Pre-sale for the exceptional Variations film programme 2024

On 22 and 23 November, Karlovy Vary will host the fourth edition of Variations, a two-day blending of classical music and film. For this occasion, the programming department of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has selected three exceptional films that enjoyed great success at international film festivals this year. Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door took home the Golden Lion from the Venice Film Festival, Jesse Eisenberg’s comic road movie A Real Pain was a hit at Sundance, and director Andrea Arnold’s Bird was shown in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival. At Variations, audiences can see all three films at exclusive screenings in the newly renovated Imperial Baths.

ALMODOVAR’S AND EISENBERG’S LATESTS, ANDREA ARNOLD RETURNS TO THE DIRECTOR’S LIMELIGHT

Variations’ film program starts Saturday morning with Bird by Andrea Arnold, who returns to the director’s limelight eight years after her latest feature film. An unusual coming-of-age story set in North Kent, Bird captures the gritty poetry of the street and features a boisterous soundtrack, including an unusual use of the song “Yellow” by British band Coldplay, plus brilliant performances by Franz Rogowski and Barry Keoghan. A few hours later, audiences can look forward to The Room Next Door – Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language feature film. Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton star as writer Ingrid and war correspondent Martha, old colleagues whose friendship is rekindled years later thanks to a curious wish by the seriously ill Martha. The film was awarded the Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival. The film program concludes Saturday evening with A Real Pain, written and directed by one of the most interesting actors of his generation, Jesse Eisenberg. Eisenberg also stars as the slightly neurotic New Yorker David, who sets off for Poland with his chatterbox cousin Benji (Kieran Culkin) in order to visit the place their grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, left decades ago to start a new life across the ocean. A sharp and comic road movie backed by a brilliant screenplay and excellent performances, A Real Pain was an audience hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

MUSICAL GEMS AT VARIATIONS​

The Czech Philharmonic will present full musical program, composed exclusively of works that the orchestra has put together for its appearance later this year at New York’s Carnegie Hall. In Karlovy Vary, the philharmonic will perform compositions by Czech composers such as Janáček, Smetana, and Dvořák under the direction of chief conductor and music director Semyon Bychkov. Classical music lovers were immediately drawn to these famous names, and so Saturday’s gala concert at the Hotel Thermal quickly sold out. But you can still buy tickets for Friday’s concert at the same venue. Additionally, Variations has organized two free concerts at the former Municipal Savings Bank building and the Thermal Spring Colonnade featuring works by Mozart, Mysliveček, and Dvořák. A detailed program can be found HERE.