Film Festivals in the Czech Republic

For cinephiles living in Prague and the Czech Republic, the multitude of film festivals (while the scale may be small, there seems to be a new one each week) is a breath of fresh air from the usual multiplex (and even arthouse) fare. For non-Czech-speakers, there´s an added bonus: while most of the foreign-language films that open in Czech cinemas throughout the year are screened in their native language with Czech subtitles, a large percentage of foreign-language festival films will contain English subtitles (a necessity, given that most of these prints will only have a limited number of screenings in the Czech Republic before moving on to another festival in another country.)

Each year, AČFK (the Association of Czech Film Clubs) selects a handful of classic films (and recent films of particular note) to be distributed at independent cinemas throughout the Czech Republic (in Prague, this includes Aero, Oko, Evald, Světozor, and other cinemas). After years of selecting bona-fide classics (last year included Herzog´s Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Jodorowsky´s The Holy Mountain, two of my favorite films), the selections have skewed to the more recent: this year´s crop includes The Good Heart (Dagur Kári, 2009), Another Year (Mike Leigh, 2010), Tatarak (Andrzej Wajda, 2009), Rewers (Andrzej Bart, 2009), Le grand amour (Pierre Étaix, 1969), and Erotikon (Gustav Machatý, 1929). Note: these foreign-language films will not contain English subtitles.

Aero hosts this annual feast of classic and obscure cult, horror, B-movies and other films that push the limits of cinema (last year´s program included a 35mm screening of the Mitchell brothers´ hardcore porno Behind the Green Door). Highlights from this year: 35mm prints of the little-seen Ozploitationers Fair Game and Next of Kin, Mexican Luchador horror Santo vs. the Martian Invasion, underground porn horror Hardgore, and Srdjan Spasojević´s ultra-controversial A Serbian Film. Beware digibeta, (low-res) DVD, and other non-pristine projections, which is the nature of the beast for this kind of fare.

La Pelicula
Prague, Kino Světozor & Instituto Cervantes; Brno, Kino Art
February 15 – 27, 2011
Prague´s Cervantes Institute presents this festival of classic and contemporary Spanish films at Kino Světozor & Brno´s Kino Art, with a handful of free screenings held at the Cervantes Institute. This year´s offerings included Buried, an English-language thriller starring Ryan Reynolds from Spanish director Rodrigo Cortés, with Spanish and Czech subtitles.

Cinema Mundi
Brno, Palace Cinemas Velký Špalíček & Kino B. Bakala
March 2 – 9, 2011

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Prague´s largest film festival, Febio Fest celebrates its 18th year in 2011. For a week in late March, it will completely overtake the 12-screen multiplex Cinestar Anděl to deliver a wide selection of popular contemporary films that haven´t – or haven´t yet – made it into Czech cinemas. Unlike other fests, Febio has remained an audience-friendly festival with its selection of mainstream-skewing films (at least, as mainstream as a film fest can get) in a comfortable multiplex environment with a low price of admission – 85 CZK.

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Finále is a competitive festival that surveys Czech films produced in the past year, with separate sections for narrative features and documentaries. Past winners typically highlight the best in contemporary Czech cinema, from Hřebejk’s Divided We Fall and Pupendo to Švankmajer’s Little Otik and Bohdan Sláma’s Something Like Happiness. Most films are provided with English subtitles – the Finále fest is a great, and rare, chance to see current Czech film with English subtitles in a Czech cinema.

The largest and most prestigious film festival in the Czech Republic, the KVIFF, now in its 46th year, presents hundreds of films across a number of categories in front of some high-profile guests (recent attendees have included Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Redford, Sharon Stone, and many others). On tap for 2011, initial programming details have highlighted tributes to Canadian director Denis Villeneuve (Oscar-nominated for Incendies) and legendary director Sam Fuller, and a retrospective on young Greek directors that will include Yorgos Lanthimos´s Dogtooth. The historic spa town of Karlovy Vary really comes alive for the fest; for non-press and non-industry guests, some screenings can be difficult to get into.

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Other fests to watch out for: ANEMIC Festival of Independant Film and New Art, which celebrated its first year in November 2010 with no grants and little funding; additional foreign-language festivals in Prague, including Der Film, and Russian, Korean, Latin American-based fests, typically held in Kino Světozor; and Festival Fantazie, one of the largest science fiction conventions in Europe (comparable to Worldcon), which will be held July 1 – 7 in Chotěboř – it´s not strictly a film festival, but contains an accompanying cinematic program.

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