- Films and projects from the Middle East will now be eligible to enter the East of the West Competition and the Eastern Promises Works-in-Progress pitching
- Treated projects-in-development from Central and Eastern Europe will be showcased for the first time thanks to a new
- Submissions for the 53rd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival open on 1 November
As a part of strengthening its unique position as a gateway to success for Eastern European film, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is looking further east to cover new film territories for its East of the West Competition. This section, which focuses on first and second films and regionally covers Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the former Soviet states, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus, will now be enriched by films from the Middle East. Films from Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen will now be eligible for the East of the West Competition Grand Prix and the Special Jury Prize.
Artistic Director Karel Och comments on this decision: “We see significant potential among young filmmakers from the Middle East and would like to offer them a helping hand at the beginning of their careers. It is also about time to abandon the political definition of the ‘East of the West’ countries and to switch to a more geographical definition. Boundaries in film should be practical, not ideological.”
The festival’s film industry section is rebranding itself and starting with the 53rd KVIFF will be known as Eastern Promises @KVIFF. The promising projects in post-production presented in Eastern Promises will now reflect this new territorial definition within its traditional Works in Progress section. Additional pitching forums, added as part of an expanded industry programme, will continue to focus predominantly on the region of Central and Eastern Europe.
KVIFF recently joined forces with the Trieste Film Festival’s Eastweek and When East Meets West industry platforms and with the MIDPOINT script development programme to provide market opportunities for nine fresh projects that have undergone workshops on
Film Servis Festival Karlovy Vary, Panská 1, 110 00 Praha 1, Czech Republic
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development, financing and co-production opportunities. These projects will be showcased in Karlovy Vary for the first time. Emerging film professionals who are working on their first or second feature film can submit their scripts via MIDPOINT’s website until 26 October 2017.
General submissions for the 53rd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival open on 1 November 2017. Filmmakers are encouraged to submit feature-length fiction and documentary films completed after 1 July 2017. Regular entries will be accepted until 28 February 2018, and late submissions can be made until the end of March via our website, www.kviff.com.
