Karlovy Vary Film Festival will show Ukrainian works-in-progress halted by the war

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF), one of Europe’s oldest and most prestigious film festivals, has unveiled details about its 56th edition. One of the main features of this year's program will be a display of solidarity with Ukraine. 

The upcoming film festival will support Ukrainian filmmakers and the film industry by presenting still incomplete Ukrainian films, works-in-progress, in cooperation with the Odesa International Film Festival that cannot take place due to the Russian invasion.

Speaking to the media, Kryštof Mucha, the executive director of the Karlovy Vary Festival, said that the festival, due to take place in July, will introduce eight to 12 such films in progress to other film festivals within its Industry section that brings together professional filmmakers.

"We are convinced that the broad solidarity with the war-stricken Ukraine has to include support for Ukraine's cultural life, which has almost stopped for the moment. As a film festival, we sought ways to support Ukrainian cinematography, and we are happy at finding a form of cooperation with the Odesa film festival," head of the film industry office Hugo Rosák said.

The Odesa International Film Festival's jury will choose feature films that are close to completed and that were made in Ukraine or in coproduction with Ukraine. To be chosen for the Karlovy Vary festival's Works in Progress program, the films have to reach the international quality standards, the organizers said.

They said the given program's main goal is to introduce Ukrainian films to the world and to local markets, attract the attention of international distributors and also find partners for future film projects.

Established in 2010 and with some 100,000 visitors, the Odesa International Film Festival is the biggest in eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Union states.

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has also revealed that it will bestow its President’s Award — which recognizes outstanding figures in Czech cinema — to the actor, playwright, screenwriter, and director Boleslav Polívka.

“For more than two decades, Bolek Polívka has left a similarly distinctive mark on Czech cinema. His most remarkable roles include the portrayal of a priest in Vladimír Michálek’s 'Forgotten Light' (1996), which earned him a Czech Lion for best actor and another award in the same category at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. He later also took home a Czech Lion for best actor for 'Divided We Fall,' which was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign film,” said KVIFF in a press release.

The festival also announced the launch of a new year-round initiative called KVIFF Talents, the objective of which is to identify talented filmmakers from the Czech Republic and Slovakia “ to support the creation of creative audiovisual projects with international ambitions possessing a high level of originality.”

The 56th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will take place from July 1-9, 2022.