Dystopian sci-fis and documentary essays land in the official selection of the 56th KVIFF

by Martin Kudláč

31/05/2022 - The largest Czech film gathering will offer a smorgasbord of local flavours from the youngest generation of domestic directors

Dystopian sci-fis and documentary essays land in the official selection of the 56th KVIFF

The Ordinaries by Sophie Linnenbaum

The 56^th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (1-9 July 2022) has unveiled its competition sections. Thirteen of the official selection titles are directed by returning filmmakers. “From among the 1,500 films that were submitted this year, we have chosen 33 brand-new works of cinema that offer an accurate reflection of our taste – a taste derived from a belief in a meaningful edginess and the championing of new means of cinematic expression that, nonetheless, do not stand in opposition to the audience’s receptiveness or inclinations,” says the festival’s artistic director, Karel Och. The line-up revealed so far entails 27 world, three international and three European premieres of movies from five continents. Nine films across the three sections unveiled are helmed by debuting directors.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Two domestic filmmakers will bow in the Crystal Globe Competition: a variety of non-monogamous forms of intimacy will be explored in Tomasz Wiński’s debut, Borders of Love [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tomasz Wiński
film profile], and the period drama The Word [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Beata Parkanová
film profile] by Beata Parkanová, who is returning to the festival with her sophomore feature. Kristina Buožytė and Bruno Samper will introduce their co-directed effort, a dystopian sci-fi called Vesper [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kristina Buožytė and Bruno …
film profile]; Christos Passalis will world-premiere his melancholic love story Silence 6-9 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christos Passalis
film profile]; the directorial collective consisting of Ilian Metev, Ivan Chertov and Zlatina Teneva is bringing along an observational documentary on the antiquated Bulgarian healthcare system, A Provincial Hospital [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ilian Metev, Ivan Chertov a…
film profile]; and the acerbic Polish comedy Fucking Bornholm [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anna Kazejak
film profile] by Anna Kazejak will have its international premiere in the main competition.

The upcoming edition of KVIFF is set to inaugurate its new Proxima competition section (see the news). This replaces the East of the West Competition, which had primarily been focused on Central and Eastern European cinema. The festival organisers call the new competition “an inclusive space for pictures by young filmmakers and renowned auteurs alike, presenting bold works that defy categorisation”, with no geographical restrictions and “open to filmmakers from around the world”. Proxima will welcome rising domestic talent Šimon Holý, who debuted at the festival last year with Mirrors in the Dark [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Šimon Holý
film profile]. Holý returns with his sophomore feature, And Then There Was Love… [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Šimon Holý
film profile], which continues with the thematic thread of existential traumas seen from a female perspective. Polish director Tomas Wasilewski will unveil his latest work, the unsettling family drama Fools [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tomasz Wasilewski
film profile], while Andreas Horvath will offer a look into a zoo during lockdown in the aptly titled Zoo Lock Down, and David Kapac and Andrija Mardešić’s effort The Uncle promises a Hanekenian spin on a visit from an uncle in late-1980s Yugoslavia. Proxima will also introduce the latest work by Adéla Komrzý, who also presented her previous, highly acclaimed documentary Intensive Life Unit [+see also:
trailer
film profile] at last year’s festival. This time, Komrzý has joined forces with Tomáš Bojar for an observational documentary exploring an art institution, ART Talent Show.

The Special Screenings section will offer more of a local flavour, introducing the sophomore feature by emerging talent Adam Sedlák, (following his debut, Domestique [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adam Sedlák
film profile]), a dramedy called BANGER., set in the drug and rap underbelly. Meanwhile, Štěpán FOK Vodrážka will back him up with a portrait of a trio of famous Czech rappers in PSH Neverending Story, and venerated actor-turned-director Miroslav Krobot will premiere his latest feature film, Big Opening, a bittersweet comedy about an actor making his debut as a director. The sci-fi flick Rubikon [+see also:
film review
interview: Leni Lauritsch
film profile] by Magdalena Lauritsch will focus on the Earth in 2096 as it runs out of oxygen, while Goran Stolevski will bow with a horror film based on Macedonian mythology and folklore, You Won’t Be Alone [+see also:
film review
film profile], and Swiss filmmaker Tizian Büchi’s magical-realist observational documentary Like an Island [+see also:
film review
interview: Tizian Büchi
film profile] will have its international premiere in the Special Screenings sidebar.

KVIFF will also be honouring its long-time artistic director Eva Zaoralová, who passed away in March 2022, with an exhibition of photographs documenting “her relationship to cinema, her activities during the management of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and her unique relationship with the festival’s president, Jiří Bartoška”, while also screening the film that significantly influenced her future career, Federico Fellini’s La Strada.

Here is the full line-up of the competition sections:

Crystal Globe Competition

Proxima Competition

And Then There Was Love… [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Šimon Holý
film profile] - Šimon Holý (Czech Republic)
Horseplay – Marco Berger (Argentina)
In Broad Daylight – Emmanuel Tardif (Canada)
Like a Fish on the Moon – Dornaz Hajiha (Iran)
Fools [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tomasz Wasilewski
film profile] – Tomasz Wasilewski (Poland/Romania/Germany)
Another Spring [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mladen Kovačević
film profile] - Mladen Kovačević (Serbia/Qatar)
Pietá [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Eduardo Casanova (Spain/Argentina)
Ramona [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrea Bagney
film profile] – Andrea Bagney (Spain)
The Uncle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrija Mardešić and David …
film profile] - David Kapac, Andrija Mardešić (Croatia/Serbia)
Tinnitus – Gregorio Graziosi (Brazil)
Art Talent Show [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adéla Komrzý and Tomás Bojar
film profile] – Tomáš Bojar, Adéla Komrzý (Czech Republic)
Zoo Lock Down [+see also:
film review
interview: Andreas Horvath
film profile] – Andreas Horvath (Austria)

Special Screenings

BANGER. [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adam Sedlák
film profile] – Adam Sedlák (Czech Republic)
June Zero – Jake Paltrow (USA/Israel)
The Killing of a Journalist [+see also:
film review
interview: Matt Sarnecki
film profile] - Matt Sarnecki (Denmark/USA/Czech Republic)
My Father, The Prince [+see also:
interview: Lukas Sturm, Lila Schwarzen…
film profile] - Lukas Sturm, Lila Schwarzenberg (Austria/Czech Republic)
PSH Neverending Story – Štěpán FOK Vodrážka (Czech Republic)
Rubikon – Magdalena Lauritsch (Austria)
Big Opening – Miroslav Krobot (Czech Republic)
You Won’t Be Alone [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Goran Stolevski (Austria/UK/Serbia)
Like an Island [+see also:
film review
interview: Tizian Büchi
film profile] - Tizian Büchi (Switzerland)