The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will pay tribute to its president Jiří Bartoška with the opening film We’ve Got to Frame It! (a conversation with Jiří Bartoška in July 2021), directed by Milan Kuchynka and Jakub Jurásek, screenings of the film Tiger Theory, and the exhibition Jiří Bartoška – KVIFF President.
Jiří Bartoška, charismatic commentator on the world around him, who possessed one of the most fascinating Czech(oslovak) destinies of the past fifty years, was certainly not one for self-admiring glances in the mirror of memories. The president of the Karlovy Vary film festival vigorously rejected all suggestions for a biographical work or film portrait; he was irritated by the pathos associated with official versions of personal life narratives. Thus all the more valuable (and hitherto unseen!) is the bard’s affable, informal exchange with producer Milan Kuchynka, in which he touches upon a myriad themes, from his grammar school days and the Velvet Revolution, to his encounters with stars – and this conveyed with playful ease, blistering irony and affectionate wisdom.
The audiences will have the opportunity to watch the opening film of the 59th KVIFF We’ve Got To Frame It! (a conversation with Jiří Bartoška in July 2021) online at www.kviff.tv. The online stream will begin at approximately 9.15pm – after the conclusion of the opening ceremony, which will be streamed live at KVIFF.TV. The stream of the film will be available live only, and will be accessible worldwide for free, without registration. English subtitles will be available. The film We’ve Got to Frame It! will also be screened for the festival audiences on July 7 at 4pm and July 11 at 7:30pm in the Congress Hall of Hotel Thermal.
As a part of the Jiří Bartoška Tribute, the film Tiger Theory (2016, dir. Radek Bajgar) will also be screened. This tragicomedy examining human relationships and gender roles provided a great opportunity for actor Jiří Bartoška.
Exhibition Jiří Bartoška – KVIFF President
On 30 large-scale panels placed in the outdoor area between two iconic festival venues – the Thermal and Pupp hotels – visitors will find 60 black-and-white photographs capturing, through the eyes of festival photographers, the most important festival moments as well as unique portraits of the remarkable personality who led the Karlovy Vary Festival for three decades.
