Published: March 01, 2023| 12:09 PM

The 17th edition of the Pragueshorts International Short Film Festival starts today. The showcase, organised by the Karlovy Vary IFF team, will present over 80 short films from the Czech Republic and abroad. From 1 to 5 March, the festival will take place in Prague cinemas. On 5 March, the festival will go online at KVIFF.TV, where viewers will be able to watch a selection of the festival programme until 18 March. The core of the festival is made up of three competition sections – International, Czech and LABO, dedicated to experimental films. An Audience Award will be given as well.The traditional Brutal Relax Show hosted by Jakub Žáček will also take place, as well as a programme for parents with children and an industry programme featuring talks by Jaroslaw Kaminski, editor of the Oscar-winning Ida, and successful sales agent Wouter Jansen.

The international competition will present 27 films in 5 blocks, including 2 Palme d'Or winners from Cannes (All the Crows in the World and The Water Murmurs), the Golden Leopard winner from Locarno, The Big Bang and the Sundance award-winning The Headhunter's Daughter. The award for the best film, together with a 3000 Euro prize and two special mentions, will be awarded by an international jury including cinematographer Dušan Husár, nominated for the Czech Lion for BANGER and Arvéd, actress Tereza Hofová and musician and composer David Boulter, who as a member of the British Tindersticks has contributed, among other things, to the soundtracks of films by French director Claire Denis.

The international competition will culminate on Saturday 4 March at Biu Oko, where the Long Night with Short Film will take place from 6pm to 10.30pm. Eleven films in competition will be screened during the event, along with the winners of the international competition and audience prizes.

Eight films have been selected for the Czech competition, representing Czech short film in its thematic and genre diversity. Petr Januschka (Island of Freedom), Martin Kuba (Vinland), Damián Vondrášek (Rites), Marek Čermák (Everything Will Be OK Again), Jakub Jirásek (Love, 9 to 5), Elvíra Dulskaia (Ice Break), Jan Hecht (Credentialing) and Hana Neničková (The Other Side of the Farmland) will present their films. The award for the best Czech film, which comes with a financial prize of 2000 Euro and one special mention, will be awarded by an international jury, which includes filmmaker Cristina Grosan (Ordinary Failures), editor Jaroslaw Kaminski (Ida, Cold War, Quo Vadis, Aida?, Zátopek) and consultant and creative advisor Wim Vanacker.

The two blocks of the Czech competition will be screened on Friday 3 March afternoon at Kino Pilotů and on Sunday 5 March afternoon at the Světozor cinema, where the programme will be followed by a screening of the awarded films.

The LABO section regularly presents novel and innovative approaches to form and narrative. This year, the programme includes the film The Nest by one of Europe's most prominent directors, Hlynur Pálmason (White White Day, Forgotten Land). The section will also present two Czech films - Francesco Montagner's Asterión and Marina Hendrychová's Lycaeon. The prize for the best film of the LABO section, for which the filmmakers will receive a reward of 1000 Euro, will be awarded by a jury composed of Tereza Šiklová, Jonáš Zbořil and Filip Míšek.

The LABO section programme will be screened on Thursday 2 March at the Ponrepo cinema, and on Saturday 4 March at the Světozor cinema.

On Sunday 5 March, the online part of the festival will start and will last until 18 March. The VOD platform of the Karlovy Vary IFF KVIFF.TV will offer almost sixty films from the festival programme for the price of CZK 160. Viewers can already enjoy five exceptional films from previous editions of the festival, which have been etched into the festival's DNA forever - including Ondřej Hudeček's Peacock, which won the Directing Award at Sundance and opened the way for him to make the documentary Nagano Tapes. ​