VICTOR GRISS CULTURAL ATTACHÉ, CASFFA(AND FREELANCE MICHAEL CAINEIMPERSONATOR)

BRUTAL, MAYBE, BUT STILL IN VALIANT SERVICE

I’m representing the Czech and SlovakFilm Festival of Australia (CaSFFA), topreview and consider films for screeningin Melbourne and Canberra later this year,to meet people in the industry and reallyjust enjoy the event and have a good time.With regard to screenings, I’ll be hopingin particular to catch the Slovak/Ukrainianco-production The Line, directed by PeterBebjak, which I expect will be intriguing,and the documentary The White WorldAccording to Daliborek, directed by VítKlusák, which addresses the rise in na-tionalism – an important and highly rele-vant topic right now. I’m also a martial artstragic and harbor a fan crush on UmaThurman, so Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 isa screen cocktail I'll find hard to resist.I might even sneak in a session at the hotsprings too. Oh, and a beer. (CH)

The Line screens July 3 at 8pm [GrandHall], July 4 at 1pm [Pupp Cinema] andJuly 6 at 11.30am [Drahomíra Cinema].The White World According to Daliborekscreens tonight at 10.30pm [Grand Hall]and July 3 at 11.30am [DrahomíraCinema]. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 screentonight at 10.30pm [Outdoor Cinema]. z

EXPLAINERSEE YOU THERE

Simon Al-Bazoon (left) and Sherwan Haji will present the film they are starring in, The Other Side of Hope, today at 11:30 at hotel Thermal’s Grand Hall.

by Iva Roze, Šimon Šafránek

Aki Kaurismäki’s new film The OtherSide of Hope recounts the fate ofa Syrian refugee named Khaled, playedby Syrian actor Sherwan Haji, who endsup – not exactly by choice – in Finland,which is frigid, both meteorologicallyand interpersonally. Khaled’s sidekick isan Iraqi refugee named Mazdak, playedby Iraqi-Finnish actor Simon Al-Bazoon. The film is a debut for both star-ring actors, who have come to KarlovyVary to present the film.

How did you wind up in this film?Sherwan: For me it was one of those

crazy universal moments when thingsjust happen, there is some metaphysicalintervention. I received an email whichsaid that there is a production companythat seeks an actor from the Middle Eastwho speaks English, Arabic and Finnishwould be a plus, and there is like a littlething that says “with a reasonable senseof humor.” I looked at my old passport,went to the mirror and I thought: “OK, itmight be me.”

Simon: I had forgotten about doingtheater or movies because I did that be-fore. But I got a call and they said, “areyou still doing acting?” And I was like,“Always, I never say no to acting.”

Did you know it was AkiKaurismäki’s film?

Sherwan: I had no idea. I thought itwas just an amateur film about the ongo-ing situation with refugees and I wouldbe like making pizza behind all of thescenes as an extra or something like that.And then I went there, they gave mea script in Arabic, but it was Google-translated from left to right, I thought ofit as a brain test or something.

Simon: We were sitting and doing theArabic voice test and after that, they saidthis is Aki Kaurismäki’s movie and youhave been chosen for that movie.“Congratulations!” Sherwan was like:“Wow, it’s amazing, unbelievable.” AndI was like, “Who’s Aki?”

How did he direct you?Sherwan: The beautiful thing was that

he is so clear, crystal clear about what he

wants. The text was holy, but with thecharacter, he only gave me the skeleton,the backbone for the character and theclothes. But then he gave me total free-dom. That surprised me a lot. For an ac-tor, you can’t believe how beautiful it iswhen you feel like you have space tocontribute. I try to avoid being a charac-ter, I try to be myself and think howI will cope if I go through these changesin my life.

Did the clash of cultures make itchallenging?

Sherwan: It was a beautiful experiencenot to be put in a box because I am fromthe Middle East. We are normal people.We have minutes to ourselves, we reflect,we are silent when we are angry. Wedon’t necessarily break tables. Beingfrom a different background, of course,sometimes makes it challenging.Especially coming from a warm socialenvironment to a very cold, low temperone.

