Hynek Bočan (born 29 April 1938) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

film director and screenwriter. His major works include the TV series ''

The Land Gone Wild ''The Land Gone Wild'' () is a Czech adventure historical television series. It was produced by Czech Television and filmed in four seasons in 1997, 2001, 2007 and 2012. Story is based on Jiří Stránský's novels ''Zdivočelá země'' and ''Auk ...

'' and the fairy tale film ''

Give the Devil His Due ''Give the Devil His Due'' () is a 1985 Czech fairytale film directed by Hynek Bočan. It is one of the most popular fairytale films in the Czech Republic. The original Czech title means ''"No joking around with devils"''. Plot Petr's father marr ...

''. He has received several awards for his lifetime contribution to Czech cinematography.

Life

Hynek Bočan was born on 29 April 1938 in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. He grew up in the

Libeň Libeň () is a cadastral area and district of Prague, Czech Republic. It was incorporated into Prague in 1901. Places * Praha-Libeň railway station Demographics People * Reinhard Heydrich, assassinated here * Herz Homberg, born here ...

district of Prague. His father, a lawyer, died when he was twelve. In 1953, he got a small role in

Jiří Sequens Jiří Sequens (23 April 1922 – 21 January 2008) was a Czech film director. Life Sequens was born in Brno. After the Second World War, he went to Moscow where he studied film techniques. When he returned to Czechoslovakia he worked for Cz ...

' film ''Olověný chléb''. This experience showed him that he did not want to be an actor, but wanted to succeed in film as a director or cinematographer. In 1956, he started to study film directing at

Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague () or FAMU is a film school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1946 as one of three branches of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. It is the fifth oldest film school in ...

. At a casting for his first film in 1965, he met his wife Jana, with whom he remained his entire life. They have a son, Jan.

Career and appreciation

He started as an assistant director on movies ''

Ninety Degrees in the Shade 90 (ninety) is the natural number following 89 and preceding 91. In the English language, the numbers 90 and 19 are often confused, as they sound very similar. When carefully enunciated, they differ in which syllable is stressed: 19 /naɪnˈt ...

'', ''

Diamonds of the Night ''Diamonds of the Night'' () is a 1964 Czech film about two boys on the run from a train taking them to a concentration camp, based loosely on Arnošt Lustig's autobiographical novel ''Darkness Has No Shadow''. It was director Jan Němec's first fe ...

'' and ''

Ikarie XB-1 ''Ikarie XB-1'' is a 1963 Czechoslovak science fiction film directed by Jindřich Polák. It is based loosely on the novel ''The Magellanic Cloud'', by Stanisław Lem. The film was released in the United States, edited and dubbed into English, un ...

''. His first movie was an adaptation of

Milan Kundera Milan Kundera ( ; ; 1 April 1929 – 11 July 2023) was a Czech and French novelist. Kundera went into exile in France in 1975, acquiring citizenship in 1981. His Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, but he was granted Czech citizenship ...

's story '' Nobody Gets the Last Laugh'' in 1965. He became part of the so-called

Czechoslovak New Wave The Czechoslovak New Wave (also Czech/Slovak New Wave) is a term used for the Czechoslovak filmmakers who started making films in the 1960s. The directors commonly included are Miloš Forman, Věra Chytilová, Jan Švankmajer, Ivan Passer, Pave ...

. Because of his opinions and the themes of his films, he had problems with the authoritarian

communist regime in Czechoslovakia Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, distrib ...

. His movie ''

The Borstal ''The Borstal'' () is a Czech language, Czech drama film about a teacher newly assigned to youth detention center. It was made by director Hynek Bočan in 1968, but for political reasons it remained unfinished until 1990. Cast * Ivan Vyskočil ...

'' (1968) was banned and only released in 1990. After 1968, due to stress, he fell ill with

dysphonia A hoarse voice, also known as dysphonia or hoarseness, is when the voice involuntarily sounds breathy, raspy, or strained, or is softer in volume or lower in pitch. A hoarse voice can be associated with a feeling of unease or scratchiness in the ...

