19-06-2017

FESTIVALS: Karlovy Vary Plays to Its CEE Strengths with Competition Lineup

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    The Line by Peter Bebjak The Line by Peter Bebjak

    PRAGUE: The competition line-up of the 52nd Karlovy Vary IFF (30 June – 8 July 2017) underscores the festival’s position as the powerhouse gateway to Central Europe and points East. Yes, the traditional slots for long-time partner territories such as France and Germany remain firmly in place, but for festival followers, it’s the array of films from CEE territories in all three of the festival’s competition sections that make it a must-attend event on the 2017 schedule.

    Case in point: the world premiere of George Ovashvili’s Khibula, his first film since his 2014 Karlovy Vary Crystal Globe winning Corn Island (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), which went on to win another 21 festival awards. Poland is represented by another Karlovy Fest winner, the late Krzysztof Krauze and his wife Joanna Kos-Krauze with the director’s final film The Birds are Singing in Kigali. For Czech and Slovak filmmakers, the festival's main competition is a highly coveted slot. This year the honours go to Czech director Vaclav Kadrnka’s musing on the search of a father for his son during the medieval chidren’s crusades, Krizacek; and to Slovak director Peter Bebjak with a contemporary tale of Slovak/Ukrainian border smuggling The Line.

    The East of the West competition section, dedicated to first and second films from CEE directors, is notable for the world premieres of two Estonian films, as well as for the return of Slovak director Juraj Lehotsky, who was awarded in the same section for his 2013 debut film Miracle (Artileria). In the documentary competition, the big audience draw is expected to be The White World According to Daliborek by legendary Czech enfant terrible Vit Klusak, who will be up against a largely pan-European slate of films, including two entries from Switzerland.

    Turkey also makes a strong showing with two films in the East of the West competition and a third film in the main competition. A pair of CEE’s newer and lesser-known territories, Bosnia and Herzgovina and Kosovo, show up alongside the expected entries from Romania, Croatia, Slovenia and Poland. The competition leans toward serious themes and stories: suicide, war, psychological trauma, death. In all, 12 films will screen in the main competition, 12 in the East of the West competition, and 11 in the documentary competition.

    Main Competition

    Arrhythmia (Russia, Finland, Germany)
    Directed by Boris Khlebnikov

    Birds Are Singing in Kigali (Poland)
    Directed by Joanna Kos-Krauze, Krzysztof Krauze
    Produced by KOSFILM Joanna Kos-Krauze
    Coproduced by TVP, Odra-film, Narodowe Centrum Kultury, Studio A
    Supported by the Polish Film Institute

    Breaking News (Romania)
    Directed by Iulia Rugină
    Produced by Hai–Hui Entertainment
    Coproduced by Libra Film Production
    Supported by the Romanian Film Centre

    The Cakemaker (Israel, Germany)
    Directed by Ofir Raul Graizer

    Corporate (France)
    Directed by Nicolas Silhol

    Keep the Change (USA)
    Directed by Rachel Israel

    Khibula (Georgia, Germany, France)
    Directed by George Ovashvili
    Produced by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
    Coproduced by 42film, Arizona Productions
    Supported by the Georgian National Film Center

    The Line (Slovakia, Ukraine)
    Directed by Peter Bebjak
    Produced by Wandal Production
    Coproduced by RTVS, Garnet International Media Group and Home Media Production
    Supported by Creative Europe MEDIA and the Slovak Audiovisual Fund

    Little Crusader (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy)
    Directed by Vaclav Kadrnka
    Produced by Sirius Films
    Coproduced by Artileria and Tempesta
    Supported by the Czech State Cinematography Fund, the Slovak Audiovisual Fund, the Apulia Film Commission and the Sardegna Film Commission

    Men Don’t Cry (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany)
    Directed by Alen Drljević
    Produced by Deblokada Sarajevo
    Coproduced by Iridium Film, This and That, Menderley Films, Produkcija Živa and Cineplanet
    Supported by Foundation of Cinematography Sarajevo, Slovenian Film Centre, ZDF/Arte TV, MEDIA, Ministry of Culture and Sport of Kanton Sarajevo, CineLink Market

    More (Turkey)
    Directed by Onur Saylak

    Ralang Road (India)
    Directed by karma Takapa

    East of the West Competition

    Absence of Closeness (Czech Republic)
    Directed by Josef Tuka
    Produced by Cinema Belongs to Us
    Coproduced by Magiclab

    Blue Silence (Turkey, Belgium)
    Directed by Bülent Öztürk

    Dede (Georgia, UK)
    Directed by Mariam Khatchvani
    Produced by 20 Steps
    Coproduced by Film and Music Entertainment, MP Film Production, Montauk Film Production, and JaJa Film Productions.
    Supported by the Doha Film Institute and the Georgian National Film Centre

    The End of the Chain (Estonia)
    Directed by Priit Pääsuke
    Produced by Alexandra Film
    Coproduced by Luxfilm, Filmivabrik, Angel Films, Cineunit, 1Agentuur

    Falling (Ukraine)
    Directed by Marina Stepanska

    How Viktor “the Garlic” Took Alex “the Stud” to the Nursing Home (Russia)
    Directed by Alexander Hant

    The Man Who Looks Like Me (Estonia)
    Directed by Katrin Maimik, Andres Maimik
    Produced by Kuukulgur Film
    Coproduced by Kinosaurus Film
    Supported by the Estonian Film Institute

    Mariţa (Romania)
    Directed by Cristi Iftime
    Produced by HiFilm Productions
    Coproduced by deFilm

    Nina (Slovakia, Czech Republic)
    Directed by Juraj Lehotský
    Produced by Punkchart Films
    Coproduced by endorfilm, Czech TV, Lehotsky Film, sentimentalfilm
    Supported by the Slovak Audiovisual Fund, Creative Europe MEDIA, the Czech State Cinematography Fund and Bratislava Self-Governing Region

    Pomegranate Orchard (Azerbaijan)
    Directed by Ilgar Najaf

    The Stone (Turkey)
    Directed by Orhan Eskikoy

    Unwanted (Kosovo, Netherlands)
    Directed by Edon Rizvanolli