Uherske Hradiste, South Moravia, July 22 (CTK) – American director Julie Taymor, 63, director Ivan Passer, 83, representative of the Czech New Film Wave of the 1960s, and Slovak actress Emilia Vasaryova, 74, are the major guests to the 42nd Summer Film School (LFS) festival that started on Friday.
Passer, who left for the United States in 1969, and Vasaryova will receive the festival’s annual awards.
The largest non-competitive film event in the Czech Republic, held by the Association of Film Clubs, will take place in Uherske Hradiste until July 30.
This year, the festival will focus on the cinematography of the Philippines and American independent movies.
So far, more than 3000 visitors have registered for the festival, which is similar to the beginning of the 2015 event. Last year, the LSF welcomed 5500 people and a similar attendance is expected this year, too, LFS director Radana Korena said.
The festival will present 230 films from all over the world that will be screened in six halls and two open-air cinemas.
The programme is divided into six basic sections: the Philippine film, the U.S. independent film, a retrospective of Italian film-maker Luchino Visconti, the British Ealing Studios – the oldest continuously working studio facility, silent science-fiction films, the filmography of U.S. director Roger Corman, a master of low-budget B-movies and the Polish film school.
Apart from film screenings, the festival will offer concerts, theatre performances, expert programmes, creative workshops and events for children.
“A novelty is a literary tent for authors’ readings and various meetings in a local park and a children’s tent with a programme from morning till evening,” Korena said.
Visitors can buy festival passes for one, four and nine days (the whole festival) for 350, 1100 and 1700 crowns.
The LFS’s budget of 15 million crowns is one-million lower than last year.
Unlike the previous years, the festival did not get an EU subsidy of two million crowns, which caused financial problems, Korena said.
The organisers managed to gain an additional one million from various partners. Mayor Ivo Frolec says the town has regularly supported the festival with 1.75 million crowns to which it added another 600,000 crowns and a 200,000-crown loan this year.
The LSF gains some 3.5 million crowns from sales and the rest of the budget is covered by sponsors and subsidies.
