09/12/2010

Karel Och will become the artistic director of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival as of January, filling a seat long held by Eva Zaoralová.

Och has worked in the festival's programming department since 2001. He has been responsible for such programming as last year's retrospective on Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.

Zaoralová will remain closely involved with Karlovy Vary, remaining part of the festival's top management and helping create the festival program and presentation.

Zaoralová recently received the state Order of Merit from Czech President Václav Klaus in recognition of her service to the Czech Republic in the area of culture. One of the Czech Republic’s most renowned film scholars, Zaoralová is the first journalist and film critic to receive the honor. Artistic director of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 1995, she is also a member of the presidium of the Czech Film and Television Academy and a member of the European Film Academy.

Och thanked Zaoralová with her role in mentoring him as a festival programmer. “Our discussions on cinema have always been thought-provoking and illuminating. And I’m thrilled that this close collaboration will go on with her continued involvement with Karlovy Vary,” he said.

“I will keep on building on what makes KVIFF a truly distinctive event – a combination of modern and classic, the co-existence of new ways of storytelling with a fresh look on film history's crucial moments," Och said.

The 46th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will take place July 1–9, 2011.