How did you cope with that?Sherwan: I try to see it as a football

team. It’s not hard to play when youknow the roles.

Is Aki Kaurismäki a good footballcoach?

Simon: He is a great coach. Because heis all about treating everybody equally.Sakari [Kuosmanen] has been actingwith him for 35 years but I didn’t feel atall that Sakari was a bigger actor than meor I am bigger than Sakari. The trust thathe gave us was the best part.

Sherwan: That trust brought what yousee on the screen. The first thing he saidwhen he gave me the script was, “Readit and say yes.” So I immediately saidyes.

How did that trust manifest itself?Simon: He writes in Finnish and tells

us to just do the scene in Arabic. But inArabic, it always comes out differently,so we tell him it will sound different andhe said “yeah just go and do it.” He hadno idea what we were saying. So he trust-ed us that much. I don’t think there aremany directors out there who trust newactors so much.

How did you end up in Finland, ofall places, anyway?

Simon: I came when I was 10 yearsold, in 1993, after Iraq lost the revolutionagainst Saddam Hussein. We applied forasylum through the UN and they decidedwe would go to Finland. None of myfamily had even heard of Finland before.But they told us it was the neighbor ofSweden and we said, “Wow, Sweden, re-ally?” We were one of the first refugeesin Finland.

And your story, Sherwan?Sherwan: I was in acting school in

Damascus and one of our teachersbrought a VHS with a film by AkiKaurismäki (The Man Who Wasn’tThere). That was one of the few thingsI knew about Finland., except for icecream and Nokia and some rally drivers.The year I graduated I met one Finnishgirl, in front of an alcohol shop. Surprise,right? And we went for the same winebottle and I told her, the first woman I’llsee tomorrow, I’ll marry her.

And, yep, you did. z

SPECIAL EDITION OF

KVIFF’s MAIN MEDIA PARTNER

FINNISH BY CHANCE

If KVIFF ever seems a touch, well, touchy,it’s worth remembering that it is, after all, thechild of Brutalism. Or at least the fest mother-ship, the Hotel Thermal, is – as you have nodoubt noticed – a very special kind of basecamp.

An architectural wonder of a sort at the timeit was built from 1967 to 1976 by renowned ar-chitects Věra Machoninová and her husbandVladimír, the hotel was clearly meant to im-press decadent capitalist Westerners with thewonders of state-controlled development proj-ects. Its impressive hillside pool complex, com-plete with diagonal-running elevator, swooping cylindricalcomponents and once-swanky terraces indeed made a distinctstatement back in the early days of KVIFF, when the likes ofMaximilian Schell and Donald Sutherland were doing photocalls here.

But its style was certainly not whipped up by party hacks. Infact, the style was in vogue worldwide throughout the 1960sand 70s, with many stunning examples still up and running all

around the world (they were made largely fromconcrete and reinforced steel, after all). So iftheir interiors are now looking a bit tatty – a fewplumbing and maintenance issues may beplaguing such wonders as London’s BarbicanCentre, the Preston bus station in Lancashireand the Universidad de Ingenieria a Tecnologiain Peru – at least they do serve as living monu-ments to a movement once highly regarded byartists.

The Machoninovi were on a par with the oth-er famous Brutalist greats, including Alison andPeter Smithson, who coined the term in

England in 1953.Like Le Corbusier, the Czechs designed everything, from

the foundations to the light fittings. The same couple designedPrague’s largely hexagonal Kotva department store, which isalso still standing and serving that purpose, but they ran afoulof the Party, getting themselves banned from further work. Sojust remember: we could just as easily be in a Czech Republicfilled with a lot more concrete monstrosities. z (WT)

INSIDEOfficial Selection:Khibula, Corporate

English Section, page 2

Eva Zaoralová: Grandedame of KVIFF

English Section, page 3

Documentary Films:This year’s competition

English Section, page 4

32/7 2017

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strana 2 / page 2 FESTIVAL DAILY Sunday, July 2, 2017

