Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 

41st Karlovy Vary IFF

June 30 - July 8, 2006

Guests

Saffron BURROWS, United Kingdom

Returning to Karlovy Vary after a period of four years is actress SAFFRON BURROWS, who will be presenting the film GANGSTER NO. 1, a star-studded thriller set in 1960s London gangland.

Originally a professional model (Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent), she first made a fleeting appearance at the age of twenty in the drama IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER (1993). Her first important role was the opportunist Nan, one of the three heroines in the romantic retro-film CIRCLE OF FRIENDS (1995). After meeting director Mike Figgis, Saffron Burrows’ career took a remarkable turn. She appeared in five of his films, among them THE LOSS OF SEXUAL INNOCENCE (1997), TIMECODE ((2000) and HOTEL (2001). All three films were screened in Karlovy Vary.
Apart from appearing in commercial films (FRIDA and TROY), Saffron Burrows continues to work with some of the world’s most original filmmakers (Raoul Ruiz – KLIMT, Hal Hartley – FAY GRIM, among others).

Hugh DANCY, United Kingdom

One of the biggest talents in contemporary British cinema HUGH DANCY began in television before appearing on the big screen. Five years ago Ridley Scott chose him as one of an elite military unit headed for Somalia in the action drama BLACK HAWK DOWN. He appeared alongside Jessica Alba, Brenda Blethyn and Bob Hoskins in the film THE SLEEPING DICTIONARY (2003). Czech viewers will also recognise Hugh Dancy from the films KING ARTHUR (2004) or BASIC INSTINCT 2 (2006). The actor will be coming to Karlovy Vary to introduce the drama by Michael Caton-Jones SHOOTING DOGS, in which he joined John Hurt as a pair of fictional characters in a film reconstruction of the massacre in Rwanda.

Andy GARCIA, USA

ANDY GARCIA will receive the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema at the 41st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Actor and director ANDY GARCIA was born Havana, Cuba in 1956, where he spent the first five and one-half years of his life. When Fidel Castro came to power, his family was forced to immigrate to Florida.
Garcia began his acting studies at Florida International University. He drew attention to himself by playing the role of the antagonist in the Hal Ashby film 8 MILLION WAYS TO DIE. A year later he was chosen by Brian De Palma to star alongside Kevin Costner and Sean Connery as the Italian policeman George Stone in the gangster film THE UNTOUCHABLES.
Among other directors of note who cast the talented actor were Ridley Scott (BLACK RAIN), Stephen Frears (HERO), and above all Francis Ford Coppola, who cast Garcia in the third part of his mafia saga THE GODFATHER. The role of hot blooded Vincent Mancini-Corleone brought Garcia nominations for both a Golden Globe and an Oscar® . In that same year, he was voted ShoWest’s Star-of-the-Year for his performance in THE GODFATHER and INTERNAL AFFAIRS. In the mid-nineties Czech moviegoers had the opportunity to appreciate his noteworthy performance with Meg Ryan in the film WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN. Less than a decade later, Garcia proved himself a more than worthy co-star for George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts as the merciless casino owner Terry Benedict in Steven Soderbergh’s OCEAN’S ELEVEN and OCEAN’S TWELVE.
This year, Garcia made his debut as a feature film director with the romantic drama THE LOST CITY, in which he returns to the days of Castro’s rise in Havana, which altered the fates of many Cubans, including Garcia. The film, in which Garcia co-produced and plays the main role will have its European premiere at the 41st Karlovy Vary IFF. Garcia who has won two Grammies and a Latin Grammy also wrote the film’s original score.
Lionsgate’s International Division handled foreign sales on THE LOST CITY, and Hollywood Classic Entertainment will distribute the film in the Czech Republic.

Terry GILLIAM, USA

TERRY GILLIAM to present the film TIDELAND at Karlovy Vary

Terry Gilliam (b. 1959, Minneapolis) began as an illustrator and comic-strip artist. His name was linked for years with the British Monty Python’s Flying Circus (as an actor, director, screenwriter and animator for their TV sketches). He initially teamed up with Terry Jones to direct feature-length Python projects, among them MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975) and JABBERWOCKY (1977), but later went solo, working his way up to becoming one of the most fascinating directors of the present. A glance at Gilliam’s filmography cannot leave out films like BRAZIL (1985), THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN (1988), TWELVE MONKEYS (1995), FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS (1998) or THE BROTHERS GRIMM (2005). Gilliam’s films have competed for the highest awards at virtually every festival of note. At the IFF in Rotterdam, he said in January of this year that the work of Jan Švankmajer had given him the greatest inspiration for his films. Gilliam will again have the opportunity to have a word with his mentor at Karlovy Vary, where he will be presenting the Czech premiere of his film TIDELAND (2005; Czech distribution handled by Hollywood Classic Entertainment).

