Producer and European Film Academy President Mike Downey launched his literary debut, Istria Gold, in KVIFF.TV Park.
A longtime friend of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Downey has presented around 15 films here in various sections over the years. This year he also stepped into a new role. As a first-time author, he introduced Istria Gold and opened the programme by recalling his ties to the Czech Republic. He spent a year here 25 years ago, working on several films. Later he also spoke of his admiration for Slovak director Juraj Jakubisko, whose films he came to love and with whom he collaborated on the historical drama Bathory.
His debut novel, too, has an epic dimension. “In my 60s I found myself at a kind of crossroads. I’ve wanted to write all my life, but my work always got in the way. Film and literature are ultimately about the same thing – telling stories. I didn’t want to start my debut too modestly. I wanted to be ambitious. So I decided to write three novels in one”. The narrative braids three timelines, linked by recurring motifs and, above all, the setting of Istrian peninsula. Set against the backdrop of a “truffle odyssey” – the gathering of the region’s rare mushroom – the story spans the Roman occupation in AD 81, partisan efforts in the Second World War, and the present day.
Downey blends multiple genres, focusing strongly on suspense, embedding historical events in a distinctive narrative and local details. One of the book’s patrons, actor Josef Trojan, who previously worked with Downey on Kafka, read and excerpt to the audience.
