Actor and president of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Jiří Bartoška died on Thursday 8 May 2025 at the age of 78.
For more than half a century, he was one of the most frequently cast Czech actors in theatre, film and television. After graduating from the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno, he first worked at the Husa na Provázku Theatre and the Činoherní studio in Ústí nad Labem, before becoming a mainstay of the ensemble at Theatre Na zábradlí in the early 1980s. After leaving Theatre Na zábradlí in the early 1990s, he continued performing intermittently at Bez zábradlí Theatre and other theatres in the Czech Republic.
He made his film debut in 1975 with The Playground (Hřiště). He appeared in nearly seventy Czech films and starred in popular television series. He received the 1999 Czech Lion Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film All My Loved Ones (Všichni moji blízcí), which he also produced. In 2016, he was awarded the Czech Lion for Outstanding Contribution to Czech Cinema.
Jiří Bartoška played a key role in saving the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. He served as its president from 1994. Together with KVIFF’s long-time artistic director Eva Zaoralová, they transformed the second oldest film festival in Europe into a modern, internationally respected film showcase.
Alongside his work with the Karlovy Vary IFF, he continued acting in television, film, dubbing, and on stage at the Kalich Theatre, where he appeared in the play Moje hra.
On the occasion of the national holiday on 28 October 2023, Jiří Bartoška received the First-Class Medal of Merit from the President of the Republic, for his services to the state in the field of culture and arts.
