The festival screenings take place at various different locations throughout Karlovy Vary each year. From screening halls with the latest modern equipment, air-conditioning and comfortable chairs such as the recently renovated Grand Hall at Hotel Thermal with its 1,148 seats and oval screen, or Kino Čas, just opposite the street, many provisional theatres are set up to offer the tens of thousands of visitors a chance to see the rare films screened at the festival, such as Lázně III or at the Grandhotel Pupp’s ceremonial hall. The only comfort you get when watching your film in these locations is a chair and the wind you get from waving the latest issue of your Festival Daily in front of your face.
The two latest locations I wrote about have made an impression on me for two various reasons. The film I saw at Lázně III was Séraphine, which depicts the main character’s passion for nature. I must say that it was quite a bizarre experience to sit through the scenes where she enjoys the blowing wind playing with tree leaves as the air in the room was becoming more and more unbreathable towards the end of the film. Despite the room is beautiful, it would be great if at least one fan was installed to make the air move a bit…
Quite another experience is to see the Grandhotel Pupp’s ceremonial hall turn from a theatre to a posh ballroom ready to host the VIP gala closing party. When I saw that change for the first time two years ago, I forgot to breathe for a couple of seconds…
A recommendation from my colleague Katka Heilmann goes to the unique atmosphere of the screenings at the Municipal Theatre and the last but not least cinema I’d like to bring to your attention today is Kino Panasonic, behind reconstruction of which stand such names as the Czech director Věra Chytilová or architect David Vávra and whose Filmcafé I recommended to you yesterday.
I liked the thought a fellow journalist from Egypt shared with me just before yesterday’s screening of a premiere of a Slovak film Pokoj v duši – the festival has indeed come a long way since he first started to come here in 1966 when the only screenings were happening at the Grandhotel Pupp and Hotel Thermal wasn’t even standing back then…
As usual, here are some tips for films you shouldn’t miss today: the festival’s president Jiří Bartoška will be a guest at the Reflex POINT café, T.G. Masaryka street 3, where you can ask him anything you have always wanted to know and take a peek behind the scenes of central Europe’s most popular festival.
Besides films competing for the best picture premiering today, try to catch the second and last projection of Jan Němec’s film The Ferrari Dino Girl, a film about the director’s unique journey with footage he shot during the 1968 invasion, starring Karel Roden. Also, another great film now newly to be screened at the fest a newest piece of the Cannes returning director Ken Loach, Looking for Eric.
Tomorrow be on a lookout for our special coverage of newest documentary project cooking in central and eastern Europe a special projection of which is on today.
