The Karlovy Vary International FilmFestival, the second-oldest film festival in the world and part of the “firstwave” of post-war European film festivals, is celebrating its 80th anniversarythis year.

Slovak Actress Magda Vášáryová ReceivesThe Festival President’s Award

At the 60th Karlovy VaryInternational Film Festival, the Festival President’s Award will be presentedto renowned Slovak actress Magda Vášáryová.

In honor of Magda Vášáryová, thefestival will screen the film “Birds, Orphans and Fools”, directed by JurajJakubisko. The film is a Czechoslovakian-French co-production, written byJakubisko with the writer Karol Sidon, and filmed in the turbulent year of1968.

The Screen “Birds, Orphans and Fools”Was Banned for 20 Years

At that time, a special committee ofthe Slovak Ministry of Culture labeled this mosaic-like, fantastical allegoryof unfulfilled dreams and the absurdity of the world “un-socialistic” andforbade the distribution of “Birds, Orphans and Fools”. More than 20 yearslater, in 1990, the film was screened at the 27th Karlovy Vary InternationalFilm Festival and also won the FIPRESCI (International Federation of FilmCritics) Prize.

The Jury Members of the CrystalGlobe Competition

The jury members of the CrystalGlobe Competition of the 60th Karlovy Vary Film Festival (KVIFF) are: JustinChang, film critic at The New Yorker from the United States, Amanda Nell Eu,director from Malaysia, Pavel Rejholec, sound designer, producer, composer anduniversity lecturer from the Czech Republic, Nadia Turincev, Russian producerliving in France, and Eskil Vogt, director and screenwriter from Norway.

The Jury Members of the ProximaCompetition

The jury members of the ProximaCompetition at this prestigious and top-tier event in world cinema include: Ms. Estrella Araiza, the General Director of the Guadalajara International FilmFestival (FICG) and Cineteca UDG, from Mexico, Dirk Decker, producer andco-founder of Hamburg-based Tamtam Film from Germany; Jakub Felcman,screenwriter, film critic, producer and director from the Czech Republic,Devika Girish, editor at Film Comment magazine and a Talks programmer at theNew York Film Festival from the United States and Marija Kavtaradze, directorand screenwriter from Lithuania.

Screening of the Film “Hijamat”Produced and Edited by Jafar Panahi

At the 60th Karlovy VaryInternational Film Festival, the feature film “Hijamat,” written and directedby Nader Saevar and produced and edited by renowned Iranian filmmaker JafarPanahi, will have its world premiere in the Crystal Globe Competition section. The film is a German production.

Screening of the Film “The Friend'sHouse Is Here” by Iranian Directors

Also at this prestigious artisticevent, the film “The Friend's House is Here”, directed and written by youngIranian filmmakers Maryam Ataei and Hossein Keshavarz, and produced by theUnited States and Iran, will be screened in the non-competitive SpecialScreenings section.

Karlovy Vary, One of the MostPrestigious Festivals in Central and Eastern Europe

The festival's 60th edition will beheld under the executive management of Kryštof Mucha and the artistic directionof Karel Och. The program includes 12 films in the Crystal Globe Competition,12 in the Proxima Competition, and 13 in the out-of-competition SpecialScreenings section, alongside titles featured in the classic “Out of the Past”retrospective and a photo exhibition documenting 80 years of festival history. Eventswill be hosted at multiple venues across Karlovy Vary, including the ThermalHotel cinemas, the Karlovy Vary Theatre, Drahomíra Cinema, Čas Cinema, HusovkaTheatre, Pupp Cinema, and Lázně III Cinema.

For more details: https://www.kviff.com/en/homepage

Credit: Independent journalist andreporter Mansour Jahani