Leo GREGORY, United Kingdom

Karlovy Vary audiences had their first opportunity to see this talented actor from UK in the competition film ABERDEEN by Hans Petter Moland (KV IFF 2000). Gregory has brought considerable attention to himself with the film OUT OF CONTROL, by Dominic Savage, and will be personally presenting the Czech premiere of this film in this year’s “Focus on British Film (2000 – 2005)” at Karlovy Vary.
Gregory has appeared alongside Summer Phoenix in the romantic comedy SUZIE GOLD (2004), he joined together with Elijah Wood in the drama HOOLIGANS (2005), and the adventure/romance TRISTAN + ISOLDE (2006) came to Czech cinemas in May of this year. The most significant item in Gregory’s filmography however is the role of one of the founding members of the Rolling Stones, Brian Jones, in the musical drama STONED (2005).
In 2004, Leo Gregory was declared the Star of Tomorrow by the magazine Screen International.

Danny HUSTON, USA

A special guest of the section TRIBUTE TO JOHN HUSTON (1906 – 1987) will be the son of this legend of American cinema, DANNY HUSTON (b. 1962 in Rome).

One of America’s most universal actors of the middle generation, Danny Huston began his career as a television director back in 1985. He moved over to the silver screen three years later with the film MR. NORTH, which he based on the novel by Thornton Wilder Theophilus North. This comedy, apart from the director’s half-sister Anjelica Huston, also featured friends of their father, Lauren Bacall and Robert Mitchum.
Danny Huston left his director’s chair to appear in front of the camera in 1995, when he appeared in the film LEAVING LAS VEGAS. Over the last ten years he has created over twenty remarkable film roles. He was cast in the films by Mike Figgis TIMECODE (2000) and HOTEL (2001), in Amos Gitai’s adaptation of the novel by Arthur Miller EDEN (2001) and in Iñárritu’s film 21 GRAMS (2003).
Huston attracted the attention of the film critics with IVANSXTC (2000), an adaptation of Tolstoy’s novel The Death of Ivan Ilyich, set in contemporary Hollywood. He plays a famous talent agent whose mysterious death shook the entire dream factory. More recently, Czech audiences would have had the chance to see Danny Huston in the film BIRTH by Jonathan Glazer, Scorsese’s THE AVIATOR and Fernando Meirelles’ film THE CONSTANT GARDENER. This film season Huston is performing roles such as Joseph II (MARIE ANTOINETTE by Sofia Coppola) and Orson Welles (FADE TO BLACK).

Timothy HUTTON, USA

This July the Karlovy Vary festival will also be visited by actor and director TIMOTHY HUTTON, winner of an Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Robert Redford’s ORDINARY PEOPLE (1980).

This talented actor was nominated for a second Golden Globe for his performance in the drama set in a military academy TAPS (1981), in which he appeared alongside young Tom Cruise and Sean Penn. He met up with the latter again on the set of the thriller by John Schlesinger THE FALCON AND THE SNOWMAN (1985).
In the mid-1990s Czech cinema audiences saw him as Charlie, the disagreeable husband of Meg Ryan in the romantic comedy FRENCH KISS (1995). The Karlovy Vary festival screened John Irvin’s crime thriller CITY OF INDUSTRY, where Hutton played alongside Harvey Keitel. In recent years the actor has been showing a preference for American independent films, such as OFF THE BLACK or STEPHANIE DALEY, both screened this year at Sundance.
At the same festival, in 1998 critics were enthusiastic about Hutton’s directorial debut DIGGING TO CHINA, with Kevin Bacon cast in one of the main roles.

John IRVIN,

Karlovy Vary audiences have had three opportunities to get to know the work of director JOHN IRVIN. In 1994 he competed in the festival with his movie WIDOW’S PEAK (in which Natasha Richardson won the prize for Best Actress). Exactly ten years later his film THE BOYS FROM COUNTY CLARE launched the 39th KV IFF and the Special Event section included his thriller CITY OF INDUSTRY, in which Harvey Keitel starred with another guest at this year’s festival, Oscar winner Timothy Hutton.

