IFF Prague – Febiofest will take place in less than a month. The festival has prepared a free preview screening on February 25th as a tasting of the main program. The complete list of films will be revealed on March 5th and ticket sales will begin on March 12th. Viewers can look forward to a rich film menu from March 20th to 28th, and here are the program's selected parts:
Febiofest 2014 will screen the impressive Finnish drama 8-Ball in advance and for free
This year's edition of IFF Prague – Febiofest presents a new feature, a preview screening that will take place on 25th February at 7p.m. at Cinestar Anděl. The viewers will see the Czechpremiere of Finnish drug drama, 8-Ball by Aku Louhimies; moreover, they will have a chance to win invitations for the festival's opening ceremony.
The exquisitely cast, emotional drama was made in 2013 by Aku Louhimies who presented his work as a part of last year's tribute at Febiofest. His Naked Harbour, a mosaic of stories set in today's Finland, also appeared in Czech cinemas last autumn.
The festival will open with Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive and Wajda's Walesa: A Man of Hope
The festival's opening ceremony will take place on March 20th a party in the representative rooms of the Municipal House. The film program of the official opening consists of two different films by icons of American and European cinema, Jim Jarmusch and Andrzej Wajda.
Jim Jarmusch's new film, Only Lovers Left Alive, is a retro romance which shows that even vampires are just humans. Eccentric, cynical, bur rather pleasant after all. Jarmusch boldly transforms numerous clichés of vampire films and he will surely entertain Febiofest's viewers not only at the opening, but also at the following festival screenings.
The second opening film will be Walesa: A Man of Hope. The legendary Polish director Andrzej Wajda has shot a mesmerising life story of the first democratic president of Poland, Lech Walesa, the symbol of the fall of communism in Poland. While narrated traditionally, the fascinating and compelling life story introduces Walesa as a politician, as a man of enviable courage, but also as a father. Lead actor, Robert Wieckiewicz will personally introduce the film.
4 films, 13 Oscar nominations. Ralph Fiennes' The Invisible Woman, Alexander Payne's black-and-white comedy Nebraska, Justin Chadwick's Mandela and Spike Jonze's romantic film, Her.
The repertoire of the 21st Febiofest also includes, apart from numerous other interesting films, 4 films that have received 13 Oscar nominations. Her (dir.Spike Jonze) tells the story of lonely Theodor who makes his living by writing personal letters for others. After his divorce, he gets interested in a new operating system that is specially adjusted to the customer's needs. A female voice starts talking to him from this system's world, and he gradually falls in love with it. The film has 5 Oscar nominations. Alexander Payne's Nebraska tells the story of a confused old man who sets off to Nebraska for a prize he thinks he has won, accompanied by his son. On their way, they accidentally stop by in a town where the father grew up. The visually mesmerizing film received 6 nominations in key categories.The biographical Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and The Invisible Woman about the love story of Charles Dickens and directed by Ralph Fiennes, have one nomination each.
The festival's guests will include the French visual wizard Sylvain Chomet and Jarmusch's favorite, Isaach de Bankolé
Sylvain Chomet (b.1963) is a French director and animator best known to Czech audiences for his witty and original animated film, The Triplets of Belleville (2003), which was nominated for Oscars in two categories. Another Oscar nominee was The Illusionist seven years later, based on a script by the legendary French comedian Jacques Tati. Febiofest will screen Chomet's acclaimed short film, The Old Lady and the Pigeons (BAFTA for Best Animated Short Film, Oscar and César nominations) from 1997, and also his live-action debut with a distinctive visual style, Attila Marcel. The tragicomedy follows thirty-three-year-old Attila, who has spent most of his life with his energetic aunties after his parents died. A neighbour, Madame Proust, comes into the life of the shy, quiet protagonist one day, and opens him the door to the world of “herbal” teas with LSD flavour...
Isaach de Bankolé (b.1957) comes from Ivory Coast. His breakthrough came with Chocolat by French director, Claire Denis. He worked with this director again in White Material. The actor soon became a favorite of the king of the American independent cinema, Jim Jarmusch, who cast him in Night on Earth, Ghost Dog and The Limits of Control. “Isaach De Bankolé is one of my favorite actors. He takes his work very seriously, fully transforming himself for each character he embodies,” says Jim Jarmusch. Isaach de Bankolé also appeared in Manderlay (dir. Lars von Trier), the Bond film Casino Royale and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. As a part of his tribute at Febiofest, Isaach de Bankolé will personally introduce the new film by the Nigerian director, Andrew Dosunmu, Mother of George, which offers an interesting insight into a different cultural tradition of the African community in the USA, and an impressive French thriller, Chaos (dir. Etienne Faure).
Isaach de Bankolé will receive this year's Kristian award for his Contribution to World Cinema.
Svein André Hofsø Myhre (b. 1973), a Norwegian actor with Down syndrome, is the main protagonist of a witty play called Detektiv Down. He will accompany director Bard Breien to introduce the Czech premiere of the film along with the Czech co-producers (Evolution Films).