Kinokavárna Drahomíra $Vítězná 50Open Mon-Sun 8am – 1am

We’re stretching the concept of ‘on the town’since it adjoins the festival venue but it’s suffi-ciently ‘off-piste’ to deserve a mention. I knowDrahomíra seems a long haul but here you can en-joy ‘film toasties’ and other affordable delights,serviceable Italian coffee and top-notch Czechbeer, either in the literally Bohemian café or onyour own personal pull-out table in the theatre it-self. Otherwise, there might be live music in theback or a proper art exhibition in the gallery up-stairs. See a film – any film – just for the venue!Here there’ll be a proper debriefing, together witha café full of cinephiles, over a pint or two of coldlager.

Karlovy Vary Art Gallery $Goethova stezka 6Open Tues-Sun 10am – 5pm

Remember, not all art is film, so here’s a chanceto broaden your horizons and stretch those theatre-cramped legs. The permanent collection boasts es-teemed modernists from early last century, and thefestival exhibition, intriguingly titled “TicklishStructure,” features constructivist works from the‘60s onwards. It’s a short riverside stroll fromPupp. When you see the bust of that erstwhile fan

of Karlovy Vary, the poet Goethe, you’re almostthere. You won’t regret it. Refreshed and intellec-tually invigorated, you’ll have a new yardstick forjudging the artistic merits of all those flicks.

PEK $T. G. Masaryka 11Open Mon-Sun 7am – 10pm

Has that groundbreaking documentary at Časgiven you an appetite but there’s barely half anhour till your next screening? We’ve all been therebut I found the solution. Continue up the street and– before the McDonald’s – you’ll find a hole-inthe-wall takeaway, with a window full of pastriesand a small hatchway for taking orders. These arecheap and cheerful morsels for people (like you)on the move but always fresh and good. Pleasedon’t walk right past it on your way toMcDonald’s! Another world is possible. It couldstart with something as simple yet extraordinary asa hunger-satisfying quick-bite for pennies. Thenoff you go, in good time for that screening atGrandhotel Pupp. z

$ – Inexpensive$$ – Moderate$$$ – Expensive$$$$ – Very expensive$$$$$ – If you have to ask...

ON THE TOWNHEGE KRISTIN WIDNES, TROMSØ INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

by Will Tizard

Georgian writer/director GeorgeOvashvili is back following his2014 Crystal Globe win with CornIsland, a study of an ethereal spaceand the characters who stake theirhope in it. This year’s entry,Khibula, also embraces the wildsof his homeland but its centralcharacter, an ousted, democratical-ly elected president on the run, isseeking a different kind of refugein the wilds and weighing how toreturn to his rightful position.

The film takes a measuredpace, as if in time with thechanging of seasons like in CornIsland – did the setting affect therhythm of your scenes?

The setting always affects therhythm of people's life, which isusually reflected in my scenes, so,yes. Generally, changing of sea-sons and weather in the back-ground could be a good measureof the foreground story and pro-tagonists. This is a good figurativeway to show how a man developsin relation with time’s passing.

Khibula also follows charac-ters through a shifting, border-line space in an echo of CornIsland. Is this a theme you areexploring?

Yes. After The Other Bank andCorn Island, Khibula is the thirdfilm of the trilogy dedicated to thesame theme – Georgia’s 90s, themost painful and cruel period of

our recent history. Khibula con-tinues the topic, which was set upin my two previous films and fol-lows the characters living in thesame environment, though tries todeal with the most complicatedand mysterious episode with themost conflicting personage.

The president seems almostChrist-like sometimes and evensleeps in his blue suit. Do yousee him as transcendent?

This is a time of big turn in thelife of the hero. He was a powerfulman, idolized by the whole coun-try, adored by the absolute majori-ty of people and now he has losteverything – his power, authority,supremacy. The president, doomedby everyone, goes through a way

full of pain and suffering and he isalone. We see his supporters, whoaccompany him, but still he isalone. This is not a fate of the ordi-nary man of course; he is somehowexceptional and he never acts likean ordinary person.

How did you balance the needfor drama with the need for his-torical accuracy?

I don’t think creative workshould be historically accurate. Mypurpose was to show that our na-tion made a mistake. I find it a badidea to idolize a person to that lev-el and I find it a worse idea to aban-don the person you admire anddoom them to death. If my goal isfulfilled I don’t care whether I fol-lowed the real events. z

KHIBULA – WHEN HOPE IS EXILED INTO THE WILDERNESS

OFFICIAL SELECTION

by Zbyněk Vlasák

We might see in through theskyscraper window, but do wereally ever know what’s going oninside? Corporate, a debut filmby the French director NicolasSilhol competing for the CrystalGlobe this year, gives us a peekinto the world of global corpora-tions.

Emilie is an ambitious humanresources manager in a largemultinational company. Her vi-sionary boss Stéphane, physical-ly somewhat reminiscent ofSteve Jobs, hires her primarily todownsize the company by tenpercent. Ideally as smoothly aspossible. She’s not supposed tofire them but rather manipulatethem into leaving on their own.However, one worker cannotbear the pressure and commitssuicide right there on the prem-ises.

“What interested me about thestory from the very beginningwas the issue of responsibility,”says Silhol. “What is the respon-sibility assumed by a person whoagrees to do the dirty work forsomeone else? Is Emilie at leastpartly responsible for the factthat someone she planned topush out of the company com-mitted suicide? Those are com-plex legal and ethical issues.”

Corporate culture has fascinat-ed Silhol for a long time (his fa-ther, incidentally, is a human re-sources specialist as well as

a business school teacher) and inhis earlier short films he por-trayed such companies as envi-ronments where everybody hasto accept their place – and giveup their own individuality if pos-sible.

Emilie, too, tries to suppressherself in various ways. Shechooses to wear work clothesthat don’t match her personality.She obsessively uses antiperspi-rants. She tries to bury any emo-tional response she might haveabout the death of the “difficult”employee deep within herself.But that only works until an in-vestigation is launched and grad-ually points to her. Feelingthreatened, she decides to jointhe other side, though not exact-

ly because she feels guilty. It’smore as if she doesn’t want to beleft on her own, fighting her ownbattles.

“I didn’t mean to be judgmen-tal. The drama of the film lies inthe fact that to turn against thecompany means for Emilie toturn against herself to a large ex-tent. Her only relevant piece ofevidence against the corporationis a video in which she plays thecentral role,” says Silhol.

Corporate, an ethical dramainspired, among other things, bya series of suicides of FranceTélécom employees between2008 and 2009 and the detachedway the company’s managementdealt with them, will have its in-ternational premiere at KVIFF. z

CORPORATE – HUMAN RESOURCES HELL UNLEASHED

OFFICIAL SELECTION

The distinct dangers of a comfortable position in a prospering firm.

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A long walk in the woods...but hardly pacifying.

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PEK is what you need when feeling peckish.

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Sunday, July 2, 2017 FESTIVAL DAILY strana 3 / page 3

In an astonishingly assureddebut, writer-director LéonorSerraille delivers a constantlyfascinating portrait of a 31-year-old woman on a roller coaster ofan emotional car crash ride.Played with gritty aplomb byLaetitia Dosch, Paula is a bornsurvivor despite most doorsclosing in her face, certain totrounce her demons with

alacrity. Surrounded by a true-to-life parade of support charac-ters Paula may be someone whowould be impossible to live

with, but she makes for a hyp-notic character with whom it isimpossible not to have someempathy.

MONTPARNASSE BIENVENUEDirector: Léonor Serraille

France, 2017, 97min

July 2, 4pm, Národní dům Cinema

Written by director Silholwith Nicolas Fleureau, thisworkplace story for our time re-volves around a young HR ex-ecutive. When an employeeflings himself from a greatheight in the company lobby,she finds herself a scapegoat andhas to fight to save her skin.Shot by Silhol with almost clin-ical precision, this is in part

a social satire rooted within theframework of a thriller andboasts an excellent performanceby Céline Sallette as the career

girl trying to please her boss(Lambert Wilson) at the expenseof her integrity – until she seizesher destiny.

CORPORATEDirector: Nicolas Silhol

France, 2016, 95min

July 2, 5pm, Grand Hall

Inspired by real events involv-ing the neo-Nazi NationalSocialist Underground (NSU),Turkish-German filmmaker FatihAkin’s new film emerges as a dis-turbing and compelling dramatorn from the headlines. DianeKruger, who won a Cannes BestActress award, plays a motherseeking revenge after failing toget justice in Germany’s legal

system after her son and husbandof Turkish origin are killed ina bomb blast. Akin’s emphasis isless on the horrific events and

more on grief and how we copewith it. In Kruger he has an ac-tress able to embody perfectly hisambitions. z

IN THE FADEDirector: Fatih Akin

Germany/France, 2017, 106min

July 2, 10pm, Pupp Cinema

THREE PICKS FOR TODAYRICHARD MOWE, CORRESPONDENT, EYE FOR FILM

There’s nothing more dispirit-ing to a filmmaker – besidescockeyed DPs, speed-freak pro-ducers and vampire sales agents– than being interviewed bya journo who doesn’t havea clue. If an interview is 15 min-utes, as they increasingly are,that hack better have informed,nuanced questions if they wantto get anything original out ofa filmmaker.

So any film hack walking thehigh wire needs some back-ground at something more thanbanging out copy. Some makepoints with penniless directorsby working on their own films.And no, this is not a shamelessplug for my incredible upcomingTorahs rescue docu, Buried.

Another hands-on way tolearn the dark arts of filmmaking– if you’re blessed with charm,an enchanting baritone voice anda seductive smoothness of move-ment, that is – would be the ac-tor’s life.

International talent being a tri-fle thin on the ground in Prague,it seems local casting agencieshave a steady demand for nativeAmik actors. Thus, my rivetingperformance as Wealthy FrenchMerchant in Episode 1 of theBBC’s Three Musketeers a whileback, of course, followed up bymy commanding turn as the RedPrince’s Adjutant in the Danishhistoric epic 1864.

Nice roles to land, of course.But for a freelance writer, it’s re-

ally a toothpaste spot you want.With worldwide rights, actors incommercials take home 10 timeswhat a film walk-on may score.An insider tip – you’re welcome.

I somehow manage to consis-tently make callbacks for spots,but I never quite close the deal.I was all but certain I had baggeda nutty monk role (my specialtysince high school, where,frankly, I killed in Don’t Drinkthe Water). But that time I wasout of town, reporting on a filmfest in Poland so I couldn’t runback to Prague to give them an-other look.

My big break will come. Butuntil then, at least I can speaksomewhat fluent filmmaking.And have some clue about howproduction works – from bothsides of the camera. At least nowI’m uniquely qualified to inter-view – and certainly drink with– dispirited actors.

But seriously – this last read-ing as Annoyed Dad in the chew-ing gum casting. I’m just aboutsure I nailed it. z

THEY CALL METHE CALLBACK KID

DAILY RANTWILL TIZARD, FESTIVAL DAILY WRITER

by Cerise Howard

Eva Zaoralová, the instantly rec-ognizable, incontestable grandedame of KVIFF, will turn 85 thisyear, yet is little diminished in herengagement with and enthusiasmfor the seventh art.

It could be that many non-Czechregulars of the festival, whilst sure-ly being at least passingly familiarwith her, don’t grasp the signifi-cance of her role, in tandem withJiří Bartoška - and was there evera more enduring and endearingdouble act in film festival circles?- in rescuing the festival from al-most certain ruin back in 1994.Nor might they realize that, by2017, she has been key in stew-arding KVIFF across almost halfof its 52 editions to date.

Zaoralová served as ArtisticDirector from 1994 to 2010, whenshe handed over the reins to the in-cumbent AD, Karel Och. Today

she remains active in the talisman-ic role of Artistic Consultant.Moreover, it could be said thatZaoralová has assumed the role ofthe festival’s foremost authority -its custodian, even.

