It’s a big birthday for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Its upcoming edition is supposed to be one long celebration, starting today and running until July 11th. The constant contender of European film festivals is turning 60 - or is it 80 already? The lower number counts the editions, but as the festival was founded in 1945, it carries considerably more years and history. Especially the former feel very dominant and sometimes overpowering in its eponymous home town, which is firmly in the hands of an elderly bourgeoisie, sipping on curative waters and promenading among the expensive hotels. Only during the nine festival days does this demographic shift, as a slightly younger, though equally affluent cinephile clientele.
Not only this omnipresent poshness literally and figuratively built into the town's history seems ironic, considering KVIFF’s artistic director Karel Och’s intention to design the program of the upcoming edition “in a spirit of humility”. That seems a surprising approach for an event with an obvious affinity to Cannes, which appears to serve as a paragon, not only in terms of international prestige and star presence, but also exclusivity and elitism. Opening and closing ceremonies have a strict dress code, even for professionals and accredited press. For now, the stars on the red carpet are exempt, as the focus is still more on hosting prestigious guests than on reining them in. Still, the Crystal Globe Competition strives for a balance between established and emerging voices.
Among the most anticipated of the twelve titles from 13 countries and territories are Black Money for White Nights from Bulgarian directing duo Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov, Hijamat by Iranian filmmaker Nader Saeivar, Chilean veteran Valeria Sarmiento’s Behind the Rain, and Danish director Mads Mengel’s The Guest. Equally, if not more promising is its side section Proxima Competition with Yashasvi Juyal's rural drama The Ink-Stained Hand and the Missing Thumb, Axel Bertha’s haunting character study Against Nature, and Isabelle Tollenaere‘s feature film debut Paris, Paris. In comparison, the section Horizons can seem more like an afterthought to Cannes, Venice, and Berlinale, from where most of its participating pictures, from Almodovar’s Bitter Christmas to İlker Çatak‘s Yellow Letters, hail.
New names are better represented among the many Czech productions enjoying the expected proliferation during this anniversary edition. Many film festivals' dark horse, the section for midnight movies and horror called Afterhours, also draws mostly on Cannes and Berlinale this year, though it offers Kevin Bacon’s hopefully properly deranged directing debut Family Movie. More star power comes from Dustin Hoffman and Juliette Binoche receiving Crystal Globes for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema, as well as Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jesse Eisenberg who are honored with the KVIFF President's Award. As for the jury, it has Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Justin Chang serving as its president, with Malaysian filmmaker Amanda Nell Eu and Norwegian writer-director Eskil Vogt as its most acclaimed members.
The recurring themes of armed conflict, migration and displacement, fractured families and unstable memory, personal and collective, dominating many international film events also shape the program at Karlovy Vary. Ecological disasters and the economic uncertainty of the middle class remain in the foreground, while classism, as so often, is more felt than seen. Stylistically, hybrid documentaries and experimental forms continue their rise while self-obsession and ego-exhibitionism remain the defining momentum in contemporary media. As the 60/80 edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival raises the curtain, it remains to be seen how many new perspectives a look at the past can reveal. After all, milestones are also opportunities to get rid of established ballast and welcome diversity.