Related articles

The 52nd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival opened with a traditional gala ceremony on Friday night at which the festival’s main prize, the Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema, was awarded to the leading Hollywood composer James Newton Howard. This year’s VIP celebrities, actress Uma Thurman, best known for Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill movies, and Casey Affleck, who won the Oscar for Best Actor this year for Manchester by the Sea, both received the President’s Award. The festival, which closes on July 8, will screen over 150 movies, some of which will have their world premiere in the West Bohemian spa town.

The 52nd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival kicks off in the West Bohemian spa town on Friday evening. This year’s edition is being attended by Uma Thurman, Casey Affleck and Ken Loach. A newly-restored version of the Czechoslovak classic The Shop on Main Street will receive its world premiere. Actress Uma Thurman, who starred in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill I and II and Casey Affleck, who won the Oscar for Best Actor this year for Manchester by the Sea, will be on the red carpet; on Friday they will receive the President’s Award given by the festival.

One of the Czech Republic’s most significant arts events, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, kicks off in the West Bohemian spa town on Friday evening. This year’s edition will pay tribute to the likes of Uma Thurman, Casey Affleck and Ken Loach, while a freshly restored version of the Czechoslovak classic The Shop on Main Street will receive its world premiere.

Uma Thurman, one of the main stars invited to the 52nd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, has arrived in the west Bohemian spa town. The US actress is set to receive the festival’s President’s Award at the festival’s opening night on Friday. She will also personally present special outdoor screenings of Quentin Tarantino’s revenge opus Kill Bill I and Kill Bill II, in which she had the main role.

As artistic director of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Karel Och has the ultimate say over the programming of the region’s biggest event of its kind. Just ahead of the 52nd edition – which gets underway on Friday – I put a number of questions to Och. The first: Are there any programme sections that he feels merit special attention?

Uma Thurman, one of the main stars invited to the 52nd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival which begins Friday, will personally present special outdoor screenings of Quentin Tarantino’s revenge opus Kill Bill I and Kill Bill II. Thurman had the main role of The Bride in the two-part film, which also starred Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen and the late David Carradine. Thurman will arrive in Karlovy Vary on the festival’s opening night and will receive the festival’s President’s Award.

The role of Czech police at the upcoming 52nd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is to be the strongest in its history, the Czech News Agency reported on Friday citing information from regional police spokeswoman Zuzana Týřová. The aim, above all, is to heighten security at so-called ‘soft targets’. Private security is commissioned by the festival itself but organisers say they are working closely with Czech police; the official threat level is currently low. Municipal police also play a greater role during the festival, in traffic and other areas.

The Czech film Little Crusader directed by Václav Kadrnka will compete for the Crystal Globe for Best Film in the official competition at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in July, the festival organizers announced on Tuesday. The historical road movie, based on a poem by Jaroslav Vrchlický, will receive its premiere at the 53rd edition of the festival. The White World According to Daliborek by Vít Klusák will compete in Karlovy Vary’s documentary competition.

US actor Casey Affleck is set to be one of the guests at this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the organisers announced on Monday. He will receive the festival's President's Award and present A Ghost Story, the latest film by David Lowery, with whom he has also collaborated in the past. Affleck won a Best Actor Oscar this year for Manchester By the Sea. The Karlovy Vary film festival begins at the end of June.

Preparations are already in full swing for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which gets underway in the West Bohemian spa town in early July. Among the main guests at the 52nd edition of the event will be British director Ken Loach and US composer James Newton Howard, who wrote scores for countless Hollywood movies. I spoke to the festival’s programme coordinator Anna Purkrábková about this years’ programme and I first asked her about the festival’s special sections: