Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/352862
26 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 27 JULY 2014 THIS WEEK CULTURE | TV | FILM CINEMA LISTINGS FOOD | WHAT'S ON THIS WEEK KARLOVY Vary is yet another West Bohemian spa-town just four hours away from Prague. Found at the back end of Europe, it holds an International Film Fes- tival midway through the year that catches up with Cannes just before all eyes are back on Venice this Sep- tember. The special agents of Czech film history line up alongside familiar faces like Helen Mirren, Jude Law, and John Malkovich to introduce the festival in a two-minute short about their own goblet of a souvenir, the Lifetime Achievement Award. Helen Mirren calls out in fear of its ghostly apparition, Jude Law rips off the crystal top in a fury, while Mi- los Forman hovers in silence to the track from a hospital ward he once shared with Jack Nicholson (One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, 1975), and slams down the globe to the ta- ble until each pill turns to powder. All in tongue, cheek, and a sharp grain of black and white, each ac- tor commemorates the old tradition of any prestigious festival, or in the words of John Malkovich playing himself, the moment when, "Oh, your f***ing career is over". Karlovy Vary's repertoire does not try hard enough to step out of the same spotlight, as for its 49th edi- tion, the festival opens with Michael Pitt, plays host to Fanny Ardant, and awards a Crystal Globe to Mel Gibson on his first ever visit to the Republic. Honouring the self-styled surreal- ist Jan Svankmajer with the 2014 FI- AF, it also attracts the right amount of dedicated cinephilia, and an au- dience that looks toward being part and parcel of the industry itself. Staple traditions include the rain, people who never find their way to bed till daylight, and a hoard of Film Students, fresh from a semes- ter of work at the legendary film school next door, FAMU in Prague. All caught up in this unadorned pilgrimage, students cross paths with a glimpse of Cannes, as the international press, directors, and producers alike, catch up with the future of the screen from the highly anticipated East of the West Com- petition. Without an official film market to centralise over 800 industry guests, events spread themselves across town with a line up of workshops, meetings (read: parties) and press launches. The more interesting ones develop their own word of mouth as each event builds a network of at- tendees who walk in by invitation or not. This kind of setup encourages thinking on one's toes, something alien to the safe tradition of stream- line production, but one which at Karlovy Vary, meshes the success stories of Slovak Film next to HBO Go, and anyone at the mercy of a two-minute 'elevator pitch'. With over a 180 independent programmers for a single festival, the week culminates in 33 world premieres and 62 debut directors. It isn't the most happening corner of the world but it surely remains a place of discovery which one critic called the 'Disneyworld of Bohe- mia'. Why else would the world of cin- ema make its way to a number of makeshift theatres with an audience sprawled on the floor, against a wall, Tracking the festival circuit, AIDAN CELESTE whets his appetite for cinema this July 2014 at the 49th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Czech Republic – the wallflower of European Film PHOTOGRAPHY BY FILM SERVIS FESTIVAL KARLOVY VARY Eyes on the prize: Karlovy Vary's coveted Crystal Globe Czech director Jiří Menzel (left) with William Friedkin (director – The Exorcist) Czech stop-motion animation master Jan Svankmajer honoured by FIAF: director of International Federation of Film Archives Hollywood actress Laura Dern at an open air screening of Wild at Heart (1990) – the David Lynch film in which she starred alongside Nicolas Cage