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This weekend I'm not actually in Prague - I'm a couple of hours' drive west of the capital, in the spa town of Karlovy Vary, which is currently hosting its 40th International Film Festival. The town gets its name - like Prague's Charles Bridge and Charles University - from Emperor Charles IV. The story goes that he stumbled upon the then little known village of Wary in 1358; he was so taken with its health giving waters that he built a bathtower nearby and gave it its prefix, and a royal charter, 12 years later.

The American actress Sharon Stone was among the Hollywood stars on hand this Friday night for "A-list" celebrations ahead of the official opening of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The festival, which takes place in the famous Bohemian spa town, is now in its 40th year. Ms Stone received the festival's Crystal Globe award for her contribution to world cinema. Also honoured was the Czech director Jiri Krejcik, aged 78, who was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Other big name celebrities invited to Karlovy Vary this year include Robert Redford, the founder of the independent Sundance film festival, and Ingmar Bergman's favourite actress, Liv Ulmann, who is now a director in her own right.

The special guest at this year's Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will be a real Hollywood legend - the great Robert Redford. A host of other interesting actors and directors have also been invited to the "A" list festival, which begins on July 1st and is one of the most colourful events on the Czech cultural calendar. This year's Karlovy Vary Film Festival is the 40th, even though it was not founded exactly 40 years ago. Artistic Director Eva Zaoralova explains:

The 39th Karlovy Vary Film Festival ended with a gala evening and prize awarding ceremony on Saturday night. The main prize - the Crystal Globe - went to the Italian film A Children's Story. The best director Award went to Xavier Bermudez of Spain for his film Leon and Olvido. The best documentary award went to the Russian 2003 documentary Wedding of Silence. The week long festival attracted over 100.000 visitors and showed over 230 films from around the world, many of them premieres.

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is nearing its end. The awards ceremony will be held at a gala evening on Saturday night. The week long festival, which attracted over 100.000 people, showed several hundred films and documentaries from around the world, many of them premieres. Among the stars who made an appearance at the festival were Harvey Keitel, Elijah Wood, John Cleese and Jacqueline Bisset.

The three Lord of the Rings movies are among the most successful films of all time. The brilliantly-made epics have made huge stars of several of the actors involved, none more so than Elijah Wood, who plays the central character Frodo Baggins. The 23-year-old is undoubtedly the biggest celebrity to appear at this year's Karlovy Vary film festival, where sightings of the Lord of the Rings star caused great excitement, and his every move was accompanied by high security.

One of this year's special guests at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is Albert Maysles, a legend in the world of documentary film making. As well as capturing the lives of 'ordinary' people, he has - at very close quarters - caught the likes of John F Kennedy, Fidel Castro, the Beatles and Muhammad Ali with his handheld camera. Mr Maysles, who is now 77, said it was gratifying that his work - some of it from the early 1960s - was still finding an appreciative audience today.

The 39th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is currently underway, with dozens of well-known actors and directors, hundreds of films and thousands of enthusiastic film fans making the festival one of the most colourful events in the Czech Republic.

Organisers of the 39th Karlovy Vary International film festival have announced they sold more than 43, 000 tickets to visitors in the festival's first two days. Along with the many visiting cinema fans, organisers have said that around 400 journalists have already arrived to cover the event and more are expected. Some 200 film professionals are also on site for the prestigious festival in the Czech spa town.

The 39th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival gets underway on Friday evening. During the opening ceremony the American acting great Harvey Keitel will receive an award for his outstanding contribution to world cinema. The festival attracts many thousands of mostly young people to the west Bohemian spa town and continues until July 10.