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KARLOVY VARY 2021

Karlovy Vary unveils the official selection of its 55th edition

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- In the wake of the disruption caused by the pandemic, the largest Czech film gathering returns with an adjusted festival structure

Karlovy Vary unveils the official selection of its 55th edition
Bird Atlas by Olmo Omerzu

After the pandemic forced the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) to make adjustments to its 2020 edition (see the news), resulting in a decentralised KVIFF In Your Cinema showcase throughout the Czech Republic, for its 55th edition (20-28 August 2021), the festival will return to its usual format and location: the picturesque spa town of Karlovy Vary. In 2019, the gathering optimised its structure by incorporating documentary films into the Crystal Globe Competition and East of the West Competition, thus axing the standalone Documentary Competition. Exclusive premieres and sneak previews have been brought together in the Special Screenings section, including the opening film, Zátopek [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: David Ondříček
film profile
]
by David Ondříček.

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The official selection will offer 32 world premieres, many of which will be locking horns in the Crystal Globe Competition, including the eagerly awaited new drama by Olmo Omerzu, Bird Atlas [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Olmo Omerzu
film profile
]
; Miro Remo’s documentary At Full Throttle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miro Remo
film profile
]
; the latest film by 2017 Crystal Globe winner Václav Kadrnka, the final instalment in a loose trilogy, called Saving One Who Was Dead [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Václav Kadrnka
film profile
]
; Erika Hníková’s documentary Every Single Minute [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Erika Hníková
film profile
]
; the Italian post-apocalyptic sci-fi flick The Land of Sons [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Claudio Cupellini; and Dietrich Brüggemann’s latest film,  [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dietrich Brüggemann
film profile
]
.

The Czech documentary by Adéla Komrzý Intensive Life Unit [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, Hajni Kis’s drama Wild Roots [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, Jan Foukal’s Two Ships [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jan Foukal
film profile
]
(formerly known as The Martian Ships) and Dina Duma’s Sisterhood [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dina Duma, Antonia Belazelk…
film profile
]
will duke it out in the competition for Central and Eastern European cinema, East of the West. The Special Screenings will encompass Elisabeth Vogler’s Roaring 20’s [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
film profile
]
and Levan Koguashvili’s Brighton 4th [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Levan Koguashvili
film profile
]
after their Tribeca premieres, Michaela Pavlátová’s My Sunny Maad [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michaela Pavlátová
film profile
]
, which recently won the Jury Prize at Annecy, and the domestic documentaries Reconstruction of Occupation by Jan Šikl and David Sís’s Dreams About Stray Cats.

This year’s sole retrospective is a tribute to the celebrated work of The Film Foundation. Established in 1990 by Martin Scorsese, the non-profit organisation is dedicated to protecting and preserving motion-picture history. Ten films produced between 1932 and 1991 have been picked for the retrospective showcase, including Putney Swope, What Price Hollywood?, A Woman Under the Influence and Queen of Diamonds.

The line-up of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival’s non-competitive sections, which will include a variety of notable films from 2020 and 2021, will be announced two weeks prior to the 55th edition, which will unfold from 20-28 August.

Here is the full list of titles in the official selection:

Crystal Globe Competition

Bird Atlas [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Olmo Omerzu
film profile
]
Olmo Omerzu (Czech Republic/Slovenia/Slovakia)
Boiling Point [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Philip Barantini
film profile
]
Philip Barantini (UK)
The Exam [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Shawkat Amin Korki
film profile
]
Shawkat Amin Korki (Germany/Iraq/Qatar)
WarsNicolas Roy (Canada)
Every Single Minute [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Erika Hníková
film profile
]
Erika Hníková (Czech Republic/Slovakia)
At Full Throttle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miro Remo
film profile
]
Miro Remo (Czech Republic/Slovakia)
 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dietrich Brüggemann
film profile
]
- Dietrich Brüggemann (Germany)
Prince [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lisa Bierwirth
film profile
]
Lisa Bierwirth (Germany)
As Far as I Can Walk [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stefan Arsenijević
film profile
]
- Stefan Arsenijević (France/Luxembourg/Bulgaria/Lithuania)
The Land of Sons [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Claudio Cupellini (Italy)
The Staffroom [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sonja Tarokić
film profile
]
- Sonja Tarokić (Croatia)
Saving One Who Was Dead [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Václav Kadrnka
film profile
]
Václav Kadrnka (Czech Republic/Slovakia/France)

East of the West Competition

Dear Ones [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Grzegorz Jaroszuk
film profile
]
- Grzegorz Jaroszuk (Poland/Czech Republic)
Runner [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrius Blaževičius
film profile
]
- Andrius Blaževičius (Lithuania/Czech Republic)
Intensive Life Unit [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
Adéla Komrzý (Czech Republic)
Roots [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tea Lukač
film profile
]
Tea Lukač (Serbia)
Wild Roots [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Hajni Kis (Hungary/Slovakia)
Two Ships [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jan Foukal
film profile
]
Jan Foukal (Czech Republic/Norway)
NuucchaVladimir Munkuev (Russia)
Otar’s Death [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ioseb 'Soso' Bliadze
film profile
]
Ioseb “Soso” Bliadze (Georgia/Germany/Lithuania)
Patchwork [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Janine Teerling and Petros …
film profile
]
Petros Charalambous (Cyprus/Israel/Slovenia)
After the Winter [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivan Bakrač
film profile
]
Ivan Bakrač (Montenegro/Serbia/Croatia)
Sisterhood [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dina Duma, Antonia Belazelk…
film profile
]
Dina Duma (North Macedonia/Kosovo/Montenegro)
Mirror in the Dark [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Šimon Holý
film profile
]
Šimon Holý (Czech Republic)

Special Screenings

Roaring 20’s [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
film profile
]
Elisabeth Vogler (France)
Brighton 4th [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Levan Koguashvili
film profile
]
Levan Koguashvili (Georgia/Russia/Bulgaria/USA/Monaco)
My Sunny Maad [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michaela Pavlátová
film profile
]
Michaela Pavlátová (Czech Republic/France/Slovakia)
The Party and the GuestsJan Němec (Czechoslovakia)
SuspicionMichal Blaško (Czech Republic/France) (mini-series)
Reconstruction of OccupationJan Šikl (Czech Republic/Slovakia)
Dreams About Stray CatsDavid Sís (Czech Republic/USA/France)
Zátopek [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: David Ondříček
film profile
]
David Ondříček (Czech Republic) (opening film)

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