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.
An internationally recognized festival competition divided into two parts - films under and over 30 minutes long. The theme of the documentaries in competition focus on the relationship between the individual and the world around him, inter-personal relationships and serious social issues
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Film screenings:
Bigger, Stronger, Faster* | Bigger, Stronger, Faster*2C6 - 5.7., 18:30, Čas Cinema 3K2 - 6.7., 13:00, Panasonic Cinema Director: Christopher Bell USA, 2007, 105 min “Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser” goes the quote used in this dynamic documentary glance at a society that naively prides itself on superlatives. Using the example of his own family, whose members succumb to the fleeting magic of steroids in the hopes of looking like Rambo or Conan, the director congenially illustrates the pitfalls behind the philosophy of “victory at all cost”. |
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Film screenings:
Blind Loves | Slepé lásky3C6 - 6.7., 18:30, Čas Cinema 4K2 - 7.7., 13:00, Panasonic Cinema Director: Juraj Lehotský Slovak Republic, 2008, 77 min A film about the different forms of love experienced by the sight-impaired, compiled from four stories which illustrate just how rich the world is for people like them. A world which is very often much brighter and more colourful than our own. |
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Film screenings:
The Bug Trainer | Vabzdžių dresuotojas4C6 - 7.7., 18:30, Čas Cinema 5K2 - 8.7., 13:00, Panasonic Cinema Director: Donatas Ulvydas, Linas Augutis, Marek Skrobecki Lithuania, Poland, Japan, Germany, 2008, 53 min, IP For celebrated American animators the Quay brothers, Moscow native of Polish descent Ladislas Starewitch (1882–1965) is a film alchemist; for other specialists who appear in this playful and deftly edited profile, he is a film pioneer who, at the dawn of animation, invented all his special effects himself. |
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Film screenings:
Bye Bye Shanghai | Bye Bye Shanghai6C6 - 9.7., 18:30, Čas Cinema 7K2 - 10.7., 13:00, Panasonic Cinema Director: Jana Boková Czech Republic, Argentina, 2008, 114 min, WP This highly personal film by Jana Boková, examining the lives of several Czech emigrés such as philosopher Václav Bělohradský, songwriter Vlasta Třešňák, poet Petr Král, and also the director herself, reflects upon the various aspects of emigration and reaches the conclusion that, once a person has been uprooted, he can never cultivate his native roots again. |
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Film screenings:
Cosmic Station | Cosmic Station4C5 - 7.7., 15:30, Čas Cinema 5K4 - 8.7., 19:00, Panasonic Cinema Director: Bettina Timm Germany, 2008, 30 min In a masterful composition of shots, the director offers an intimate portrait of a dilapidated cosmic ray research station located on the top of Mount Aragaz in Armenia, and its staff of six, living here in total isolation from the outside world. |
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Film screenings:
Cyanosis | Sianoze7C5 - 10.7., 15:30, Čas Cinema 8K4 - 11.7., 19:00, Panasonic Cinema Director: Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami Iran, 2007, 30 min A portrait of Iranian artist Jamshid Aminfar who isn’t afraid to go out onto the streets of Teheran to exhibit and sell his work; and this is also where he creates his distinctive paintings reminiscent of canvases by Keith Harring or the gloomy images of Edvard Munch. Almost a third of the film is taken up with eye-catching animation, bringing to life the demonic figures from Aminfar’s paintings. Who’s seeing the film:
Helena Třeštíková |
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Film screenings:
Everything Is Relative | Alt er relativt2C5 - 5.7., 15:30, Čas Cinema 3K4 - 6.7., 19:00, Panasonic Cinema Director: Mikala Krogh Denmark, 2008, 75 min The makers of this film collected some fascinating material on their travels through Denmark, Mozambique, Japan, Thailand and the USA, which they used to compose a sensitive documentary piece about universal human qualities and their dependence on the given living conditions. Who’s seeing the film:
Helena Třeštíková |
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Film screenings:
