The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is known by many as a Cannes catch up fest and for its star-filled tributes, but there is a fantastic competition that takes place with films such as “Zoology” and last year’s winner, “I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians” recently making their debuts. It also ends up as the defacto premiere for a number of nation’s International Film Oscar submissions (last year Israel’s “The Cakemaker,” Czech Republic’s “Winter Flies,” Belarus’ “Crystal Swan” and the aforementioned Romanian “I Do Not Care” were all Karlovy Vary premieres). The 54th installment of Karlovy Vary will begin at the end of June and, today, the festival announced a number of intriguing world premieres that should generate some cinephile attention.
First off is Hong Khaou’s “Monsoon.” The British film is Henry Golding‘s third major role after “Crazy Rich Asians” and “A Simple Favor” and, sight unseen, his most indie film to date. Golding plays a man who returns to Vietnam as an adult after growing up overseas. Khaou is best known for his drama “Lilting” which debuted at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
READ MORE: Karlovy Vary reveals 2019 festival tributes
Also worth noting is “The True Adventures of Wolfboy” which features Chloë Sevigny, John Turturro and Chris Messina, among others. “Wolfboy” is the feature debut of Martin Krejcí, an award-winning Czech-born commercial and short film director based in Los Angeles. That being said, “Wolfboy” did begin production in 2017 so this late premiere “out of competition” is an eye-brow raising one.
The competition slate features films from Bulgaria, Belgium, Phillippines, Chile, Turkey, China, Spain, Slovakia, the U.S. and, of course, the Czech Republic. The American competition title is Martha Stephens “To The Stars” which is making its International premiere after somehow getting lost at Sundance despite almost universally positive reviews and competition slot.
A complete list of this year’s Competition, East Meets West, Documentary and Out of Competition titles are listed below.
The 2019 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival runs June 28-July 6.
OFFICIAL SELECTION – COMPETITION
“The Father”
Director: Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov
Bulgaria, Greece, 2019, 87 min, World premiere
After losing his wife Ivanka, Vasil believes that she is using his phone to reach him from beyond the grave, so he enlists the services of a psychic to try to make contact with her. His son Pavel tries to bring him to his senses, but Vasil stubbornly insists on doing things his own way… This small-scale family drama, about the difficulties of connecting with those close to us, includes many of the carefully arranged absurd or comic situations typical for the Bulgarian filmmaking duo.
“Patrick”
Director: Tim Mielants
Belgium, 2019, 97 min, World premiere
Patrick is in charge of maintenance at a naturist campsite owned by his father. His workshop is as well-ordered as his life, but nothing lasts forever. The loss of Patrick’s favorite hammer has a profound effect on him and sets off a chain of events from which the gloomy lad emerges as a new man. A tragicomedy about the importance of keeping an eye on your tools, about existential nudity, and about people for whom a trailer is their whole world.
“The Man from the Future”
Director: Felipe Ríos
Chile, Argentina, 2019, 96 min, World premiere
Michelsen, an elderly truck driver, sets out on his last trip driving freight to the southern tip of Chilean Patagonia. The long and arduous drive through the magnificent, luxuriant natural landscape, past lakes and extensive glaciers, ultimately becomes a recapitulation of his life when he unexpectedly happens upon his adult daughter, whom he hasn’t seen since her childhood.
“La Belle Indifference”
Director: Kıvanç Sezer
Turkey, 2019, 95 min, World premiere
Onur is sacked from his job as manager of a pharmaceutical company. He’s not too bothered about being unemployed, but the same cannot be said of his wife Bahar. Onur doesn’t listen to her and becomes indifferent not only to her anxieties but also to the world around him. He’d rather be surrounded by more zebras. A drama with dashes of absurd comedy about events that are no laughing matter: a personal crisis that impacts their marriage.
“Lara”
Director: Jan Ole Gerster
Germany, 2019, 96 min, World premiere
Lara has just turned sixty; it’s a very special day that will culminate in a career-defining piano concert given by her son. Viktor remains elusive, however, and his mother’s repeated attempts to get through to him come to nothing. German acting legend Corinna Harfouch stars in this precisely crafted psychological study by one of the most successful German filmmakers of his generation, Jan-Ole Gerster, who here takes up the thread of his critically acclaimed debut “Oh Boy.”
