Karlovy Vary festival to pay tribute to Havel, Vášáryová, Mariánské Lázně
July’s landmark 60th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is set to showcase some of the key films in its history and will honour Czechoslovak actress turned diplomat Magda Vášáryová. Václav Havel will also be remembered at the region’s biggest celebration of cinema. And it will actually “begin” in the nearby town of Mariánské Lázně, as Karlovy Vary’s artistic director Karel Och told me.
“Two days before the beginning of the festival, on July 1, we will introduce a very special screening of a selected film from this year’s programme.
“That’s for one simple reason, which is not as well known as it should be, and it’s the fact that the very first festival which is now known as the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival took place, in August 1946, in Mariánské Lázně and Karlovy Vary.
“Back then our colleagues presented 14 films over 14 days and the actual premiere of each film took place in Mariánské Lázně and the second screening took place in Karlovy Vary.
“So that’s the reason we’re going to pay tribute to and say thank you to our friends in Mariánské Lázně.”
It’s too early for you to talk about the programme, but you can tell us something, I believe, about the Out of the Past section this year?
“The Out of the Past section is traditionally dedicated to films from the past, films which are celebrating an important anniversary – restored versions of more or less known films.
“And we decided to dedicate Out of the Past this year entirely to films from the history of the Karlovy Vary film festival.
“We’ll be announcing in early June the complete lineup of 20 films, which played in Karlovy Vary and Mariánské Lázně between 1946 and the recent past.
“But we can say now that one of my favourite films of all time, A Matter of Life and Death by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, screened in Karlovy Vary in 1947 – and I was so happy to find that out, because that was the reason I can play this film again to the festival audience.
“Not everybody knows that Ken Loach, nowadays a legendary British filmmaker, visited Karlovy Vary a few times – and on one of his visits he was presented with the Grand Prix.
READ ALSO
“That was in 1970 and he won Karlovy Vary back then with his film Kes.
“I’d like to mention also a Czechoslovak film called Accused. It’s a courtroom drama directed by two very important Czechoslovak filmmakers, Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos, who, one year later, won the Oscar for The Shop on Main Street.”
The festival’s President’s Award usually goes to an important Czech or Czechoslovak filmmaker and this year it’s the actress Magda Vášáryová. Why is she significant to Czechoslovak cinema?
“As has been mentioned, and it will be mentioned often, this year Karlovy Vary will be larger, more complex, contemporary and historical, so we decided to approach someone that we consider not an actress only but who we admire as a politician, as a highly cultivated personality who is very inspirational.
“That’s something we try to do with Karlovy Vary as well.
“And we are very happy that Magda Vášáryová accepted the invitation. And together we decided to screen Juraj Jakubisko’s fantastic film Birds, Orphans and Fools.”
Karlovy Vary’s non-profit partner this year is Vize 97, which was started by Václav Havel and Dagmar Havlová. This year there will be a tribute to Havel – what’s his connection to the festival?
“In the early 1990s, when the festival nearly ceased to exist, there were a few personalities who were instrumental in making sure the festival survived.
“We all know Miloš Forman was one of them – and Václav Havel was also really instrumental and crucial, for many reasons.
“He was the one who brought the US secretary of state Madeleine Albright to Karlovy Vary.
“We also proudly mentioned his name on invitations to people we admired who were not only connected to the world of culture, such as Robert Redford.
“And every year he would come to Karlovy Vary, just to be with us as a regular cinema lover and a friend of many people at the festival.
“And his humble approach is something that we like to remember.”
Related
-
Documentary on Czech brothers wins 59th Karlovy Vary
The main prize at this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival was won by Better Go Mad in the Wild by Slovak director Miro Remo.
-
Michael Douglas, Dakota Johnson, more bring star power to Karlovy Vary
Michael Douglas, Dakota Johnson, Peter Sarsgaard and Vicky Krieps delivered star power on the opening weekend of the 59th Karlovy Vary Internatinoal Film Festival.
-
How good has 57th edition of Karlovy Vary festival been?
The 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival comes to a close on Saturday night. But what has been the overall standard of the festival this year? We ask a critic.
