Published: June 26, 2018| 11:29 PM

Guests at the opening ceremony of this year’s KVIFF will be director Taika Waititi and producer Carthew Neal, who are currently shooting their latest film, Jojo Rabbit, in the Czech Republic.

New Zealand director Taika Waititi shot the popular What We Do in the Shadows, which like his next film Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), was screened at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. He is also the director of the blockbuster Thor: Ragnarok.

Carthew Neal is a New Zealand film and television producer who has long collaborated with Taika Waititi on various film and television projects. In 2016, he was named Independent Producer of the Year in his home country and was included in Variety’s 2016 Producers to Watch.