“Mosaic Portrait”
Director: Yixiang Zhai
China, 2019, 107 min, World premiere
A diaphanously hypnotic story conveyed more through contemplative silence than words, in which a pregnant 14-year-old makes a surprising revelation when asked to name the father of her child. The young Chinese director follows in the footsteps of the Sixth Generation filmmakers, taking fragments of impressions and moods to craft an unsettling image of the injured heroine, who remains proud and strong. Yet despite this – or perhaps for this reason – she finds herself mired in a deep chasm of alienation.
“Monsoon”
Director: Hong Khaou
United Kingdom, 2019, 85 min, World premiere
Kit (Henry Golding) can’t remember much of his native Vietnam. When he returns to the Land of the Golden Star for the first time in over thirty years, he takes in the local surroundings as any Western tourist would; everything seems remote and alien. A subtle film which records one man’s journey back to his roots as it evocatively mediates the (re)discovery of his identity.
“Let There Be Light”
Director: Marko Škop
Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, 2019, 93 min, World premiere
A Slovak village is getting ready for Christmas. Forty-year-old Milan travels from Germany where he works to be home with his family. However, the serene and festive atmosphere is unsettled by the suspicion that his son, a member of a paramilitary youth organization, might be involved in a harrowing event that stunned the local community. This compelling drama, about the strength and fragility of family ties, examines our sense of moral responsibility in a world where xenophobia takes precedence over compassion for those closest to us.
“Ode to Nothing”
Director: Dwein Baltazar
Philippines, 2018, 92 min, International premiere
It seems as if nothing can upset Sonya’s routine. No-one cares about the aging funeral shop owner anymore, except when she provides discounts on flowers and coffins. One day a body belonging apparently to no-one finds its way to her shop, and Sonya develops a highly unusual relationship with it. An inscrutable, tender and bitterly comic film about the desire for companionship.
“Half-Sister”
Director: Damjan Kozole
Slovenia, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, 2019, 105 min, World premiere
Half-sisters who were never that close are forced by circumstance to share a flat in Ljubljana… The leading Slovene director returns to Karlovy Vary with a remarkably precise study of alienation and the inability to communicate, in a film characterized by polished dialogue, plentiful black humor and entirely natural performances.
“To the Stars”
Director: Martha Stephens
USA, 2019, 111 min, International premiere (Sundance World Premiere)
Bullied by her classmates, reclusive Iris finds small-town life pure torment; for self-assured Maggie, however, moving to the provinces provides an opportunity to stand out from the rest. A film excelling in finely wrought detail that takes us back to the 1960s, a time when society, bound by gender prejudice, detested the idea of individuality in women.
“The August Virgin”
Director: Jonás Truena
Spain, 2019, 125 min, World premiere
In the hot summer months, when Madrileños leave their homes in droves to escape the insufferable heat, the center of Madrid is left abandoned. That is, except for the tourists and a handful of undaunted locals – and those who can’t see the way forward, like Eva, a charming thirty-something. Told with appealing finesse, the story unfolds during the city’s August festivals, when a person’s inner turmoil can be soothed by fleeting encounters and unexpected adventures.
EAST OF THE WEST – COMPETITION
“Last Visit”
Director: Abdulmohsen Aldhabaan
Saudi Arabia, 2019, 76 min, World premiere
On the way to a wedding, Nasser finds out that his father is dying. He changes plans and heads straight off with his adolescent son Waleed to his dad’s small town. However, the strictly upheld customs they encounter in this rural environment start to affect Waleed and Nasser’s relationship. Using the story of a family encounter as its backdrop, the film adopts a realistic approach to discussing Islamic traditions while it examines the true nature of paternal love.
“Arrest”
Director: Andrei Cohn
Romania, 2019, 126 min, International premiere
August 1983, somewhere in Romania. The bright summer’s day that Dinu is spending with his family on the beach is darkened by the arrival of the police and his unexplained arrest. He finds himself sharing a cell with small-time crook Vali, who soon proves to be quite a sinister fellow inmate. A formally inventive drama about the chilling absurdity of totalitarian regimes.
