Published: July 03, 2023| 03:39 PM

You may be familiar with Vincent Perez’s acting performance in Queen Margot or The Crow: Cities of Angels. Since 2002, however, he has been showing his filmmaking acumen also from behind the camera. On Monday at the Grand Hall of Hotel Thermal, he presented his new directorial project, The Edge of the Blade. He co-wrote the screenplay to this drama together with his wife Karine Silla Perez, who came to Karlovy Vary to accompany the director during the introduction.

“You will see a charming combination of a very sophisticated period drama with a strong message to the modern world. The old and the new beautifully intertwine,” said Karel Och, KVIFF’s artistic director, to whet the audience’s appetite for the screening.

The gripping story takes the viewers to 1887 in Paris, where men still have a habit of defending their honour in duels, even though these have been outlawed. The storyline follows two men who have become implacable enemies under the weight of circumstances and as the narrative unfolds it brings forth current themes of feminism and war trauma. We witnessed all sorts of duels – with épées, sabres on horseback and even pistols were drawn. 

“Showing a film to such a great audience is a powerful experience for me and I have to admit that my heart is pounding,” Perez confided. “You can project whatever you want into the film, but I think it in some way resonates quite strongly with current events,” he added.