Karlovy Vary Provides Czech and Slovak Films With a Springboard Into World Market

So many stars were at the premiere of Dune at the 2021 Venice Film Festival!

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorVariety has been given exclusive access to the first footage to be released from Slovak director Peter Kerekes’ “107 Mothers,” which world premieres in the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival. Films Boutique is handling world sales on the film.“107 Mothers” features mostly real-life female prisoners and prison guards in an Odessa women’s jail acting out their true stories.

Marta Balaga Chosen as this year’s recipient of the President’s Award at Karlovy Vary Film Festival, Ethan Hawke met with journalists at the Czech event to discuss his career, projects and the ongoing pandemic.“I have just worked in Hungary. You could write an entire essay about their government but they haven’t politicized the vaccine.

Johnny Depp and Ethan Hawke got a very warm welcome at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival!

Will Tizard ContributorMigration drama “As Far as I Can Walk,” directed by Stefan Arsenijevic, won the top prize at the 55th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on Saturday, commended by the critics for its nuanced portrayal of the realities of refugees’ lives.The joint Serbia/France/Luxembourg/Bulgaria/Lithuania production, starring Ibrahim Koma and Nancy Mensah-Offei and inspired by a Serbian medieval epic poem, also won the $25,000 Crystal Globe prize, best actor award for Koma, special

The 55th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival came to a close today with the awarding of its various prizes.

Special Jury Mentions went to “The Staffroom,” actress Vinette Robinson for “The Boiling Point” and cinematographer Jelena Stankovic for “As Far as I Can Walk.”In the East of the West competition, a separate slate of films from Eastern Europe, the winner was “Nuuccha,” with a special jury prize to “Sisterhood” and a special mention to the documentary “Intensive Life Unit.”The jury that chose the main awards consisted of Argentinian producer Benjamin Domenech, Danish filmmaker Eva Mulvad, Polish

Marta Balaga Returning after not one but two cancellations caused by the pandemic, Karlovy Vary Film Festival moves into its final days, with artistic director Karel Och already looking back on the 55th edition, pushed back to Aug. 20-28.“It was a good decision to postpone,” he tells Variety, noting that the streamlined program, with 25 fewer titles than usual, helped satisfy the audience’s needs.

Will Tizard ContributorDespite an apparent last-minute sense of concern by Karlovy Vary fest organizers over international press coverage of Johnny Depp and his ongoing legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard over domestic abuse allegations, the rocker/actor/producer made his appearances without much fuss and introduced the docu he co-produced, “Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan” to welcoming crowds on Friday.Depp’s other project at the Czech fest, the Japan-set thriller “Minamata,”

the 44-year-old’s upcoming album “Donda” will admit up to 38,000 fans — slashed down from 63,000 people.Chicago Park District spokeswoman Michele Lemons said in a statement that the reduced capacity is a show of how seriously the city takes the pandemic.“Kanye West’s performance is one of many examples that show that Chicago can be open and safe at the same time,” Lemons said, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Will Tizard ContributorThe 55th edition of the Karlovy Vary Intl.

KARLOVY VARY, Czech Republic (Reuters) - Stars returned to the Czech town of Karlovy Vary for its annual film festival for the first time in over two years on Friday, as central and eastern Europe's leading film industry event got back into action after a COVID hiatus. The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival opened with two-time Oscar winner Michael Caine walking the red carpet.

th festival in the picturesque spa town 80 miles west of Prague — “like half a jubilee,” he said. It’s also the first in more than two years, with last year’s festival canceled because of the pandemic and this year’s delayed from early July date to late August out of caution.The spread of the Delta variant made the August 20-28 dates tricky as well, but the feeling as the festival launched was less one of caution than of celebration.

Alissa Simon Film CriticFuture Frames is a next generation showcase comprised of short works by students and recent graduates of European film schools, curated by the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in cooperation with European Film Promotion. The selected directors and their films will be introduced to on-site festival audiences from Aug.

Alissa Simon Film CriticAfter winning Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s Crystal Globe for best director in 2018 for “Winter Flies,” the Slovenian-born Czech director Olmo Omerzu returns to its competition with the world premiere of his fourth feature “Bird Atlas.” It is co-written with his “Winter Flies” collaborator Petr Pýcha.

Alissa Simon Film CriticCompeting for the Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary Film Festival, director-writer Sonja Tarokić’s impressive debut drama “The Staffroom” tackles the psychology of the workplace as experienced by idealistic, new primary school counselor Anamarija (Marina Redžepović).

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorVariety has been given exclusive access to the trailer for “Wars” (Guerres), which plays in the main competition at Karlovy Vary Film Festival. Sales on the film are being handled by Be For Films.The Canadian film, based on a screenplay by Cynthia Tremblay, centers on 20-year-old Emma, who decides to join the army, following in her father’s footsteps.

While the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival prides itself on showcasing choice European fare to global cinephiles, the last six years has seen the festival build its industry strand into one of the most attractive places in Central Europe to source regional talent.

It is said that with age comes wisdom and that adage feels strikingly true when it comes to the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The prominent Central European event is the one of the world’s oldest film festivals, founded in July 1946, a month before Locarno launched its first festival and few months before the Cannes Film Festival unveiled its first edition in September that same year.

Will Tizard ContributorBouncing back in live form after two cancellations caused by COVID safety measures last year, the 55th edition of the Karlovy Vary Intl.