Diamonds are forever: Karlovy Vary film festival honours Dustin Hoffman on its 60th anniversary

The largest cultural event in the Czech Republic, the Karlovy Vary international film festival is just getting underway with the famous spa town celebrating its diamond 60th edition. Jiri Skacel delves into the festival's past to explain its increasing popularity among younger cinephiles. The largest cultural event in the Czech Republic—the international film festival—is just getting underway in the spa town of Karlovy Vary. Actors Dustin Hoffman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jesse Eisenberg, Juliette Binoche, Jeffrey Wright, Harvey Keitel, Kyra Sedgwick, Kevin Bacon, cinematographer Robert Richardson, and many others will be present at the annual celebration to to greet their fans and film lovers, or to accept the Crystal Globe for outstanding contributions to world cinema. This year, the festival will screen 12 films in the main competition, 12 in the Proxima competition, 12 in special screenings, and dozens of other feature-length fiction and documentary films. There will be up to 200 films to see in total. Time, tradition and 'art nouveau cakes' The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is the second-oldest film festival in the world after Venice. It was founded in 1946 and is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, though this is only its 60th edition. This is because, in the past, it was the only Category A film festival designated for the Eastern Bloc, and was therefore forced to alternate annually with Moscow from 1959 to 1993. It survived the harsh communism of the 1950s, then the occupation in 1968 and the subsequent “normalization” in the 1970s and 1980s. However, after the “Velvet Revolution” in the 1990s, it nearly ceased to exist. Competition arose in the form of the Golden Golem festival, which took place in Prague. That festival, however, ceased to exist entirely after just two years. Popular actor Jiří Baroška took charge of organizing the festival, and in 1994, together with film expert Eva Zaoralová, they revived it. Under their leadership, the Karlovy Vary Film Festival became the most important festival in the former “Eastern Bloc.” They ensured the festival broke away from Moscow, and Bartoška's main vision was that the festival must remain in Karlovy Vary. “A big city dilutes the festival,“Jiří Bartoška said in the documentary by Milan Kuchynka and Jurásek, "Musíme to zarámovat!" (We've Got To Frame It!). Whereas Karlovy Vary—which Corbusière described as a ‘gathering of Art Nouveau cakes,’ which is wonderful—encloses you. In Prague, a journalist might say, ‘It’s three o’clock; I’ll just feed the kids and pop by the dry cleaner’s.’ Not in Karlovy Vary—there you have to be there, and you have to talk about film…” The beginnings were very difficult because the culture minister at that time decided not to support the film festival in Karlovy Vary at all. Jiří Bartoška had to sign a large promissory note so that the festival could take place. He honoured it in good faith, and the festival was able to continue and thrive. "Crucially the former president of the festival Jiří Bartoška was the very famous Czech actor with phenomenal close connections to Vaclav Havel, a close friend to former prime minister Václav Klaus, and he was able to talk to the private companies, to sponsors. His fame brought these investors and sponsors to the festival," Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Executive Director Kryštof Mucha told Euronews. Festival President Jiří Bartoška died before the 59th edition of the festival took place in 2024. No one has taken over this role, and the festival is now led by a triumvirate: Executive Director Kryštof Mucha, Artistic Director Karel Och, and Production Director Petr Lintimer. They manage the festival with a budget of about €10 million (250 million Czech Crowns), which is funded largely by sponsors. Roughly 20 percent comes from the government, 10% from the city and region of Karlovy Vary, and 70% from private sponsors. At other similar film festivals, it’s the other way around. Power to the people Every year, the festival screens more than 180 feature-length films and several dozen short films from around the world. Last year’s edition was attended by nearly 10,000 accredited visitors, 411 filmmakers, 1,055 accredited professionals, and 557 Czech and foreign journalists. During the festival, 465 film screenings took place with more than 128,000 tickets sold. A total of 175 films were shown, including 108 feature-length fiction films, 23 feature-length documentaries, and 44 shorts. 156 screenings were introduced in person by delegations of filmmakers. "What's special about Karlovy Vary is, that everyone can come and just buy a ticket," says Kryštof Mucha. "One ticket costs less than 3 Euros and that's what makes the festival special. You don’t have to be professional, you don’t have to be a filmmaker, you don’t have to be in the business, in the industry, you can still go to Karlovy Vary and see the films." That's why the festival is so popular, especially among young people. Thousands attend every year, even though they have to sleep in tents at prepared camps. They're called "backpackers," and the movie theaters are full of them. The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival runs until 11 July.