, which meant he could not speak and could not make films for several years. One of Bočan's most acclaimed works was his series ''

'' (1997–2012; written together with

Jiří Stránský Jiří Stránský (12 August 1931 – 29 May 2019) was a Czechs, Czech author, playwright, Translation, translator, screenwriter, twice a political prisoner of the History of Czechoslovakia (1948–1989), communist regime, and human rights advocat ...

), in which he had the opportunity to truthfully portray the dark sides of Czechoslovakia's history. During his career, Bočan made several films and TV series for children. In 1984, he directed ''

'', which became one of the most successful, most popular and most frequently rerun fairy tale (fantasy) films in the country. In 2024, he received the Golden Slipper award at the

Zlín Film Festival Zlín Film Festival, also known as the International Film Festival for Children and Youth () is an annual festival of children's film in Zlín in the Czech Republic, founded in 1961 in the former Czechoslovakia. History The first festival t ...

for outstanding contribution to cinematography for children and youth. In 2019, Bočan received the annual lifetime achievement award from the Association of Czech Film Clubs. In 2021, Bočan received an award for extraordinary contribution to Czech cinema from the

Czech Film and Television Academy The Czech Lion Awards () are annual awards that recognize accomplishments in filmmaking and television. It is the highest award of achievement in film awarded in the Czech Republic. The jury is composed of members of the Czech Film and Televisio ...

Selected filmography

Films

*'' Nobody Gets the Last Laugh'' (1965) – won Grand Prix at

International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg The Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival (), often referred to by the German-language initialism IFFMH, is an annual film festival established in 1952 hosted jointly by the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg, the ...

*'' Honour and Glory'' (1967) *''

Private Gale Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

'' (1967) – won Passinetti prize at

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

*''

'' (1968) – released in 1990 *''

Parta hic ''Parta hic'' ("The Hic Team") is a 1976 Czechoslovak film. The film starred Josef Kemr. Cast * Václav Babka as Rudla Janeček *Vladimír Menšík as Ota Chochola * Jan Skopeček as Mašín *Josef Kemr Josef Kemr (20 June 1922 – 15 January ...

'' (1976) *''

Svatební cesta do Jiljí ''Svatební cesta do Jiljí '' is a Czech television romantic comedy film. It was directed by Hynek Bočan and released in 1983. It stars a real life couple Josef Abrhám and Libuše Šafránková. Production The film was shot in summer 1982 in ...

'' (1983) *''

'' (1984) *''

Smích se lepí na paty ''Smích se lepí na paty'' is a 1986 Czechoslovak film directed by Hynek Bočan. The film starred Josef Kemr Josef Kemr (20 June 1922 – 15 January 1995) was a Czech actor. He starred in the 1969/1970 film ''Witchhammer'' under director Otak ...

'' (1986)

TV series

*''

Záhada hlavolamu ''Záhada hlavolamu'' (Mystery of the Puzzle) is a Czechoslovak adventure television series produced by Czechoslovak Television, which broadcast it in 1969–1970. The nine-part series is an adaptation of the novels The Mystery of the Puzzle and S ...

'' (1969) *''

Slavné historky zbojnické ''Slavné historky zbojnické'' (Famous Bandit Stories) is a Czechoslovak adventure historical television series filmed in 1985. Six 59 minute episodes were filmed. The series was directed by Hynek Bočan. Every episode tells a story of famous ban ...

'' (1986–1988) *'' Přítelkyně z domu smutku'' (1992) *''

'' (1997–2012) – also as screenwriter

Family

Bočan's nephew is

Pavel Žáček Pavel Žáček (born 1969) is a Czech academic and politician who served as the first Director of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, the Czech government agency and research institute tasked with investigation of the crimes of t ...

(an academic, politician and journalist).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bocan, Hynek 1938 births Living people Czech film directors Czech male screenwriters Film directors from Prague Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alumni