Karlovy Vary Film Festival Kicks Off on Friday

The 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival kicks off in the West Bohemian spa town on Friday evening. 

The festival will open with a screening of the western The Dead Don’t Hurt, written and directed by Viggo Mortensen, who also stars in the film.

Themes of “fragile family bonds and explorations of love driven by complex female characters,” Kočárník says, will feature prominently in many of the fest’s films, such as Norway’s “Loveable.”

In addition, there are a few period dramas with a contemporary touch, such as Margarida Cardoso’s “Banzo,” Bruno Anković’s “Celebration,” about young men seduced by right-wing ideology, and Iveta Grófová’s 1940s-set “Hungarian Dressmaker.”

The festival it’s keeping an eye on a new generation of local directors. One such helmer is Adam Martinec, who is about to make his feature debut with “Our Lovely Pig Slaughter.”

“The world is waiting for this film, if I may exaggerate a little,” says KVIFF’s artistic director Karel Och. “You don’t get to see Czech films at the biggest festivals that often, which I hope will change, but I am very confident about this new generation. Unlike some of their older colleagues, they work on themselves. They go to festivals, watch films and they want to be a part of a bigger filmmaking community.”

According to Kočárník, new directors are successfully building a bridge between the past and the present.

But the event also celebrates its returning guests, including KVIFF regular Mark Cousins — set to present “A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things,” a feature about painter Wilhelmina Barns-Graham — and juror Christine Vachon.

“These are friends of the festival. When you come to KVIFF, we’ll try our best to make you feel as comfortable as possible. We want to make sure it’s still an intimate event, despite being ‘visible’ and significant internationally,” says Och.

Geoffrey Rush will also make a return. While his 2022 Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema raised eyebrows due to accusations of sexual misconduct by a former co-star, Rush has won a defamation lawsuit against the publisher of the Australian outlet that printed the allegations.

KVIFF will pay its respects to a world-renowned Czech artist Franz Kafka, celebrating the 100th anniversary of his death with a retrospective “The Wish to Be a Red Indian: Kafka and Cinema.”

There have been many events dedicated to Kafka, and “we had to make sure ours would be outstanding. Even if it makes five people rediscover his books, it will be worth it,” says Och.

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