KVIFF Classics to remember Lynch, Wajda, Gabin, and Redford

From Thursday, January 15, to Saturday, January 17, 2026, Prague's Světozor cinema will host the fourth edition of the KVIFF Classics, organized by the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The event will once again present major works of world and Czechoslovak cinema that have undergone digital restoration and can only be seen on the big screen on rare occasions.

The grand opening of KVIFF Classicswill traditionally feature the premiere of a restored version of a Czech gem. This time it will be The Valley of the Bees by director František Vláčil. "A tragedy of loyalty and emotion," as the film's slogan in 1967 put it, tells the story of a clash between two men, played by Petr Čepek and Jan Kačer, whose different conceptions of faith and order shape the entire story. Although set in the 13th century, its theme of tension between authority and personal freedom remains relevant today. You can see the newly restored version of this historical drama in the Great Hall of Prague's Světozor cinema on Thursday, January 15, 2026, at 7 p.m. Tickets are now on sale.

This September, we had to say goodbye to American acting and directing icon Robert Redford, who meant a lot to the Karlovy Vary Film Festival as well. KVIFF Classics will honor him on Friday, January 16, at 8:30 p.m. with Arthur Penn's gripping 1966 drama The Chase, in which a young Redford played the role of an escaped convict. In this impressive exploration of American society in the 1960s, he met on screen Marlon Brando and, for the first time, Jane Fonda.

In January, we lost the iconic American filmmaker David Lynch. To mark what would have been his 80th birthday on January 20, we will be screening The Straight Story on Saturday, January 17, at 3 p.m. This unusually civil and exceptionally tender portrait of late reconciliation and human perseverance from 1999 tells the story of a man who sets out to visit his sick brother on a garden tractor.

Next year will mark half a century since the death of French star Jean Gabin. Gabin's talent and charisma will be commemorated at KVIFF Classics with the stylish procedural drama The Sicilian Clan (1969), which combines elements of crime thriller and family saga. This classic example of a heist film, still prized today for its surgically precise pacing, iconic music by Ennio Morricone, and stellar performances by Jean Gabin, Alain Delon, and Lino Ventura, will be screened at Světozor on January 16 at 6 p.m.

March marks the centenary of the birth of Andrzej Wajda, one of the greatest figures in European cinema, whose numerous works defined post-war Polish cinematography. One of these is Ashes and Diamonds from 1958, a tragedy about a young soldier who, shortly after the end of World War II, is tasked with carrying out a political assassination, the meaning of which he doubts. You can see this timeless drama at Světozor on January 17 at 6 p.m.

October saw the centenary of the birth of Konrad Wolf, who personally experienced World War II and returned to it several times as a director. In 1959, he attracted attention with his drama Stars, about the forbidden love between a Wehrmacht sergeant and a Jewish teacher, which was the first German film to openly address the existence of Auschwitz. The digitally restored film, which won the Special Jury Prize at Cannes, will be screened on January 16 at 3 p.m.

The fourth KVIFF Classics will conclude on Saturday, January 17, at 8:30 p.m. with the famous Sunset Boulevard, presented this year in a brand new digitally restored 4K version to mark the 75th anniversary of its premiere. Directed by Billy Wilder, this satire on the Hollywood system starring Gloria Swanson and William Holden is a timeless reflection on fame and illusion and ranks among the most influential works in world cinema.