Published: June 13, 2023| 11:00 AM

The 57th Karlovy Vary IFF will open with the British historical drama Firebrand, starring Alicia Vikander and Jude Law.

Firebrand is directed by Karim Aïnouz from a screenplay by Henrietta Ashworth and Jessica Ashworth, based on the novel Queen's Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle.

In blood-soaked Tudor England, Katherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII, is named Regent while tyrant Henry is fighting overseas. Katherine has done everything she can to push for a new future based on her radical Protestant beliefs. When an increasingly ailing and paranoid King returns, he turns his fury on the radicals, charging Katherine’s childhood friend with treason and burning her at the stake.  Horrified and grieving, but forced to deny it, Katherine finds herself fighting for her own survival. Conspiracy reverberates through the palace. Everyone holds their breath – for the queen to slip up, for Henry to take her head like wives before. With the hope for a future free of tyranny at risk, will Katherine submit to the inevitable for the sake of King and country?

Firebrand premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, where it was selected to compete for Palme d'Or