Jana Boková
Quick Facts
Biography
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. 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.
She wrote and directed the 1986 drama film Hôtel du Paradis, which was shown out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987.
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.
In 2003, the Cinémathèque Française hosted a complete retrospective of Boková's work.
Her most recent film, Bye Bye Shanghai (2008), examines the concept of "exile" as it relates to Czech émigrés including herself.
Boková currently lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina