From Karlovy Vary to local cinemas

Although the festival is coming to an end, many films from this year’s KVIFF will soon receive a wide theatrical release, thanks to the distribution companies Aerofilms, Artcam, Falcon, Bionaut Zero Gravity, Atlas Cinema, Pilot Film, Cinemart and the Association of Czech Film Clubs. These include namely the ones listed below. 

You can already see the horror film Nightborn, starring Rupert Grint, in cinemas. On Thursday 16 July, the Mexican film Flies will buzz into cinemas, Whisper will return to the big screen after thirty years, and Only Beautiful Things to Look At will join the line-up from the competition. A week later, on 23 July, you can look forward to the restored, provocative classic Tainted Horseplay, the delicate Czech mumblecore film Everything As It Should Be, and a drama about suppressing one’s emotions, Fruit Gathering – the recent winner of the Crystal Globe. 

On 30 July, three stories linked to an ancient tree will come together in Silent Friend, whose meditative pace – inspired by a botanical garden – captivated last year’s Venice Film Festival. On 6 August , Ester Geislerová will bring to cinemas a candid, painful, but also joyful portrait of her father, A Pint of Ink. You can also look forward to the newest film by Pedro Almodóvar, Bitter Christmas, which premiered in Cannes.

Fists and action-packed entertainment will be on offer with the Fighter on 13 August, produced under the auspices of the Oktagon MMA organisation. A spectacular, thunderous show awaits you. Treat yourself to a dose of positivity and humanism on 20 August with the bittersweet film Chica Checa, a story of family understanding. Get a lesson in football history with The Match, which revisits one of the most politically and socially compelling matches ever played.

Ease the end-of-summer blues on 3 September with the delightful blood-and-gore film Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, which blends an exploitation cocktail with a dash of self-reflective madness. Bára – Diary of a Rockstar, winner of the Audience Award, and Rose, for which Sandra Hüller received an acting award at this year’s Berlinale, will bring tears to audiences’ eyes and tell powerful stories about women. Both films open on 17 September, alongside Lover, Not a Fighter, an immensely playful, impulsive and imaginative reflection on youth.

If Pigeons Turned to Gold, the best documentary at the Berlinale, will explore social issues and painful family relationships on 24 September. The autumn season gathers momentum on 1 October with A Report for Minerva 2, a charming experiment comprising a mosaic of dialogues within an amateur theatre troupe led by Miroslav Krobot and Lubomír Smékal.

The premiere of Everytime – a film about grief and coming to terms with tragedy – is scheduled for 15 October. An equally oppressive atmosphere permeates Fjord, winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which unravels culture wars and hypocrisy within the microcosm of a family. The protagonist sets off in search of the City of Fathers on 29 October in Zdeněk Tyc’s new film, where punk meets an empathetic portrayal of men in distress.

How to Divorce During the War, which opens on 5 November, will explore what may well be irreparable wounds and the issue of relationship stagnation against the backdrop of Russian aggression. Who is Robert Richardson? From 12 November, a documentary portrait subtitled The White Devil, directed by Jana Hojdová and more than ten years in the making, will seek to answer that question. On the same day, the Brazilian animated film Papaya will come to life in cinemas with its stunning colours.

Discover new takes on fairy tales on 10 December with the film Gregorius, the Chosen One, which features a quirky, defiantly unclassifiable sense of humour and captivating visuals. See out the year on 31 December with Paweł Pawlikowski’s latest film, Fatherland, and its striking black-and-white aesthetic.

In the new year, you should come and see a trio of films: Gentle Monster (14 January), La Gradiva (18 February) and Ben’imana (25 March).