Jana Boková

Jana Boková is a Czech film director.

Boková was born in Prague, but left Czechoslovakia in August 1968 to attend a conference of art students in Austria, then emigrated to Paris, France to study at the Sorbonne. She then lived in the United States where she worked as a photographer for Rolling Stone and other magazines.^[1] She then lived in the United Kingdom for many years, studying at the National Film and Television School, and producing documentary films for British television.^[2]

She wrote and directed the 1986 drama film Hôtel du Paradis, which was shown out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987.^[3]

In 2001, Boková was approached by musician Eric Clapton to direct a music video, but ended up filming a feature-length documentary film called Eric Clapton and Friends which covered Clapton's band's rehearsals and preparations for a world tour.^[4]

In 2003, the Cinémathèque Française hosted a complete retrospective of Boková's work.^[1]

Her most recent film, Bye Bye Shanghai (2008), examines the concept of "exile" as it relates to Czech émigrés including herself.^[1]

In January and February 2020, the Czech Centre in London screened two of Boková's films - Havana (1990) and La Confiteria Ideal: The Tango Salon (2004), followed by a Q&A session with Boková, led respectively by Alan Yentob and Leslie Megahey.^[5]

They formed part of what was to have been a three-part season of her films at the centre, with Bye Bye Shanghai set to be the final one shown on 26 March along with a Q&A session with Boková, led by TV director and writer Henrietta Foster. However, because of the coronavirus pandemic, it was postponed indefinitely.^[6] The screening and Q&A session were subsequently rescheduled for 13 September 2021.^[7]

Boková lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina.