foster on exile and identity
26th March 2020, 7 pm
Admission: £7 + booking fee | Online booking here
Jana Boková’s latest film set partly in Buenos Aires, Paris and Prague explores various aspects of emigration and its effect on people’s lives building up a captivating documentary essay about home, the world and staying in those fictitious spaces. More info
Organised by the Czech Centre London
The Czech Centre’s mission is to actively promote the Czech Republic by showcasing Czech culture in the UK.
Its programme covers visual and performing arts, film, literature, music, architecture, design and fashion. As well as hosting its own events, the Czech Centre offers support for other groups organising Czech related initiatives in the UK.
