| An international film festival is taking place in the Czech Republic The festival in Karlovy Vary is the only film screening of the notorious category “A” in Eastern Europe, which for a long time was the twin brother of the MIFF, alternating with it from 1960 to 1992, and since 1994 it has become an annual event. The Czech festival has always kept its mark: suffice it to remember that Karlovy Vary’s prize-winners over the past ten years have included such important films as “My Life in Rose” by the Belgian Alain Berliner, the needless “Amelie” by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and the absolutely grandiose “The Year” Devil" by Peter Zelenka. The last domestic winner was Sergei Bodrov's Prisoner of the Caucasus in 1996, and Soviet films have won prizes fourteen times. It is quite possible that the main prize of this year will be added to the list of our Karlovy Vary awards, since Valery Todorovsky’s film “My Step Brother Frankenstein” participating in the competition is a picture of a completely international level. She will compete with films from the Czech Republic, Italy, France, Spain, Poland, Iran, India, Japan, Germany, Hungary, Denmark, Croatia, Iceland and the USA. “Dad” by Vladimir Mashkov (who was included in the international jury) will be shown as part of a special event, “The Last Train” by Alexey German Jr., “Angel on the Side of the Road” by Svetlana Stasenko, “Harvest Time” by Irina Razbezhkina and “Shiza” by Gulshad Omarova represent our cinema in the special program “To the East of the West”, and in addition, “The Color of Pomegranates” will be shown at the festival as an anniversary dedication to Sergei Parajanov. In addition, the Karlovy Vary program includes a huge number of out-of-competition films that have already been screened at world festivals (including quite a few films shown in Moscow, and in addition, Michael Moore’s scandalous film “Fahrenheit 9/11”, which was not included in the MIFF), retrospectives of the Turkish and Catalan cinema, a new musical film, films about dances and dancers, a selection of paintings by John Cassavetes and, finally, perhaps the most delicious dish - a wide-screen screening of “Once Upon a Time in America” by Sergio Leone.
At the opening of the festival, a new film by the little-known but very worthy Irishman John Irwin ("Hamburger Heights", "No Compromise", "Industrial City") was shown, a comedy retro-drama called "The Boys from County Clare" about the adventures of two Scottish folk bands at a traditional music festival in Ireland.
Also at the opening, one of the most significant American actors, Harvey Keitel ("Taxi Driver", "Reservoir Dogs", "The Piano") was honored, and he was awarded the prize "For Contribution to Art". Receiving the award, Keitel asked the audience to observe a minute of silence in memory of Marlon Brando.
The closing ceremony, which will take place on July 10, will mark the premiere of the inevitable Shrek 2. Gleb MYSHKIN |
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