Karlovy Vary IFF: news, premieres, famous stars and film tips

With Uma Thurman in the outdoor cinema

“I'm glad to be here to introduce the film that I was working on fourteen years ago. The screenplay had about one hundred and sixty pages, I do not remember exactly. My memory does not serve me anymore. Enjoy it and good night”, she said prior to the screening of the cult movie Kill Bill. This film by director Quentin Tarantino, together with Pulp Fiction, became the main turning points in Thurman’s career.

After 51 years The Shop on Main Street was once again a world premiere

The Oscar awarded film “The Shop on Main Street” was presented in Karlovy Vary on a large screen and in a brand new coat. The world premiere of the digitally restored drama from fascist Slovakia during the war, which came from the workshop of the famous Kádár-Klos duo, took place there.

Luxusní byt na pronájem Praha 1 - Staré Město, Praha 1

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Karel “Masaryk” Roden enchanted film fans

He lived his life as a bohemian and loved women, music, luxury and large gestures. Struggling against each other within his heart were the extravagance of the artist against the duty and the morale of an official diplomat. The main role of Tomáš Masaryk was played by Karel Roden, who introduced the film in the Great Hall of the Thermal Hotel personally. If you have not yet seen the movie, we definitely recommend it.

The Problem of Corporate Responsibility

The well-known French actor Lambert Wilson came to Karlovy Vary to introduce the competition film entitled Corporation. “I like the Czech Republic, you have a good film industry here,” he said before the onset of the film’s screening, which tells the story of a cold-hearted HR manager, whose world and loyalty to a big company are shaken by the suicide of one of her subordinates.

Inconsistent feelings from A Ghost Story

The younger of Affleck’s brothers, Casey, enjoyed the film festival all over the place. He didn’t defend himself either from journalists nor from fans who had been waiting for several hours in front of a luxurious Pupp Hotel to obtain his autograph or his festival selfie. His main festival mission, however, was to introduce his latest film A Ghost Story about the loss of a loved one to audiences, which, according to the critics, is rather average, however. 

Festival jingle

Traditionally, festival jingles comprise jokes, exaggeration and creativity, and each year the fans are eagerly awaiting them. They were not disappointed this year. For its 52nd year the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival presented a luxurious jingle contrived by the director Ivan Zachariáš that enjoys great enthusiasm in the halls. In the film clip Jiří Bartoška wants to invite Josef Somr to Karlovy Vary and award him a prize. But because Somr cannot hear, he thinks he has been the victim of “charlatans” who sell "luxurious" expensive pots. So he is pissed off and simply hangs up the phone. 

The Festival in numbers and in comparison with last year

Compared to the previous year, there are fewer accredited participants at the festival this year. This is not a gross difference, however. Take a look with us at the interesting statistics!

As of Tuesday, 9 a.m. there are 10423 accredited participants at the KV IFF, of which:
8648 have Festival Passports
279 are film-makers
930 are film professionals
566 are journalists
There were 83528 tickets sold and 222 screenings were held.

During the last year of the KVF IFF there were 10974 accredited participants at the same time, of which:
holders of Festival Passports were 9246
film makers were 289
film professionals were 886
journalists were 553
A total of 85996 tickets were sold and 222 ​screenings were held.