Kim KI-DUK, Korea

KIM KI-DUK at the opening ceremony of the 41st KV IFF 2006

Kim Ki-duk (b. 1960, Bonghwa) is one of the best known Asian directors in the world today, thanks in part to the Karlovy Vary festival, which follows his work closely. In 2002 the festival presented a profile of his work, and has since always screened his latest film, with his film THE COAST GUARD (Haeansun, 2002) competing in 2003. Kim Ki-duk is a writer-director of films whose visual refinement reflects his interest in the fine arts and his own experiences as a painter. His works are founded on the multiple confrontation of sharp contradictions, in a combination of lyrical atmosphere and naturalistic images; everything is subordinate to the aim of using film as an instrument for profound meditation on fundamental human issues.
Ki-duk debuted in 1996; the film THE ISLE (Seom, 2000), which enjoyed critical acclaim at Venice, was his fourth film. Thanks to his volatile and energetic talent, he sometimes makes as many as two films a year, thus TIME (Shi gan, 2006), the world premiere of which he will be introducing personally at the 41st KV IFF, is now his 13th film. Distribution rights for the Czech Republic have been acquired from the company Artcam.

Richard P. RUBINSTEIN, USA

Richard P. Rubinstein is an established producer of Feature films, Network and Cable Miniseries, Television Movies and syndicated Television Series. In association with director George A. Romero, they established production company Laurel Entertainment, Inc. In 1984, G. A. Romero resigned from the company to pursue his creative interests without public company responsibilities.
In 1995, R. P. Rubinstein founded another NYC based independent production company, New Amsterdam Entertainment, Inc. NAE’s most recent feature film, is a remake of George A. Romero’s horror classic DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004) which R. Rubinstein produced as well. The film was released by Universal Studios and presented in Official Selection of the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.
Prior feature film credits for R. Rubinstein include his 1989 production of Stephen King’s PET SEMATARY, which ranked as the third highest grossing thriller of the 1980’s. He was the producer of several George A. Romero directed features, i.e. GEORGE A. ROMERO’S MARTIN (1977), DAWN OF THE DEAD (1979), KNIGHTRIDERS (1981, starring Ed Harris in his first feature leading role), CREEPSHOW (1982) and DAY OF THE DEAD (1984).
Richard P. Rubinstein is a member of the Producers Branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Robert K. SHAYE, USA

ROBERT K. SHAYE, the founder and co-CEO of NEW LINE CINEMA, will be awarded a Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema at the closing ceremony of the 41st Karlovy Vary IFF.

Educated as a lawyer, producer and distributor ROBERT K. SHAYE (born 1939 in Detroit) began work in the film industry in the film director’s chair. As a talented youth he filmed several short movies and shared with Martin Scorsese the prestigious prize for Best Motion Picture by an American Director Under the Age of 25, awarded by the Society of Cinematologists.
In 1967, not yet thirty years of age, Shaye founded a modest company called NEW LINE CINEMA in his flat in Greenwich Village, which focused primarily on distributing foreign films to universities and art cinemas. It is interesting to note that some of his first acquisitions included Romero’s cult film NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and films by Jan Němec such as DIAMONDS OF THE NIGHT and MARTYRS OF LOVE.
Under Shaye’s leadership, NEW LINE CINEMA expanded into the area of film production in the 1980’s. Towering over the many films that NLC has been behind (including POLYESTER and HAIRSPRAY, both by the “king of bad taste” John Waters), is Wes Craven’s commercial hit NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and its sequels.
While Shaye’s NLC was forming a subsidiary, FINE LINE PICTURES, at the beginning of the 1990’s, which is oriented around the production, distribution and marketing of art films (such as Altman’s SHORT CUTS, Gus Van Sant’s MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO and GUMMO by Harmony Korine), for NLC the end of the decade meant a phenomenon by the name of THE LORD OF THE RINGS. A little known fact is that the two-part film originally envisioned by Jackson was drawn out into three parts at the incentive of Shaye, and in an unprecedented stroke the three parts were filmed at the same time.
After many years, the founder of what is today the most successful independent production and distribution company in the world has returned to directing movies (most recently BOOK OF LOVE in 1990). His adventure film MIMZY (with Timothy Hutton in one of the main roles) will be out in cinemas next year.

