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Czech film actor, scriptwriter, director, and writer Zdeněk Svěrák ws awarded the president’s prize at the International Karlovy Vary Film Festival on Thursday for his lifetime contribution to cinema. The 78-year-old Czech, who won an Oscar in 1996 for the film Kolya in which he starred and directed, was given a standing ovation at the presentation in the spa town. Svěrák, whose films often contain a large dose of humour, said laughter was the main reward for his work.

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival continues on its second day with the spotlight perhaps on the world premiere screening of the director’s cut of Andrzej Wajda’s film ‘Walesa: Man of Hope’. The version of the film will be screened in the presence of former Polish dissident and leader of the Gdansk shipyard strikes that helped to topple the Communist regime, Lech Walesa. As well as the former Polish president the lead actors of the film will also be present. Later on Sunday, French actor and director Fanny Ardent will present her latest film ‘Obsessive Rhythms.’

Gibson’s star guest status at Karlovy Vary has been attacked by Jewish groups in the Czech Republic who highlighted past comments deemed to be anti-Semitic. In an interview at the festival’s launch, Gibson said he had tried to deal with those complaints and dismissed them as ‘just noise.’ The head of the Jewish Community, Petr Papoušek, in a letter to the festival’s organising committee accused Gibson of propagating xenophobic and anti-Jewish sentiments and regretted the film festival had invited him as its star guest. Gibson was criticized for his depiction of Jews in the film, The Passion of the Christ, which he directed and was also caught on tape in an anti-Semitic rant in 2006.

The 49th International Film Festival at Karlovy Vary started on Friday night with Oscar winning Oscar winning actor and director Mel Gibson being awarded a Crystal Globe for his lifetime contribution to cinema. Gibson, who admitted it was his first time in the Czech Republic, mixed with crowds of fans and signed autographs before an open air screening of his cult film ‘Mad Max’ from 1979. His last film, Apocalypto, from 2006, will be shown later in the week. He has just finished the filming of Blood Father, in which he stars as a father of an estranged daughter who is being sought by drug dealers.

Film fans from at home and abroad have descended on the west Bohemian spa town Karlovy Vary for the 49th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival which opens on Friday night. The festival will screen over 200 films, including seven international and two Czech premieres. Ian Willoughby is in Karlovy Vary for the event and I called him ahead of the big night to find out what would be the main attraction at the festival’s opening.

The 49th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival kicks off in the west Bohemian spa town on Friday night with a red-carpet ceremony at the Thermal Hotel. Among the festival’s guests this year is US actor and director Mel Gibson who is set to receive a Crystal Globe award for lifetime achievement. Seven films will have their world premieres at the festival including the Czech movies All My Tomorrows and the documentary film Magic Voice of a Rebel. The Karlovy Vary festival runs until July 12.

The Czech Jewish community has protested against the presence of American actor Mel Gibson at this year’s Karlovy Vary Film Festival and the fact that he is to be presented with the Crystal Globe Award in recognition of his contribution to world cinema. In a letter sent to the festival’s president the Jewish community says that Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ portrays Jews as evil and bloodthirsty enemies of Jesus and argues that the award presented to him may fuel anti-Semitism.

Hundreds of film fans have been queuing up for tickets to the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival which is due to kick off on Friday. The festival offers viewers over 200 films, including seven international premieres, two Czech premieres and, for the first time ever, an animated film. The festival will open with the international premiere of the American sci-fi I Origins, which will be personally introduced by the film’s lead actor Michael Pitt, director Mike Cahill and actress Astrid Bergès-Frisbey. Among this year’s celebrity guests are Mel Gibson, Michael Pitt, French actress Fanny Ardante who will present her third film Obsessive Rhythms for which she wrote the screenplay and directed and award-winning Hollywood actress Laura Dern.

Preparations are well underway for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which gets underway in the Western Bohemian spa town at the end of next week. On Tuesday the organisers revealed this year’s star guests, including Oscar winning actor-director Mel Gibson – who will receive a Crystal Globe for lifetime achievement – and actresses Laura Dern and Fanny Ardant. Soon after the announcement I discussed this year’s visitors with artistic director Karel Och. But I began by asking him to characterise the main competition at the 49th Karlovy

Oscar-winning actor, director and producer Mel Gibson, 58, will receive the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema at the opening of the 49th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on July 4, its president Jiří Bartoška told reporters on Tuesday. Gibson, born in Australia and living in the United States, won two Academy Awards for the 1995 film Braveheart. There will be a screening of Gibson’s Apocalypto, set during the decline of the Mayan empire. The international festival will also welcome French actress and director Fanny Ardant and Hollywood actress Laura Dern (Blue Velvet, Jurassic Park).