04/03/2011

Karlovy Vary's new artistic director Karel Och speaks with Cineuropa about his view of European film and the future of Central Europe's leading festival.

Cineuropa: When you look at new titles, what territories inspire you?
Karel Och: Greek film nowadays is original and innovative, which is so different from just five years ago. The dramaturgy has improved so much. And the filmmakers are helping each other. For example, Athina Rachel Tsangari, the director of Attenberg [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Athina Rachel Tsangari
film profile], was a co-producer on Dogtooth [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Yorgos Lanthimos
film profile]. Giorgos Lanthimos, the director of Dogtooth, is finishing his new film and the co-producer is his DoP. I don't know if it can be transposed to another country, but the Greek example shows that even a country with economic trouble can succeed if the people are smart and work together.

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There's also a strong young generation in Italy. The Mouth of the Wolf [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pietro Marcello
film profile], The Solitude of Prime Numbers [+see also:
trailer
interview: Luca Marinelli
film profile] — these were made by filmmakers who haven't turned 40 yet. Each has a strong vision and no compromises.

What do you see as the strengths of contemporary European film?
Generally speaking, I do not think contemporary European film is in any way stronger than film production of other continents. But I must say that every single US independent film we saw at Sundance was amazingly well executed in terms of direction and script. With European film, you often have a strong script but maybe the execution is not so good, or vice versa.

What does your past experience programming documentaries at Karlovy Vary tell you about the differences between Eastern and Western European production?
The further east you move, the more filmmakers use image to tell stories. That's a little over-simplified, but I do think that there is a tendency to put more emphasis on words in the West. Sergei Loznitsa is a perfect example. His film Artel won Best Short Documentary at Karlovy Vary in 2007. He continues to use image as a tool of expression in his feature films.

Do you think Eastern Europe deserves its reputation for producing gloomy films?
Sometimes we are criticized for programming depressing films. But you program what is submitted to you, and there simply are not that many good comedies or feel-good movies from Central and Eastern Europe. Filmmakers from our parts have the chance to cinematically elaborate the political turmoil and huge changes they lived through two decades ago.

What technological changes is your festival undergoing?
Digitization is an issue we have been dealing with last few years, as any other festival. Two venues in Karlovy Vary are now DCP ready and we hope to have more in the near future. If there is only one 35mm print of a film available, having an alternative medium helps make the festival screening possible.

We're also putting some of our titles on line. We had a really good experience with Cinando last year. During the festival almost all the films from the main competition were available to Cinando users. Six of those films were among the 20 most-watched films on Cinando last year. Festival Scope is another great tool for festival people who just can't go everywhere. With Mubi [formerly The Auteurs], we presented a few titles only for the Czech Republic.

But Czech audiences are not so accustomed to watching films on line. They like the event. They don't have the time to see art house films during a normal week, but at festivals they can do it four times a day. So this makes me think that festivals will survive even these changes in technology.