Published: June 28, 2023| 09:54 AM

The two most important domestic events of their kind are linked not just by strategic investor Rockaway Capital, but also by their goal of offering tens of thousands of loyal fans the best that the worlds of music and cinema have to offer. For three days, the atmosphere of the charming west Bohemian spa town comes to life in the charismatic industrial complex of Dolní Vítkovice thanks to three unique, carefully chosen films from the program of this year’s 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

From Thursday, 20 July to Saturday, 22 July – always at 2pm in the screening room of Velký Svět Techniky – you can see the compelling Scandinavian video collage And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine, a look at mankind obsessed by its own image produced by Ruben Östlund (Triangle of Sadness), the gripping brand-new Czech sci-fi thriller Restore Point, and this year’s festival gem, the modern American-Korean romance Past Lives. The films will be introduced in person by KVIFF’s artistic director Karel Och.

Thursday, 20 July at 2pm

Zázračný aparát / And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine

(dir. Axel Danielson, Maximilien Van Aertryck, Sweden/Denmark, 2023)

The Sundance-winning And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine looks at 150 years of media history. A fascinating video collage capturing mankind obsessed with images, it weaves together the most viral and most hardcore fragments of our collective memory, transporting the viewer through time, space, and experience. An audiovisual explosion that forces us to reassess how we see ourselves and the world as a whole, this captivating and provocative film produced by Ruben Östlund (Triangle of Sadness, The Square) raises many questions regarding how far we are capable of going to get the most likes and views.

Friday, 21 July at 2pm

Bod obnovy / Restore Point

(dir. Robert Hloz, Czech Republic/Slovakia/Poland, 2023

It’s the year 2041, and humanity has reached the point where it can cheat death. Anyone who dies an unnatural death has the right to be brought back to life. All you have to do is to create a backup of your personality – a restore point – at least every forty-eight hours. But there exists a movement of people who try to sabotage this concept. Agent Em finds herself drawn into a case that is not as simple as it first seemed and the consequences of which reach to the highest levels of politics. Director Robert Hloz’s feature film debut is a gripping tale, an extraordinarily inventive visual experience, and a polemic with the idea that technological progress is always a good thing.

Saturday, 22 July at 2pm

Minulé životy / Past Lives

(dir. Céline Song, USA / South Korea 2023)

Writer Nora and her childhood love Hae-Sung live thousands of kilometers apart, but they are connected by a deep bond. After more than twenty years, these two kindred spirits meet again over the course of a few days in New York. The unexpected reunion forces Nora to ask herself, “What if?” Told in multiple timelines, director Celine Song’s sensitive modern romance is a unique tale of two people who feel an emotional closeness even though they their paths in life seem fated to pass each other by.