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The dailies offer quite a mix of stories with none clearly dominating the front pages. MLADA FRONTA DNES leads with today's government meeting expected to reduce corporate tax and state support for deposits in building societies. The paper says that more than five million Czechs have savings in building societies and the state contributes 4,500 crowns or 150 euros each year to every one of them.

The 38th Karlovy International Film Festival got underway over the weekend, welcoming visitors and film stars from around the world, among them British director Stephen Frears, American actor Morgan Freeman, and Canadian actress Deborah Kary Unger. Czech notables at the festival included Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla and Culture Minister Pavel Dostal, who applauded 10 years of festival stewardship by Czech producers Jiri Bartoska and Eva Zaoralova. Two awards for lifetime contribution to cinematography have already been given. The recipients: Stephen Frears, the director of such renowned films as The Grifters and Dangerous Liasons, and Jiri Menzel, the Czech director who won an Oscar in 1968 for his film Closely-Watched Trains.

One of the most interesting events at the recent Karlovy Vary film festival was the premiere of a documentary film about Sir Nicholas Winton. He was the British diplomat who in the spring and summer of 1939, just after Nazi Germany had occupied Bohemia and Moravia, helped to save the lives of at least 700 Czech Jewish children, by sending them to families in Britain. The film, "Nicholas Winton - the Power of Good" is made by Matej Minac, who also recently made a very popular feature film, "All My Loved Ones", about Sir Nicholas's work. "All

On Saturday night, the creme de la creme of the Czech Republic's film industry as well as important political figures including Czech President Vaclav Havel came together to attend the closing ceremony of the 37th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. During the festival's ten-day run - from July 4th to July 13th - a total of 139.120 viewers visited the West Bohemian spa town to watch the 292 films that ranged from documentaries to feature films. Dita Asiedu was at the festival and is back to tell us more about the winners of the 2002 Karlovy

The 37th International Karlovy Vary Film Festival proved to be a triumph for Czech film makers. The main prize –the Crystal Globe Award -went to the Czech film Year of the Devil –directed by Petr Zelenka - a black comedy about a group of Czech musicians confronting the horrors of alcoholism. The main prize in the category of documentary films likewise went to a Czech production called Town B directed by Filip Remunda. The jury, headed by the French actor and director Jean Marc Barr, awarded a special prize to the German movie Nowhere in Africa directed by Caroline Link. The Best Director award went to Asghar Massombagi for the Canadian movie Khaled. The Best Camera Award went to Ming Boung-hun for the Korean film No time for tears. The British actor Sean Connery was presented with a special award for his lifelong contribution to the world of cinematography. Over the past ten days the famous West Bohemian spa town hosted over 140 thousand film fans who saw close to 300 domestic and foreign movies. Visitors also got the chance to mingle with some of their film idols –among them Sean Connery, Michael York, Stephen Fry, Ben Chaplin, Claire Duval, Keira Knightley and Orla Brayd.

In the Arts this week, we take a trip to the exciting Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, attend the glitzy opening ceremony and speak to several of this year's special guests. Among our interviewees, actor Stephen Fry sings the praises of the beautiful spa town itself, while actor-director Jean-Marc Barr enthuses about the friendliness and openness of the festival, which is one of the most enjoyable cultural events of the year in the Czech Republic. Join Ian Willoughby in Karlovy Vary for the Arts.

The 37th International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary is due to end with a gala show and award ceremony on Saturday night. Over the past ten days the famous West Bohemian spa town hosted over 140 thousand film fans who saw close to 300 domestic and foreign movies. Visitors also got the chance to mingle with some of their film idols –among them Sean Connery, Michael York, Stephen Fry, Ben Chaplin, Claire Duval, Keira Knightley and Orla Brayd . The Festival's main prize is the Crystal Globe award, a 20,000 dollar prize given to the festival's best premiere feature production.

The Scottish film star Sean Connery has had to pull out of the closing ceremony of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival due to illness. Festival organisers said that the 71-year-old actor, who is filming in the Czech Republic, was suffering from a viral infection. Mr Connery , famous for his performances in the early James Bond films, was due to receive an award for his long-term contribution to world cinema at Karlovy Vary, and organisers are now trying to find a way to get the award to him. The film festival comes to a close on Saturday night.

The 37th annual International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary is slowly coming to an end. On Saturday the main award, the Crystal Globe, and all the other prizes will be awarded at a special ceremony. Radio Prague's Dita Asiedu is in Karlovy Vary. Pavla Horakova spoke to Dita earlier today and she first asked her about the jury which is going to decide about the best movie, the best director and other categories.

So, it's Day 6 of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, being held in the famous spa town in West Bohemia..it's not all be about films though as I found out when I spoke to RP's Dita Asiedu on the line from Karlovy Vary earlier today. I began asking Dita, though, about some of the films in competition for this years prestigous Crystal Globe..