The Big Picture
The 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival features 32 films, 15 debuts, and a diverse lineup exploring various themes through a contemporary lens.
Big artists like Mark Cousins and Beata Parkanova will compete for the Crystal Globe and Proxima Competition’s top prizes.
Special screenings include world premieres and films inspired by Franz Kafka.
June is fast approaching, which means it’s almost time for one of Eastern Europe’s most prestigious showcases of cinema to return — the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Ahead of its 58th iteration beginning in late June, the event unveiled its full lineup of official selections and special screenings. This year’s edition promises a fairly even mix of feature debuts as well as new works from prolific international filmmakers hoping to make their mark once again. Following last year’s celebration of Iranian filmmakers and honoring of Russell Crowe, there will be a wider focus on a variety of themes and genres covering politics, history, society, and more through a contemporary lens.
Of the 32 films that have been selected to compete as official selections this year, 15 are debuts, making the festival a treat for attendees hoping to catch the latest in European cinema. In terms of the filmmakers present, artistic director Karel Och named Mark Cousins, Oleh Sentsov, Noaz Deshe, Antonin Peretjatko, Beata Parkanova, and Burak Cevik as some of the big artists to watch when the festivities begin. Their films and more will compete across the festival’s big prizes — the Crystal Globe Competition recognizing the best films from a group including Our Lovely Pig Slaughter, A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things, and Tiny Lights, among others, and the Proxima Competition with headlining films including Cabo Negro, Stranger, and Trans Memoria.
Also slated for the competition are a handful of special screenings including ten films, most of which are making their world premieres at Karlovy. Among them are Czechoslovak Architecture 58–89, In the Land of Brothers, I’m Not Everything I Want to Be, Real, The Other One, Tatabojs.doc, Waves, Journey to the Brink of War, and The Gardener’s Year. For those up for awards, the Crystal Globe jury features a star-studded line-up, including Independent Spirit Award-winning producer Christine Vachon, Academy Award-winning Shine actor Geoffrey Rush, Explanation of Everything director Gábor Reisz, poet, novelist, and The Northman co-writer Sjón, and five-time Czech Lion Award-nominated actress Eliška Křenková. The Proxima competition, meanwhile, boasts a mix of filmmakers, producers, festival founders, and more including Mohamed Kordofani, Bianca Balbuena, Daniela Michel, Wouter Jansen, and Adéla Komrzý.
KVIFF 2024 Will Honor Prolific Author Franz Kafka With a Retrospective
On top of everything, this year’s KVIFF will reflect on the life and work of a Czech Republic icon on the 100th anniversary of his death — Franz Kafka. A renowned and widely influential author known for novels like The Trial and The Castle, Kafka’s shadow looms large in the world of cinema, with the term “Kafkaesque” being coined to describe a work that exhibits a similar absurdity to his stories. He’ll be honored through a program called “Franz Kafka and the Cinema” showing his impact on the silver screen with a handful of screenings that take heavy inspiration from him, like Martin Scorsese’s After Hours, directly adapt his work, like Orson Welles’s The Trial, or build a story around his life, like Steven Soderbergh’s Kafka.
The 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival begins on June 28 and runs through July 6. The full lineup of films is available to view on the event’s official website. In the meantime, After Hours is available to stream on Tubi.
After Hours
Release Date September 13, 1985
Runtime 97 minutes
Watch on Tubi