June 28, 2024, 20:04
This year’s KVIFF began uncommonly with a retrospective, specifically a trip back in time to the year 1994, when the festival seemed to be doomed as the Ministry of Culture considered its cancellation. Fortunately, the festival foundation and its president Jiří Bartoška came on scene. A photography and video montage recalled the thirty years when the festival flourished under Bartoška’s direction. Host Marek Eben interviewed Jiří Bartoská right at centre of the Hotel Thermal Grand Hall. The KVIFF President took this opportunity to express his thanks: “Without our partners, the festival would not exist today. They believed in us when we came up with the idea of saving the festival, and that was a crucial support. Later, all the partners stayed with us during the Covid-19 pandemics.”
Next came the world premiere of the new official festival trailer starring Benicio del Toro, now available on KVIFF.TV, and the introduction of the festival juries. The audience also applauded Mexican director Michel Franco, this year’s mentor of the Future Frames programme, and Ukrainian filmmaker, activist and soldier Oleh Sentsov, who will present his war documentary Real at the festival.
After the introduction of selected sections, the first awards were presented. Actor, director and musician Viggo Mortensen received the Festival President’s Award. “It is a great honour for me to receive an award at the Karlovy Vary Festival,” Mortensen begun in Czech. “This is a great celebration of film” he continued. Mortensen also thanked the festival for choosing The Dead Don't Hurt, the second film he directed, as the opening film. “We are very happy to show you our story,” he said again in Czech. Accompanying him in the film delegation was the young actor Solly McLeod, who promised the audience that in reality he was not such a villain as portrayed in the film.
“Dear friends, I hereby declare the 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival opened,” announced the festival President Jiří Bartoška, thus concluding the ceremonial formalities for the thirtieth time.
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