Danny TREJO, USA

Born in Los Angeles, Trejo spent a considerable part of his adolescence in prison where he made a name for himself in the boxing ring. The beginning of his acting career as a tough guy came in the mid-1980s when he got a job on the set of the film RUNAWAY TRAIN.
Ever since Andrei Konchalovsky offered him a small role, Trejo has been a hard-man of the silver screen, working along side Hollywood stars like Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Charles Bronson, Robert De Niro, and Antonio Banderas. He was particularly impossible to overlook in the cult film DESPERADO where he starred alongside Banderas. Albeit on a relatively small scale, Trejo’s work in films like ANIMAL FACTORY, CON AIR, ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO and FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, another movie made by his cousin Robert Rodriguez, has engraved him in public memory.
With 5 roles per year on average, Danny Trejo literally goes from one film to the next these days. In addition to his – now classic – parts as prisoner or hired killer, Trejo receives more and more offers to get a taste of character acting, as the movie SHERRYBABY shows, the international premiere of which Trejo himself will be ushering in to the competition section of this year’s festival.

Milena VUKOTIĆ,

Actress of Yugoslav-Italian origin MILENA VUKOTIĆ will be adding to the gala atmosphere surrounding the screening in Karlovy Vary of the film A GOOD WOMAN (2004).

Understated virtuosity typifies her portrayal of taciturn maids or, on the contrary, distinguished ladies from higher social circles. She entered the world of film during the late 1950s and early 1960s and is one of only a few who can boast having worked with the majority of major Italian directors from the latter half of the 20th century. She has appeared in the films of Federico Fellini (JULIET OF THE SPIRITS), Mario Monicelli (MY FRIENDS) or Franco Zeffirelli (THE TAMING OF THE SHREW); she has also been offered roles by the likes of Dino Risi, Damino Damiani and Mauro Bolognini.
While Milena Vukotić’s screen opportunities in Italy were restricted to comic roles during the 1970s, in which she continued later on as the wife of the legendary idiot Fantozzi in the famous Fantozzi comedy sequels, she was also making a name for herself internationally. This same decade she was being offered her most important roles in the films by Luis Buñuel THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE, THE SPECTRE OF FREEDOM and THAT OBSCURE OBJECT OF DESIRE.
Milena Vukotić is currently working mainly in theatre, which attracted her in the past under professional supervision and as a member of the ensemble affiliated to the famous duo Rina Morelli – Paolo Stoppa.

Tom WILKINSON, UK

TOM WILKINSON (b. 1948, Leeds, Great Britain) will be in Karlovy Vary to present the Czech premiere of A GOOD WOMAN (2004), the film adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s play Lady Windermere’s Fan, where he appeared alongside Scarlett Johansson and Helen Hunt.

Originally mainly a stage and television actor, he began to make his name in film in 1997, when he won a British Academy Award for his role as Gerald, one of the six unemployed men who try their luck as male strippers in the film THE FULL MONTY. The following year he appeared alongside Minnie Driver in one of the competition films at the KV IFF 1998, THE GOVERNESS, which he introduced at Karlovy Vary in person. Wilkinson’s most successful role to date (Oscar nomination) was the provincial doctor Matt Fowler, whose life is tragically turned upside down in the psychological drama IN THE BEDROOM (2001). Czech audiences will certainly recall seeing him in the films GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING (2003), ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004) or BATMAN BEGINS (2005).

Jasmila ŽBANIĆ, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Berlinale winner JASMILA ŽBANIĆ to personally present her film GRBAVICA

Jasmila Žbanić (b. 1974, Sarajevo), screenwriter and director, studied stage and film direction at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Sarajevo. She established the art association Deblokada in 1997, where she was a producer, author and director of many documentaries, short films and videos which were screened at a series of prestigious festivals and exhibitions. Her documentary RED RUBBER BOOTS (2000) about a Bosnian mother searching for her children was screened in competition at the 35th KV IFF. The senseless war is also the subject of Images from the Corner (2003). The short documentary Birthday (2005) from the film LOST AND FOUND traces the different paths chosen by two girls, a Croat and a Bosnian, born in Mostar on the same day. GRBAVICA, the winning film of this year’s Berlinale, is the feature film debut of Jasmila Zbanić. Before the distribution company Aerofilms brings this remarkable film to Czech cinemas, the talented director will be presenting it herself in person at the 41st Karlovy Vary IFF.