Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 

July 4 - 12, 2008


Hank and Mike (Forum of Independents 2008)

Film Selection 2008



The Karlovy Vary IFF presents over 220 feature films from all over the world every year. Apart from the films in the special retrospectives, most of the films are screened in the Czech Republic each year for the first time, many of them in their world, international or European premiere as well. This year again, the audience will have chance to see interesting retrospectives and focuses apart from the traditional program sections.

2008: A Musical Odyssey

The visual concept associated with music changes according to the given period. Our era brought music to millions of viewers and listeners via the Internet portal YouTube: a fast, practical and vast global archive which is available to us, however, if we resign ourselves to a highly reduced picture quality. Various video clips have flitted round the world, yet few people have actually seen the cameraman’s work with better definition than the quality offered on YouTube.

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  9 films found, displayed 1 - 9 
Film screenings:
1H4 - 4.7., 19:00, Husovka Theatre
5H4 - 8.7., 19:00, Husovka Theatre
The First Emperor | The First Emperor
Director: Zhang Yimou
USA, 2007, 190 min

A grand spectacle from New York’s Metropolitan Opera provides the setting for a fusion of Chinese and Western culture on various levels. The production starring Plácido Domingo was directed by filmmaker Zhang Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern, Hero). The three-hour recording, originally broadcast straight into movie theatres, also takes a look behind the scenes.

Who’s seeing the film:
Ivo Andrle
Film screenings:
5H3 - 8.7., 16:00, Husovka Theatre
7H5 - 10.7., 22:00, Husovka Theatre
A Guest of Life – Alexander Csoma de Körös | Az élet vendége – Csoma legendárium
Director: Tibor Szemzö
Hungary, 2006, 79 min

An ambient film which sets off up into the Himalayas on the trail of Hungarian scholar Csoma, who compiled the first dictionary of the Tibetan language. In his mysterious, witty and Zen-inspired open form, filmmaker Tibor Szemzö (known chiefly as an eclectic musician) incorporates Asian music, 8mm footage and animation.

Film screenings:
3H2 - 6.7., 13:00, Husovka Theatre
6H5 - 9.7., 22:00, Husovka Theatre
8H2 - 11.7., 13:00, Husovka Theatre
Music Video – Another Body | Videoklipy: Jiné tělo
Director: různí režiséři / various directors
United Kingdom, USA, Iceland, Sweden, 2008, 75 min

Many musicians on the independent scene today are casting off their clear-cut sexual identity to escape the cage of allocated male and female roles. In a testimony to this phenomenon, we are presented with a thematic compilation of video clips featuring Antony & The Johnsons, Hercules and Love Affair, Animal Collective, Björk, Peaches, The Knife and others.

Film screenings:
4H1 - 7.7., 10:00, Husovka Theatre
7H2 - 10.7., 13:00, Husovka Theatre
Pilgrimage from Scattered Points | Pilgrimage from Scattered Points
Director: Luke Fowler
United Kingdom, 2006, 45 min

In this dynamic, audience-friendly and incredibly imaginative “personal document”, the experimental filmmaker pays tribute to British composer Cornelius Cardew. The latter’s ensemble The Scratch Orchestra closely adhered to the principles of democracy and anarchy, reflecting the artistic and political radicalism of the 1960s.

Film screenings:
2H4 - 5.7., 19:00, Husovka Theatre
6H1 - 9.7., 10:00, Husovka Theatre
Scott Walker: 30 Century Man | Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
Director: Stephen Kijak
United Kingdom, USA, 2006, 95 min

Enigmatic American Scott Walker abandoned his mainstream singing career in order to continue writing music away from the public eye. This visually powerful documentary reflects the dark and shadowy side to Walker’s work. The film features interviews with David Bowie, Brian Eno, Alison Goldfrapp, Jarvis Cocker, Sting and Radiohead, and was premiered at the Berlinale in 2007.

Film screenings:
2H5 - 5.7., 22:00, Husovka Theatre
4H5 - 7.7., 22:00, Husovka Theatre
9H4 - 12.7., 19:00, Husovka Theatre
Sigur Rós: Heima | Sigur Rós: Heima
Director: Dean DeBlois
Iceland, United Kingdom, 2007, 94 min

Unannounced open-air concerts in both urban and rural environments – this was how impressionistic Icelandic post-rockers Sigur Rós greeted their homeland (heima) after returning from a world tour. An inventive, visually beautiful music documentary about the presence of home, history and tradition in contemporary Icelandic culture.

Film screenings:
3H5 - 6.7., 22:00, Husovka Theatre
8H5 - 11.7., 22:00, Husovka Theatre
The Upsetter: The Life & Music of Lee “Scratch” Perry | The Upsetter: The Life & Music of Lee “Scratch” Perry
Director: Ethan Higbee, Adam Bhala Lough
USA, 2008, 95 min

The first feature-length documentary about the 72-year-old Jamaican reggae classic, producer for Bob Marley, inventor of remix, and eccentric with his head full of cosmic theories. The film was one of the discoveries at this year’s American independent pop-culture fair South By Southwest.

Who’s seeing the film:
Ivo Andrle
Film screenings:
4H1 - 7.7., 10:00, Husovka Theatre
7H2 - 10.7., 13:00, Husovka Theatre
The Way Out | The Way Out
Director: Luke Fowler, Kosten Koper
United Kingdom, 2003, 33 min

An experimental profile of Xentos Jones, one of the founding members of the obscure post-punk band The Homosexuals, and man of many identities. He also created his own solo project, The Way Out, a lo-fi DIY concept album born of a parallel universe, where pop music is written by Modernist serial composers.

Film screenings:
3H3 - 6.7., 16:00, Husovka Theatre
8H3 - 11.7., 16:00, Husovka Theatre
Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell | Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell
Director: Matt Wolf
USA, 2008, 71 min

Arthur Russell, cellist, Buddhist and head of The Kitchen, a cultural centre in New York, died of AIDS in 1992. He left behind him a collection of gentle songs combining disco, his own fragile style and new wave. Today his work is finally finding a keen audience. Featuring Philip Glass and Allen Ginsberg, the film was premiered at the Berlinale in 2008.

  9 films found, displayed 1 - 9 

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