“The Bull”
Director: Boris Akopov
Russia, 2019, 99 min, International premiere
Gang leader Anton Bykov, known as the Bull, ends up at the police station after a scuffle with a rival criminal group. He only manages to avoid prison thanks to the intervention of a feared mafia boss, who nevertheless asks him to pull off a risky job in return. A taut feature debut from one-time ballet dancer Boris Akopov, surprising for its maturity and compulsive dynamism.
“Passed by Censor”
Director: Serhat Karaaslan
Turkey, 2018, 95 min, International premiere
Zakir works in a prison as a censor. Each day he reads dozens of letters, carefully blacking out everything not meant for the eyes of those serving time. A photograph inserted into one of the letters disrupts his regular routine, and his interest in the unknown woman in the picture grows into an obsession. A psychological study of an individual who gradually loses his personal and professional integrity while becoming trapped in his own fantasy world.
“Silent Days”
Director: Pavol Pekarčík
Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, 2019, 81 min, World premiere
The heroes of the four stories told in Silent Days all have their dreams and desires. But they also have something else in common: they live on the fringes of society in a private world closed off from the outside – even more so since they cannot hear… In a film partaking of both fiction and documentary, hearing-impaired Romany children move about in their own environment as director Pavol Pekarčík deftly textures little stories reflecting their inner lives.
“Mamonga”
Director: Stefan Malešević
Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, 2019, 92 min, World premiere
Jovana works behind the counter at a bakery in the small town where she lives with her father. Her somewhat shy peer Marko is supposed to follow in his own father’s footsteps and become a truck driver. But the events of one-night change both their lives. Serbian director Stefan Malešević debuts with a formalistically distinctive triptych whose loose narrative structure challenges the viewer to actively participate in putting together the pieces of the mosaic.
“My Thoughts Are Silent”
Director: Antonio Lukich
Ukraine, 2019, 104 min, World premiere
Twenty-five-year-old Vadym works as a sound recordist. When a generous job offer comes along which could help him fulfill his dream to move to Canada, he doesn’t think twice and sets out to record the sounds of animals in the Carpathians. In his visually inspired road movie, subtly enhanced by its synthesized score, debuting director Antonio Lukich demonstrates a highly unusual talent for constructing tragicomic situations.
“Nova Lituania”
Director: Karolis Kaupinis
Lithuania, 2019, 96 min, World premiere
1938. A new war looms on the horizon. Geographer Gruodis comes up with a creative solution to the situation: He proposes creating a “backup Lithuania” overseas, a place where the country’s inhabitants could move in case of danger… Working with carefully composed black-and-white shots, debuting director Karolis Kaupinis has recast this original idea into the gripping drama of a man trying to save his homeland and while facing the collapse of his marriage.
“Aga’s House”
Director: Lendita Zeqiraj
Kosovo, Croatia, France, Albania, 2019, 107 min, World premiere
A diverse group of women live in a remote mountain location. The only male element in the house is nine-year-old Aga, the son of one of the women. Opening the East of the West competition, Lendita Zeqiraj’s debut authentically re-creates the vibrant world of her energetic female protagonists, in which the flow of stories, the sound of singing, and coarse humor cannot mask the dark undertone of their country’s wartime past and its enduring ethnic tensions.
“Scandinavian Silence”
Director: Martti Helde
Estonia, France, Belgium, 2019, 75 min, European premiere
A brother and sister set out across a silent winter landscape, but after years apart they have difficulty communicating. This minimalist study of a difficult sibling relationship presents three versions of the same story, asking whether time can heal the wounds of the past.
“A Certain Kind of Silence”
Director: Michal Hogenauer
Czech Republic, Netherlands, Latvia, 2019, 96 min, World premiere
Mia goes to live with a family as their au pair. As soon as she arrives, however, she discovers that they have strict household rules: breaking any of them will lead to her immediate dismissal. The young woman has to decide whether to preserve her integrity or conform to a lifestyle that is utterly alien to her.
