Czech filmmaker Hynek Bocan largely eschewed the conventions of his country's New Wave cinema in favor of making well-crafted, traditional literary adaptations. A graduate of his native Prague's prestigious FAMU in 1961, Bocan started out assisting such filmmakers as Karel Kachyna, Jan Nemec, and Jiri Weiss. In 1969, Bocan was forced by his government to stop the shooting of his third film on political grounds. Banned from making features, Bocan then turned to television. In 1974, the Czech authorities allowed him to return to filmmaking.
