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In just over two weeks' time, one of the biggest annual cultural events in the Czech Republic will kick off. The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the most important A-category film festival in central and eastern Europe, being held for the 41st time, will once again welcome hundreds of filmmakers and thousands of visitors to the picturesque spa town of Karlovy Vary - a unique location which no doubt contributes greatly to the festival's special atmosphere.

On Tuesday, a crowd of cultural enthusiasts gathered at Prague's Marriott Hotel to get a glimpse into what we can expect from this year's Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. For a start, over 200 films are expected to be screened at the 41st annual festival which will run in the West Bohemian town from June 30th until July 8th.

Michael Radford adapted and directed the film Nineteen Eighty-four, but is perhaps best known as the director and co-writer of the Oscar-nominated Italian language film The Postman. Recently Michael Radford was the president of the grand jury at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and I met him at the town's Hotel Embassy. It wasn't Mr Radford's first visit to the Czech Republic - as he told me, his Czech connections go way back.

The 40th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, one of the country's biggest annual cultural events, has come to an end. Held every year in the picturesque west Bohemian spa town, a record 142,506 viewers - almost 20,000 more than last year - flocked to see 517 screenings. On Saturday, the festival closed with its traditional award ceremony.

The Crystal Globe award for best picture at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has gone to the Polish film My Nikifor, directed by Krysztof Krauze. The film is about a mentally handicapped naive painter called Nikifor Krynicky. Though the artist was a man, he is portrayed in the film by actress Krystyna Feldman, who is 80 years old. She won a Crystal Globe for best actress.

This year's Karlovy Vary festival was the biggest ever; a record 140,000 tickets were sold, exceeding organisers expectations.

Almost half the restaurants, pubs and stands in the centre of Karlovy Vary have been overcharging customers or otherwise breaking regulations during the town's film festival, a five-day survey by the Czech Business Inspectorate has found. Twenty wrong-doers were fined during the checks, the website noviny.cz reports.

The 40th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which ends on Saturday night, has featured a whopping 280 or so films, including 16 world premieres and 33 European or international premieres. But is it hard for Karlovy Vary to secure top quality movies, given the competition from other A certification festivals, like Cannes and Berlin? Here's Karlovy Vary programme director Julietta Zacharova.

There are 14 films in competition at this year's Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, with the winner of the Crystal Globe for best picture to be announced at the festival's closing ceremony on Saturday night. Among those on the seven-member grand jury is the American actress Ali MacGraw, perhaps best known for the hit 1970s film Love Story. Ian Willoughby spoke to Ali MacGraw in Karlovy Vary, and asked her if it was her first time on a jury, and how she was enjoying it.

President Klaus has travelled to the west Bohemian spa town of Karlovy Vary for its international film festival. Mr Klaus is due to attend the festival's closing ceremony on Saturday night, and will also find time to play tennis and golf, a spokesman said.

The biggest star of this year's Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is without doubt the much respected actor-director Robert Redford. He came at the invitation of his friend Madeleine Albright, the Prague-born former US secretary of state. And, he says, he also wanted to meet another world renowned figure, former Czech president Vaclav Havel.