“Zizotek”
Director: Vardis Marinakis
Greece, 2019, 92 min, World premiere
After nine-year-old Jason is abandoned by his mother at a folk festival, he takes refuge in a cabin in the middle of the forest belonging to a mute loner named Minas. Although at first the man, who has a questionable profession, won’t take him in, a series of circumstances eventually leads them to form a family – something both of them have lacked for a long time. A touching tale of harmony and the yearning for intimacy that will captivate audiences with its dreamlike atmosphere.
DOCUMENTARY FILMS – COMPETITION
“17 Blocks”
Director: Davy Rothbart
USA, 2018, 97 min, European premiere
The moment nine-year-old Emmanuel received his first video camera in 1999, he began to shoot a chronicle of the Sanford family, warts and all. Ten years later, filmmaker and journalist Davy Rothbart uses his material to tell a disarming tale from Washington, D.C., where the streets are ruled by poverty and violence just seventeen blocks from the Capitol.
“Apollo 11”
Director: Todd Douglas Miller
USA, 2019, 93 min, European premiere (Sundance world premiere)
Fifty years after the first lunar landing, NASA has opened up its extensive archives and released previously unseen material of amazing audiovisual quality, including a 70mm film of the launch from Cape Canaveral and intimate footage of the otherworldly calm that prevailed in the lunar module. The nine-day mission becomes more than just Armstrong’s iconic “giant leap for mankind,” growing instead into a fascinating space odyssey.
“The Fading Village”
Director: Liu Feifang
China, 2019, 172 min, World premiere
Unlike the other young people in their forlorn mountain village, Hou Junli has remained with his family instead of leaving for the city. The dilapidated houses continue to resist the snow and rain, but how long will this place exist if there is nobody left to carry on local work and traditions? A long-term observational documentary about a difficult life and the love of one’s native soil.
“Over the Hills”
Director: Martin Mareček
Czech Republic, 2019, 76 min, World premiere
Father and son Vít and Grisha travel to Russia to visit the boy’s mother and sister. Why did their previously harmonious family split in two? A documentary road movie about the distance between two Slavic countries, the difficulties of fatherhood and puberty, and the alienation between people who should, in theory, be the closest of all.
“Up to Down”
Director: Nazareno Manuel Nicoletti
Italy, 2019, 74 min, World premiere
Naples. City of the unbowed, but also of madmen and paupers, which refuses to lick anyone’s boots, let alone stoop to pretense. This documentary bad trip takes us on a tour of the city’s dismal suburbs and into the homes of the marginalized and rejected: a man, a girl, and a masked boxer – three protagonists yearning for something else, although they’re not quite sure what.
“In the Arms of Morpheus”
Director: Marc Schmidt
Netherlands, 2019, 82 min, World premiere
What happens behind closed eyes when we lose consciousness and give ourselves over to dreams? How is our perception of reality changed when the line between waking and sleeping is blurred? Let yourself be taken to a place where the rational laws of daily life do not apply.
“Spoon”
Director: Laila Pakalniņa
Latvia, Norway, Lithuania, 2019, 65 min, World premiere
The plastic spoon was able to feign harmless unimportance until the moment Laila Pakalniņa, a distinctive international documentary filmmaker, cast her piercing glance its way. Her wordless film, whose humor arises from the surprising possibilities cinema has to offer, sings a dirge for this ornament of our bloated civilization: a piece of cheap plastic that will likely soon fade into history.
“Confucian Dream”
Director: Mijie Li
China, 2019, 85 min, European premiere
In rapidly developing China, the educational system is geared toward producing competitive and productive workers, but not all parents want to teach their children to devote their life to work. Confucian Dream is the story of a mother looking for the right kind of alternative education that will take into account her son’s moral development.
“Projectionist”
Director: Yuriy Shylov
Ukraine, Poland, 2019, 70 min, World premiere
Valentin is over sixty and has spent more than forty years working at Kiev’s oldest cinema. You don’t have to twist his arm to go out drinking and dancing – the eccentric man simply ignores his age. But as with everyone else, life puts new obstacles in his way that he must overcome.
