The 51^st edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival attracted nearly 1,100 industry professionals, and half of them came from abroad. “I am very pleased that this solid mix of producers, sales, buyers, distributors and festival programmers gives the KVIFF the opportunity to be a gateway for arthouse films of great quality to reach the rest of the world,” stated Hugo Rosák, head of the Film Industry Office at the KVIFF.

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The Hungarian comedy-thriller Kills On Wheels [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Attila Till, which was presented in the East of the West competition, had already been acquired even before the festival started: French distributor Pretty Pictures bought the rights to the movie about two wheelchair users and their physically disabled friend, who offer their services to the mafia as assassins. The award-winning Czech competition film The Teacher [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jan Hřebejk
scheda film] by Jan Hřebejk was sold by LevelK to Frank L Stavik, CEO of Norwegian distributor Fidalgo, as well as to Greek distributor Rosebud.21.

Further deals are expected to be made for the films selected in the festival’s official programme, which are looking for international sales. Thanks to the Industry Pool, there was a new venue for events and meetings. “I am grateful that we finally have a space for industry professionals where they can network, collaborate and learn new things,” said Rosák, who received positive feedback on the programme. “It seemed to be a good mix of content that was relevant. I take it very seriously and will commit even more strongly to relevance for next year.”

Works in Progress and the first ever Eurimages Lab Project Award were highly attended events, but the turnout at Docu Talents and Pitch & Feedback was also very high. “In total, we introduced 35 projects across all our events, and I am sure that a number of these will be finished and reach the international stage,” continued the head of the Film Industry Office. “I would like to see us collaborate more with Europa Distribution, TorinoFilmLab and Midpoint, in much the same way as we have this year. The ability to attract more film professionals while giving them the opportunity to engage with our programme is important for us. Partnerships like these enable this to happen.”