Upon the fest’s 50th edition in2015 - not its 50th anniversary, asfrom 1959 to 1993 it ran onlyevery other year, alternating withMoscow – The Story of a Festivalwas released. It’s her handsomelyillustrated tribute to KVIFF, chart-ing its rise from inauspicious ori-gins in 1946, via many turbulentyears, through to 2015’s landmarkevent. That year also saw theworld premiere - in Karlovy Vary,naturally – of Film Spa, MiroslavJanek’s entertaining documentaryon the festival in which Zaoralováassayed the role of chief inter-viewer, hitting up colleagues andpredecessors for rich anecdotesgalore about the Czech Republic’sbeloved summer film carnival.

She remains a vital font ofknowledge on all things KVIFF,with a claim to plenty of wonder-ful anecdotes all of her own.

“The festival has grown enor-mously. Because when I was start-ing, we didn‘t even know where toorder films from,” says Zaoralová.“We didn’t know who the distrib-utors were or who the rights hold-ers were. The first year, it was verydifficult. And what was even hard-er was to get films into the compe-tition.” For example, there wasa time when, seeking a particularfilm, she called someone in Italy -“I said Karlovy Vary Film Festival.Their reply was ‘Carlo cosa?’ -Carlo what?”

One of the staples of today’sKVIFF is the East of the West sec-tion. Zaoralová was keen from theoutset to champion EasternEuropean cinema but recalls en-countering pushback early on, be-cause at the time, around 1995-96,

“nobody here wanted to see filmsfrom the East.” This was perhapsunderstandable, beforehand, it wasall they could see. However, shecan proudly cite as an example ofthe wisdom of her ways, BorisKhlebnikov.

“We presented his feature debutthat he made with his colleague,”referring to Roads to Koktebel,a prize-winner at KVIFF in 2003.“And today he’s a well-known di-rector.”

Zaoralová is nothing if not mag-nanimous, keen to apportion cred-it where she feels it’s due. Whileshe feels the festival had alreadyarrived at a high standard by theearly noughties, that’s very muchthanks to Václav Havel, the formerPresident. “The festival started togrow because Havel took an inter-est,” she said. “He used to comehere, he was interested in film andthe world was interested in Havel.”Consequently, she says, RobertRedford and other actors of hisstature started gracing KarlovyVary with their star wattage andpulling power.

“When I handed the festivalover to my colleague Karel Och,the standard of the festival stillwasn’t what it is today,” she saidand refers not just to the caliber offilms presented, “but also the listof events, talks and workshops –the industry program has growna lot.”

For all her generosity though, itremains inarguable that KVIFFwouldn’t be a shadow of what it istoday without her impassionedlongtime – and ongoing – contri-bution. z

EVA ZAORALOVÁ: 84 YEARS YOUNGBUT FOREVER A SAVIOR OF KVIFF

Eva Zaoralová once more in her element upon the Terrace of the Hotel Thermal for her 24th KVIFF.P

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strana 4 / page 4 FESTIVAL DAILY Sunday, July 2, 2017

FACES INDUSTRY EVENTS

by Michael Stein

Even though all the films inKVIFF's documentary competi-tion, with one exception, areEuropean, the films themselvesrepresent as varied and interna-tional a selection as the festivalhas seen for some time.

Festival audiences will be treat-ed to the much anticipated worldpremiere of The White WorldAccording to Daliborek by VítKlusák, a highly stylized portraitof a Czech neo-Nazi skinheadwho – though approaching mid-dle-age himself – still lives witha mother who babies him.

The film documents his unhap-piness, the small steps he makesto change his life, but also his re-lationship with his extremist ide-ology and his apparent ambiva-lence towards real violence. Asunable as he is to filter his hate-filled opinions about racial mi-norities and refugees, he is equal-ly unable to lie and claim he iswilling to fight for his race or hiscountry. The film is a portrait ofhis sincere, often absurd, sad con-fusion.

