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Preparations are in full swing for the 45th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Though much is still being decided, the organisers revealed a lot on Tuesday: there are not one but two Czech films in competition, veteran director Juraj Herz will get a lifetime achievement award, and there will be special sections dedicated to the great British filmmakers Powell and Pressburger, contemporary Belgian film and Australian schlock-horror movies. I caught up with senior programmer Karel Och and asked him what he felt would be the highlights at this

Two Czech movies will feature in the main competition at the 45th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in July. Jan Svěrák’s new animated movie Kooky and 3 Seasons in Hell by Tomáš Mašín will be up against around a dozen other films for that Crystal Globe. Meanwhile, a Crystal Globe for lifetime contribution to world cinema will be presented to the Slovak-born director Juraj Herz, who is known for such pictures as The Cremator. The Czech director Bohdan Slama will be on the main jury at the festival, which runs from July 2 to 10.

The 44th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which has just come to an end in the west Bohemian spa town, will surely go down as one of the best in recent years. Many believe that there was an improvement in the standard of films in competition, while the glitter factor was also high, with Hollywood stars like John Malkovich and Antonio Banderas gracing Karlovy Vary’s red carpet.

The Belgian-Canadian film “Angel at Sea” won the prize for the best film at the 44th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on Saturday night. The film – which recounts the life of a 12-year-old boy with a manic depressive father – is the first feature length film of Belgian director Frédéric Dumont. The best actor award was shared by Olivier Gourmet, who played the father in the film, and American Paul Giamatti for his role in the film “Cold Souls.” Germany’s Andreas Dresen won the best director award for the film “Whisky and Vodka.” The best actress was Denmark’s Paprika Steen for her role in “Applause.” American actor, producer and director, John Malkovich, accepted a special prize for his lifetime contribution to cinema.

Attendance at this year’s film festival was more or less in line with that for 2008. More than 12,000 accreditations were awarded for the film festival - around 1,200 more than last year – according to organisers. The number of tickets sold came to 131,293 compared with around 144,000 in 2008. This year 464 films were screened compared with 477 in 2008.

First signs are that attendances at this year’s film festival will at least match those for 2008. More than 12,000 filmgoers had registered at the film festival by the last day - around 1,200 more than last year – according to organisers. The number of tickets sold with one day and 39 projections remaining came to 130,711 compared with around 144,000 in 2008.

The 44th Karlovy Vary Film Festival ends on Saturday. The 10-day festival will conclude in the evening with the awards ceremony. This includes the announcement of the winner of the crystal globe for best feature film. Insiders say there is no clear favourite for the award. American actor, director and producer John Malkovich is also due to receive an award for his lifetime contribution to cinema at the closing ceremony.

As the annual film festival comes to a close in Karlovy Vary, so ends a week of reports from Radio Prague on the goings-on at the Czech Republic’s foremost cultural event. Saturday evening the crystal globes will be awarded for the 44th time, and to discuss the week I had a general chat about all things film with someone who knows film festivals from every angle. Phillip Bergson founded the Oxford Film Festival, among others, he has served on a number of juries, written on film for scores of publications and has devoted a great deal of effort and

Each year, as the Karlovy Vary Film Festival gets underway, the West Bohemian spa town becomes the Czech Republic’s undisputed cultural capital for a week. The epicentres are the cinemas of course, with more than 200 films from around the world. But there are all kinds of goings on that that keep the town abuzz from early morn to early morn for eight long days. Christian Falvey is in Karlovy Vary, trying to keep up with it all.

The Czech Republic, like any Western country, may be inundated with American cinema, but just when you think you’ve seen it all, the US shows it has some more surprises. And if you’re going to see them anywhere then it’s going to be in Karlovy Vary, where the 44th International Film Festival is taking place. This week one of those surprises was a film and a director who has breathed new life into the inimitably American film genre of blaxploitation. Christian Falvey reports from Karlovy Vary.