According to the report of Mansour Jahani, an independent and international film journalist, the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, the second oldest film festival in the world, which was part of the so-called “first wave” of post-war European film festivals, is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year.
Slovak actress Magda Vášáryová receives the Festival President’s Award
At the 60th Karlovy Vary International film festival, the Festival President’s Award will be presented to renowned Slovak actress Magda Vášáryová.
In honor of Magda Vasarieva, the festival will screen the film “Birds, Orphans and Fools”, directed by Juraj Jakubisko. The film is a Czechoslovakian-French co-production, written by Jakubisko with the writer Karol Sidon, and filmed in the turbulent year of 1968.
The Screen “Birds, Orphans and Fools” was banned for 20 years
At that time, a special committee of the Slovak Ministry of Culture labeled this mosaic-like, fantastical allegory of unfulfilled dreams and the absurdity of the world “un-socialistic” and forbade its distribution of “Birds, Orphans and Fools”. More than 20 years later, in 1990, the film was screened at the 27th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and also won the FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) Prize.
The Jury members of the Crystal Globe Competition
The jury members of the Crystal Globe Competition of the 60th Karlovy Vary Film Festival (KVIFF) are: Justin Chang, film critic at The New Yorker from the United States, Amanda Nell Eu, director from Malaysia, Pavel Rejholec, sound designer, producer, composer and university lecturer from the Czech Republic, Nadia Turincev, Russian producer living in France, and Eskil Vogt, director and screenwriter from Norway.
The Jury members of the Proxima Competition
The jury members of the Proxima Competition at this prestigious and top-tier event in world cinema include: Ms. Estrella Araiza, the General Director of the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG) and Cineteca UDG, from Mexico, Dirk Decker, producer and co-founder of Hamburg-based Tamtam Film from Germany; Jakub Felcman, screenwriter, film critic, producer and director from the Czech Republic, Devika Girish, editor at Film Comment magazine and a Talks programmer at the New York Film Festival from the United States and Marija Kavtaradze, director and screenwriter from Lithuania.
Screening of the film “Hijamat” produced and edited by Jafar Panahi
At the 60th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the feature film “Hijamat” directed and written by Nader Saevar and produced and edited by Jafar Panahi, a renowned director of Iranian cinema and a product of Germany; will be screened in its first world premiere, in the Crystal Globe Competition section.
Screening of the film “The Friend’s House is Here” by Iranian directors
Also at this prestigious artistic event, the film “The Friend’s House is Here”, directed and written by young Iranian filmmakers Maryam Ataei and Hossein Keshavarz, and produced by the United States and Iran, will be screened in the non-competitive Special Screenings section.
Karlovy Vary, one of the most prestigious festivals in Central and Eastern Europe
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is one of the most prestigious festivals in Central and Eastern Europe; its 60th edition is under the executive management of Kryštof Mucha, under the artistic direction of Karel Och, and with the screening of 12 films in the Crystal Globe Competition, 12 films in the Proxima Competition, 13 films in the out of competition “Special Screenings”, several films in the classic section “Out of the Past” A look at the history of KVIFF and also The section “Photo Exhibition of the Activities of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival Over the Past 80 Years” will be held from June 3 to 11, 2026, at the Thermal Hotel cinemas, including the Congress Hall, Grand Hall, and Cinemas A, B, and C, as well as the Drahomíra Cinema, Karlovy Vary Theater, Čas, Husovka Theater, Pupp Cinema, and Lázně III Cinema in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic.
For more details:
