FFC at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

Program Director Bernd Buder reports on the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF):

“Harvey Keitel at the start, Juliette Binoche at the end—the prestigious A-list festival in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, was once again brimming with international stars this year. In between, there was plenty of room for new international cinema, classics, and current festival hits. Keitel opened the 60th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and Binoche was awarded the Crystal Globe.

In my view, the festival has lost some of its relevance as a source of new films from Eastern Central and Eastern Europe, ever since the “East of the West” competition was replaced by the “Proxima” section, but it remains one of the most important gathering places, which is why the Cottbus Film Festival, in cooperation with connecting cottbus and Studio Beep, is happy to host its traditional brunch reception as part of the program for the festival’s Industry Days.

Meanwhile, the diversity of contemporary Czech and Slovak cinema was on display in theaters, ranging from the spot-on young-adult slacker film LOVER, NOT A FIGHTER to the potential hit MMA blockbuster THE FIGHTER, to the sensitive documentary IGOR AND AFTER, which traces the life of the exceptional cinematographer Igor Luther (THE TIN DRUM, numerous Juraj Jakubisko films, and several Andrzej Wajda films) against the backdrop of the turbulent history of the Cold War, his creative output, and the helplessness of a workaholic.

A highly interesting program, on the sidelines of which, as always, one could make important networking connections while on the hunt for good films for the upcoming program of the Cottbus Film Festival.”