“The Last Autumn”
Director: Yrsa Roca Fannberg
Iceland, 2019, 78 min, World premiere
If the world has an edge, then it is almost certainly visible from Iceland. On the outermost cape, beyond which there is only the inhospitable Arctic sea, lies a farm belonging to Úlfar and his wife. This autumn will be the last time their grandchildren come from the city to drive the sheep back down from the hills. An almost tangible cinematic fabric that weaves a tale of an abandoned place where the mist clings to the steel-blue surface of the sea and where the occasional human visitor is sometimes welcome.
“Immortal”
Director: Ksenia Okhapkina
Estonia, Latvia, 2019, 60 min, World premiere
How do the mechanisms of political power directly influence the lives of a country’s inhabitants? In seeking an answer to this difficult question, this cinematic essay looks at everyday life in a small Russian industrial city, uncovering along the way how dangerous and furtive an all-permeating ideology can be.
OFFICIAL SELECTION – OUT OF COMPETITION
“Mystify: Michael Hutchence”
Director: Richard Lowenstein
Australia, 2019, 108 min, European premiere
A documentary journey into the complicated inner world of Michael Hutchence, the charismatic frontman of the Australian band INXS, whose popularity peaked in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Director Richard Lowenstein elegantly combines home movies and news reports with concert footage and interviews with friends, colleagues, and former girlfriends – those to whom the famous singer revealed his true self.
“Old-Timers”
Director: Martin Dušek, Ondřej Provazník
Czech Republic, 2019, World premiere
Vlasta and Tonda don’t have much longer to live but they do have one more important task ahead of them – to find and kill the communist judge who sent them to prison in the 1950s. An unusual road movie about two former political prisoners who fight for justice despite every obstacle.
“The True Adventures of Wolfboy”
Director: Martin Krejčí
USA, 2019, 98 min, World premiere
Paul, the protagonist of Martin Krejčí’s eagerly anticipated feature debut, is growing up with his father. Making friends is practically impossible because he looks drastically different from his peers: he has the condition known as congenital hypertrichosis, meaning that he suffers from an abnormal amount of hair growth. On his thirteenth birthday, Paul decides to seek out his mother in order to get answers to unasked questions.
SPECIAL EVENTS
“The Sleepers”
Director: Ivan Zachariáš
Czech Republic, 2019, 120 min, World premiere
October 1989. Violinist Marie and her politically engaged husband set out from London for Prague. But was their decision to dive into the pre-revolutionary chaos perhaps a bit too hasty? The communists are still in power, and the couple’s anti-communist past can still lead to unpleasant consequences. The first two parts of this HBO Europe spy miniseries are being presented at KVIFF as an exclusive pre-premiere.
“Forman vs. Forman”
Director: Helena Třeštíková, Jakub Hejna
Czech Republic, France, 2019, 78 min
Forman vs. Forman is a comprehensive portrait of the Oscar-winning Czech director. The movie is unique for its ingenious compilation of images drawing on existing footage and also on hitherto unknown shots discovered in the collections of friends and colleagues. On set and in interviews the filmmaker contemplates the notion of freedom and its limitations.
“Jiří Suchý – Tackling Life with Ease”
Czech Republic, 2019, 104 min, World premiere
Jiří Suchý. Theatre personality, musician, poet, writer, graphic artist, collector, citizen. One of the key figures of the domestic cultural scene over the last six decades and a tireless campaigner for the enrichment of the Czech language. Olga Sommerová’s documentary presents a portrait of an artist and a man – a portrait of our times.
“The Downfall of the Secluded Berhof”
Director: Jiří Svoboda
Czechoslovakia, Poland, 1983, 98 min
The war is finally over but the atmosphere is still tense. Ulrika lives in a secluded spot in the mountains near the German border, condemned to coexist with her boorish father after her mother’s death. One day a German nun bursts into the house accompanied by three young Wehrmacht soldiers; she has to get them back home whatever the cost. The drama, which draws together characters variously deformed by circumstance, is compelling for its deliberately restrained direction, masterfully paced suspense and its evocative depiction of an utterly bleak environment.