Robert Więckiewicz (b.1967) enchanted Febiofest's viewers two years ago in the role of Leopold Socha in Agieszka Holland's In Darkness, the closing film of Febiofest 2012. Polish viewers have known him from many roles since the 1990’s, and he has also appeared in epic Polish historical production. Wojciech Smarzowski cast Więckiewicz in The Dark House (Febiofest 2010), he also played in Strawberry Wine with Jiri Machacek (Febiofest 2009). This superb Polish actor is coming to this year's festival to introduce Walesa: A Man of Hope.
The chairman of the jury at Febiofest 2014 will be Theodor Pistek. Another guest is Kaurismäki's muse, the actress Kati Outinen.
The winner of the Oscar, the César and the Czech Lion, famous costume designer and painter, Theodor Pistek, will become the honorary chairman of the 33-member jury of the 21st edition of IFF Prague – Febiofest. Kati Outinen is among the guests as well -a remarkable Finnish actress and a significant star of Aki Kausimäki's films who is currently nominated for the Czech Lion for her role in Clownwise. She will also introduce her latest film, August Fools.
The deadline for jury application is in few days!
Febiofest's main jury of 33 members, which awards the Grand Prix, is open to anybody, from age 15 to 100+ of all education, backgrounds, professions and interests. The application deadline is February 28th. The festival will choose 33 lucky winners out of the submitted applications, and the selected people will then see all the films of the competition program and decide the winner together with the honorary chairman. You can still apply for the jury at http://febiofest.cz/en/jury
Special Introduction section is devoted to Czech co-productions
Five films that were created together by Czech and foreign producers will be included in a special introduction at IFF Prague – Febiofest 2014. The previously announced films Detektiv Down and April Fools will be accompanied by Jiri Madl's directorial debut, To See a Sea, the Czech-Romanian A Very Unsettled Summer and Velvet Terrorists, a film which received an audience prize at Berlinale. “Even today, we sometimes feel that Czech cinema is somewhat isolated, that it avoids both confrontation and cooperation with the outside world. It is festivals that can change that. We are very pleased that this year's Febiofest will present four films made with the participation of Czech producers and which are heading for Czech distribution,” says the festival's program director Stefan Uhrik. Hana Cielova adds: “Jiri Madl's debut is the fifth film of Special Introduction section, and although it is an entirely Czech production and it is still waiting for its confrontation with the outside world, let's hope that premiere at Febiofest will successfully start it.”
To See a Sea by Jiri Madl tells the story of ten-year-old Tomas (Petr Simcak) who gets a camera for his birthday and captures his family and the surrounding world in the unique way of a child.
Emotions and memories of four protagonists intertwine in today's Bucharest in Anka Damian's A Very Unsettled Summer. An adaptation of Philip Ó Ceallaigh's short story was made with a contribution of Maur Film, the co-producer on the Czech side.
Velvet Terrorists was created by directors Peter Kerekes, Ivan Ostrochovsky and Pavol Pekarcik. The story of three men who protested against the Communist regime with a gun in hand is the core of three stories balancing between a documentary and fiction. This Slovak-Croatian-Czech coproduction was made in cooperation with Hypermarket Film, a company of the famous directing duo Filip Remunda and Vit Klusak.
Febiofest Music Festival 2014 is loaded with new bands and admission is free again
The organizers of Febiofest have prepared a rich musical accompanying program. Febiofest Music Festival will take place, just like every year, on floor -3 at Cinestar Andel, from Friday, March 21st to Friday, March 28th 2014. The entry is free.
Two bands will perform every evening, followed by an after-party with a DJ who will keep the fun going into the night. The program offers diverse genres, while introducing new names. The concerts will include hip hop by Defuckto, the Czech-American rockers called Airfare, experimental alternative Vladivoina La Chia, eletronic The Soul Science and Animal Gigolo, reggae band Pub Animals, pop-rock discovery from Ostrava called Fiha, or an unusual triple performance of a rising star, Agnieszka Kapuscinska, who will introduce her solo project Agu, and perform as a singer with The Science and Dzezvica the following evenings. The whole program will be closed on Friday, March 28th by disco-funk Megaphone.
There will also be also a chill-out zone in the garage, refreshment stands prepared both for film viewers and music fans of Febiofest and, above all, a great atmosphere. The entry to the whole accompanying musical program is free.
IFF Prague – Febiofest, 20th – 28th March 2014, Cinestar Anděl www.febiofest.cz
with the financial support of:
MINISTRY OF CULTURE
CAPITAL CITY OF PRAGUE
EU – MEDIA PROGRAMME
STATE CINEMATOGRAPHY FUND
PRAGUE 5
PRAGUE 1
main media partner:
CZECH TELEVISION
media partners:
RÁDIO IMPULS
LIDOVÉ NOVINY
INSTINKT
TÝDEN
GRAFITTI NETWORKS
MM CITE
partners of the festival:
CINESTAR
PRAŽSKÁ ENERGETIKA
SAMSUNG
HA-VEL
TNT EXPRESS WORLDWIDE
DOPRAVNÍ PODNIK HL. M. PRAHY
CZECH TELEAXIS
ERBIA
HOTEL BOSCOLO PRAGUE
HOTEL YASMÍN
HOTEL AMBASSADOR
ČESKÁ CENTRÁLA CESTOVNÍHO RUCHU - CZECHTOURISM
PLZEŇSKÝ PRAZDROJ
NESTLÉ ČR
AQUA EXTRA
NESPRESSO
RIM-CZ
