The festival will commemorate this year’s double anniversary—the 80th anniversary of the first edition and the 60th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival—through films and photographs.
Exhibition: 60/80 (1946–2026)
The festival looks back on its rich history with an exhibition of photographs focusing in particular on its lesser-known early years, the atmosphere of its pre-1989 editions, and important moments and festival guests. Thirty outdoor panels, located along the path between two of the festival’s iconic venues – the Grandhotel Pupp and the Hotel Thermal – take visitors on a symbolic journey through the festival’s eighty-year history and let them witness the changes it has undergone in the intervening years.
Out of the Past
This year, the traditional Out of the Past section will focus on important titles from the festival’s history.
Special festival sneak preview in Mariánské Lázně
The twin-city format of the festival’s first edition will be recalled in the form of a special preview screening of a selected film from this year’s program on 1 July at the historic Municipal Theatre in Mariánské Lázně.
President Václav Havel and the Karlovy Vary festival
Over the past thirty years, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has enjoyed the support of numerous important figures, including Czech President Václav Havel. As a gesture of thanks for president, playwright, and author Václav Havel’s long-term support and goodwill, the festival is marking what would have been his ninetieth birthday with a photographic exhibition at the Hotel Thermal commemorating his visits to the festival and his meetings with various representatives of world cinema.
New architectural design for the festival’s event spaces
For this and future editions, the Karlovy Vary festival is redesigning the area around the entrance to the Hotel Thermal’s Grand Hall with a new architectural design that will allow audiences to more intensely experience and share in the festival atmosphere during the festival’s opening and closing ceremonies as well as at festival screenings.
