The Prestigious KVIFF Announces Selections and Screenings for 2024

The big picture

The 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival features 32 films, 15 debuts and a diverse lineup that explores various themes through a contemporary lens.
Great artists like Mark Cousins and Beata Parkanova will compete for the best prizes of the Crystal Globe and the Proxima Competition.
Special screenings include world premieres and films inspired by Franz Kafka.

June is fast approaching, which means it's almost time for the return of one of Eastern Europe's most prestigious film showcases: the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Ahead of its 58th iteration starting at the end of June, the event unveiled its full line-up of official selections and special screenings. This year's edition promises a fairly even mix of feature debuts as well as new work from prolific international filmmakers hoping to make their mark once again. After last year's celebration of Iranian filmmakers and tribute to Russell Crowethere will be a broader focus on a variety of topics 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 delight for attendees hoping to see the latest in European cinema. As for the filmmakers present, artistic director Karel Oh named Mark Cousins, Oleh Sentsov, Noaz Deshe, Antonin Peretjatko, Beata Parkanovai Burak Cevik like some of the great artists to see when the festivities begin. Their films and more will compete for the festival's top prizes: the Crystal Globe Competition, which recognizes the best films from a group that includes Our lovely pig slaughter, A sudden insight into deeper thingsi Little Lightsamong others, and the Proxima Competition with headliner included Black Head, strangei Trans Memory.

A handful of special screenings are also planned for the competition, including ten films, most of which are making their world premieres at Karlovy. Among them there is Czechoslovak Architecture 58–89, In the Land of the Brothers, I'm not all I want to be, Real, The other, Tatabojs.doc, Waves, Journey to the brink of wari The year of the gardener. For the winners, the Crystal Globe jury has a star-studded line-up, including the Independent Spirit Award-winning production company. Christine VachonAcademy Award winner it shines actor Geoffrey Rush, Explanation of everything director Gábor Reiszpoet, novelist and The Northman co-writer sleepand five-time Czech Lion Award nominated actress Eliška Křenková. The Próxima competition, on the other hand, has a mix of filmmakers, producers, festival founders, among others. Mohamed Kordofani, Bianca Balbuena, Daniela Michel, Wouter Janseni Adela Komrzy.

KVIFF 2024 will honor prolific author Franz Kafka with a retrospective

Above all, this year's KVIFF will reflect on the life and work of an icon of the Czech Republic on the 100th anniversary of his death. Franz Kafka. A renowned and highly influential author known for novels such as The Judgment i the castle, Kafka's shadow looms over the world of cinema, with the term “Kafkaesque” being coined to describe a work that displays a similar absurdity to his stories. He will be honored through a program called “Franz Kafka and the Cinema” that showcases his impact on the big screen with a handful of screenings heavily inspired by him, including Martin Scorsese's Out of hoursdirectly adapts his work, com Orson Welles's The Judgmentor build a story around his life, like Steven Soderbergh's Kafka.

58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival it starts on June 28 and runs until July 6. The full lineup of films can be viewed on the event's official website. In the meantime, Out of hours is available to stream on Tubi.