Heroes, Wings Are Not Necessary to Fly | Héroes, no hacen falta alas para volar7C5 - 10.7., 15:30, Čas Cinema 8K4 - 11.7., 19:00, Panasonic Cinema Director: Ángel Loza Spain, 2007, 25 min Pascal Kleiman was born without arms, and is one of today's most sought-after disc jockeys in spite of it. Ángel Loza tells the amazing life story of a man who succeeded in fulfilling his dreams in defiance of a restrictive handicap. The film, which features a brilliant musical accompaniment, is also narrated in part by Kleiman’s friends and colleagues, Laurent Garnier and Rob. Who’s seeing the film:
Helena Třeštíková |
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Film screenings:
Just Like Heaven | Jak w niebie4C5 - 7.7., 15:30, Čas Cinema 5K4 - 8.7., 19:00, Panasonic Cinema Director: Filip Marczewski Poland, 2008, 25 min, IP A poetic portrait of a young Dutch-Polish couple who decide to live without the trappings of civilisation in a God-forsaken corner of northern Poland. |
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Film screenings:
The Ladies | The Ladies4C5 - 7.7., 15:30, Čas Cinema 5K4 - 8.7., 19:00, Panasonic Cinema Director: Christina A. Voros USA, 2007, 13 min Shot with an extraordinary sense for detail, this film takes us on a visit to see two old Hungarian sisters who emigrated to America years ago to earn their living as dressmakers. |
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Film screenings:
Lost World | Letűnt világ7C5 - 10.7., 15:30, Čas Cinema 8K4 - 11.7., 19:00, Panasonic Cinema Director: Gyula Nemes Hungary, Finland, 2008, 20 min, WP In his latest film, young Hungarian director Gyula Nemes follows on from his previous visual study The Dike of Transience with a film of related theme and form. Again in raw black-and-white images, we encounter the distinctive figures inhabiting the houseboats close to Budapest’s Kopaszi dam. |
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Film screenings:
Man on Wire | Man on Wire3C5 - 6.7., 15:30, Čas Cinema 4K4 - 7.7., 19:00, Panasonic Cinema Director: James Marsh United Kingdom, 2007, 94 min A stunning reconstruction of the “artistic crime of the century”: on 7 August 1974 Frenchman Philippe Petit attempted illegally to step across a steel wire suspended between New York’s twin towers, at the time the highest buildings in the world. Who’s seeing the film:
Ivo Andrle, Aleš Najbrt, Karel Spěšný, Jolka Krásná, Jan Mattlach, Saša Michailidis, Helena Třeštíková |
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Film screenings:
The Mother | La mère5C5 - 8.7., 15:30, Čas Cinema 6K4 - 9.7., 19:00, Panasonic Cinema Director: Antoine Cattin, Pavel Kostomarov Switzerland, France, Russia, 2007, 80 min The main character in this film is Lyuba, who flees with her nine children to the countryside to escape from a violent husband. This remarkable record of the dramatic and intimate moments in Lyuba’s life at the same time offers a highly authentic look at the bleak reality of today’s Russia. |
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Film screenings:
Rain of the Children | Rain of the Children7C6 - 10.7., 18:30, Čas Cinema 8K2 - 11.7., 13:00, Panasonic Cinema Director: Vincent Ward New Zealand, 2007, 101 min, EP Set against the compelling reconstruction of the chequered history of the Maori woman Puhi, using a series of inspired acted sequences, well-known New Zealand director Vincent Ward describes the challenges facing the original inhabitants of New Zealand during the first half of the 20th century. Who’s seeing the film:
Helena Třeštíková |
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Film screenings:
René | René5C6 - 8.7., 18:30, Čas Cinema 6K2 - 9.7., 13:00, Panasonic Cinema Director: Helena Třeštíková Czech Republic, 2008, 90 min, WP The main protagonist in another of Helena Třeštíková’s long-term documentaries is the die-hard criminal and imaginative writer René Plášil. With raw authenticity, the director records the luckless fate of René over a period of twenty years as he yo-yos between prison and freedom. |
The 44th Karlovy Vary IFF will be held from July 3 – 11, 2009.
The application deadline for the 44th Karlovy Vary IFF is April 17, 2009 ...
Stars and filmmakers (film directors, actors) are again coming to Karlovy Vary to introduce their films personally ...
Up-to-date information about the issued accreditations and festival passes and issued and sold tickets is available here ...
Are you planning to attend the Karlovy Vary IFF? Do not miss any news at our website ...
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