Local audiences will also bestruck by the compelling portraitSlovak director Miro Remo hasfilmed of 90s Slovak pop starRichard Müller, This Is Not Me,which shows the effects of ad-diction and mental health issuesthat have plagued the singersince his glory days. MaryamGoormaghtigh’s Before SummerEnds road trip film of twoIranians trying convince a thirdfriend to remain in France ismore lighthearted though tingedwith a melancholy homesick-ness.

The fate of inner-city youthcoming in and out of the criminaljustice system in South Central

Los Angeles is the focus of Danishdirector’s Camilla Magid’s stark,multilayered portrait Land of theFree. The film follows 42-year-oldBrian, who has just gotten out ofjail after a 24-year murder sen-tence, Juan, a Salvadoran immi-grant who has just started to get introuble as he has also just starteda family, and a series of other fig-

ures involved in a local supportgroup.

While Magid admits there isa strong political subtext to herfilm she says that as an outsiderher main interest lies elsewhere:

“I’m focused on the existentialaspects of the theme that resonateno matter where you come from:what does it do to you to try get-

ting to belong to a society thatdoesn’t want you? How does be-ing in prison affect you? How doyou reconnect with a family whohas given up on you? How impor-tant is it to be recognized as some-one with value by the communitythat surrounds you? I’m looking atthe human and universal elementsof the theme,” Magid says.

In Swiss director Lionel Rupp’sA Campaign of Their Own it'sthe American electoral systemthat gets examined through thevaried eyes of Bernie Sanders’supporters up through the veryend of the democratic primaryprocess. Like Magid’s film it isa blend of disillusionment witha broken system together with

those unwilling to give up hopeand who are intent on fighting tomake things better.

Two other documentaries re-ceiving their world premieres atKVIFF this year are Lots of Kids,a Monkey and a Castle byGustavo Salmerón and AnotherNews Story directed by OrbanWallace.

Spanish director Salmerónspent 14 years filming the real-life fairytale of a middle classwoman with three wishes: to havelots of children, a monkey anda castle. After fulfilling the firsttwo wishes, sudden wealth makesthe wish for a castle a reality andan eccentric film about an eccen-tric woman was born.

Wallace’s feature debut AnotherNews Story turns the tables on thejournalists covering the world-wide refugee crisis by placing thecameras’ gaze on them.

Other films in the competitioninclude Tarzan’s Testicles, an ex-ploration of a former researchcenter in Abkhazia that aimed tocrossbreed humans and apes; MyLife without Air, an underwaterportrait of Croatia’s free divingrecord-holder; Atelier de conver-sation, featuring foreigners inParis learning French; andA Memory in Khaki, Syrian di-rector Alfoz Tanjour’s portrait ofhis war-torn hometown.

Before Summer Ends screens to-day at 2pm [Drahomíra Cinema]

A Campaign of Their Own screensJuly 3 at 3:30pm [Čas Cinema]

Land of the Free screens today at5pm [Drahomíra Cinema]

Tarzan’s Testicles screens July 3at 6:30 pm [Čas Cinema]

The White World According toDaliborek screens today at10:30pm [Grand Hall] and July 3 at11:30am [Drahomíra Cinema] z

DOCUMENTARIES AROUND THE WORLD

Camilla Magid’s Land of the Free shows the perils and hope in the poverty-stricken areas of South Central Los Angeles.

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This year KVIFF launches a new project titledArtisans in Focus aiming to present the CentralEuropean region as a hub for professionals in filmproduction who meet, connect and inspire one an-other. A panel today at 2:30pm in the VodafoneLounge featuring the work of four talented film pro-fessionals and hosted by Variety’s Managing EditorPeter Caranicas is open to both professionals andfilm buffs from the wide public.

