István Szabó to lead Karlovy Vary jury

by Theodore Schwinke

06/04/2011 - Hungarian filmmaker István Szabó will chair the international jury at the 46th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (July 1-9).

"Nine years after having presented his film Taking Sides at the 37th KVIFF, Mr. Szabó will be back at the festival," said KVIFF Artistic Director Karel Och. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have such a distinguished and legendary artist heading the Festival's jury.”

Szabó's latest film, The Door, starring Helen Mirren, has not yet been released. The producers are understood to be aiming for a slot at Cannes. Szabó's presence at Karlovy Vary all but guarantees the film will have a high-profile, out-of-competition screening at KVIFF.

This 46th KVIFF will include the first complete retrospective on the acclaimed Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, a tribute to the legendary Samuel Fuller and a spotlight on young Greek directors.

Och praised Villeneuve, Fuller and the Greeks for their strong statements about society. “These are filmmakers who surpass expectations and are unafraid of shaking conventions,” Och said. “KVIFF aims to nurture cinephilia by giving exposure to original storytellers who have – and still are – passionately struggling to bring their vision.”

Karlovy Vary will screen Yorgos Lanthimos’ Cannes title Dogtooth [trailer, film focus], Athina Tsangari's Venice title Attenberg [trailer, film focus], Panos Koutras’ Berlin title Strella [trailer], Alexis Alexiou's Istoria 52 (Tale 52) and Filipos Tsitos' 2010 LUX Prize finalist Plato’s Academy [trailer, film focus].