Death of a student

Compiled from footage shot surreptitiously by Granada Television’s World in Action Unit and an underground Czech filmmaker. Records the events that were taking place on the streets of Prague following the death of 21 year old Jan Palach, the first Czech student who set himself alight as a protest against censorship and Soviet occupation of his country. From his deathbed, he sent a message to his compatriots hoping to rouse them into action against their oppressors. He died on the 19th of January 1969, 73 hours after setting himself on fire. The film documents the street vigils occuring while Palach was in hospital, the demonstration organised the day after his death and the tributes and ceremonies that marked his funeral which was attended by half a million people. A musical lament interspersed with the sound of Soviet tanks was composed for Palach’s death and edited with footage of his funeral. Includes vox populi interviews and a visit by the film unit to Palach’s philosophy class at Prague University. Cinematography for Granada Television by Ian McFarlane. Edited by Gerry Dow, Jeremy Wallington and Leslies Woodhead.