Monika Willi is anAustrian award-winningdocumentary and fea-ture film editor and reg-ular collaborator of di-rector Michael Hanekeand documentarianMichael Glawogger. In2013 she was nominat-ed for the Best EditingCésar Award for herwork on MichaelHaneke’s Amour. In2013 she won the

Austrian Film Award for her editing work on BarbaraAlbert’s The Dead and the Living and in 2017 she re-ceived the same award for Barbara Eder’s Thank Youfor Bombing. The 2017 documentary film Untitledwhich she put together and edited from footage shotby Michael Glawogger, who died in 2014 while film-ing his journey through the Balkans, Italy and northand west Africa, is her first co-directing project.

Wojciech Staroń isa renowned cinematog-rapher and documen-tary director. He stud-ied at the Łódž FilmSchool in Poland. Asa DP he worked onSaviour Square (dir.Joanna Kos-Krauze,Krzysztof Krauze,2006), Vodka Factory(dir. Jerzy Śladkowski,2010), The Prize (dir.

Paula Markovitch, 2011) and Refugiado (dir. DiegoLerman, 2014), for which he was nominated for theArgentinian Film Critics Association’s BestCinematography Award. He directed the award-win-ning documentaries Siberian Lesson (1998), El mi-sionero (2001), Argentinian Lesson (2011) andBrothers (2015).

Annell Brodeur isa costume designer andstylist. She studied cos-tume design at theUniversity of NorthTexas, Denton. She col-laborated on award-winning movies byDavid Lowery, Ain'tThem Bodies Saints(2013) and the fantasymovie Pete’s Dragon(2016). She alsoworked on the drama

6 Years (dir. Hannah Fidell, 2015). Her most recentcollaboration with David Lowery is A Ghost Story(2017), starring Casey Affleck, which screens thisyear at KVIFF.

Ondřej Nekvasil isa Czech production de-signer. He studied at theDepartment of StageDesign at the TheatreFaculty of the Academyof Performing Arts inPrague. Among hismovies are the Oscar-nominated film TheIllusionist by NeilBruger (2006), theaward-winning sci-fifilm Snowpiercer (dir.

Bong Joon-ho, 2013) starring Tilda Swinton andChris Evans, and Underworld: Blood Wars (2016) byAnny Foerster. In 2001 he won the Primetime EmmyAward for Outstanding Art Direction for his work onthe TV miniseries Anne Frank: The Whole Story. z

FOUR ARTISANS OF FILMMAKINGWith the 52nd KVIFF in full swingdirector Ken Loach and screenwriterPaul Laverty will arrive to receive theCrystal Globe for Outstanding ArtisticContribution to World Cinema and toscreen their films Land and Freedomand Sweet Sixteen.

The main competition welcomesPeter Bebjak, actresses EmíliaVášáryová, Zuzana Fialová, RimmaZiubina and actors Tomáš Maštalírand Oleksandr Piskunov (The Line),director Onur Saylak (More) as wellas actress Irina Gorbacheva(Arrhythmia). The film Little Crusaderis represented by actor Karel Roden(you can also see him in Masaryk andDon Gio).

The East of the West competition isrepresented by director Josef Tuka(Absence of Closeness) and directorJuraj Lehotský with the film Nina(his Blind Loves is included in thePeople Next Door section).

Actress Jasmine Trinca is comingwith the film Fortunata in the Horizonssections. In the Another View sectionAusterlitz director Sergei Loznitsa isarriving, as is Quality Time directorDaan Bakker and director PelayoLira with Kingdoms. Documentarycompetition section participants arriv-ing today include A Campaign of TheirOwn director Lionel Rupp and the di-rector of Tarzan’s Testicles AlexandruSolomon.

Director Fiona Tan arrives to screenher film Ascent in the Imagina section.The People Next Door section wel-comes director Miroslav Janek withhis film The Unseen.

The Future Frames section wel-comes its ten directors to the festival:Giorgi Mukhadze, Elsa MaríaJakobsdóttir, Michal Blaško, JorenMolter, Katarina Morano, KirsikkaSaari, Matei Lucaci-Grunberg,Liene Linde, Maria Eriksson andDamián Vondrášek. z

Ken Loach Emília Vášáryová

Karel Roden Jasmine Trinca

Pelayo Lira Alexandru Solomon