09/07/2025 - The Romanian debut Battalion Records and the Ukrainian project Vacuum have emerged as this year’s main victors in the Czech festival's industry platform

l-r: Ilse Ronteltap, Josef Kullengård, Eugene Rachkovsky and Zuzana Mistríková with the Eurimages Special Co-production Development Award for the project Vacuum (© Film Servis Festival Karlovy Vary)

This year’s KVIFF Eastern Promises (see the news) industry platform showcased a line-up of 40 film and series projects, reaffirming the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival’s role as a hub for Central and Eastern European talent. The selected works explore themes such as cultural decay, identity under pressure, intergenerational trauma, political displacement and the search for belonging in rapidly changing societies, ranging from absurdist comedies and post-traumatic dramas to intimate character studies and queer stories. “The support structures here are still relatively fragile. Our hope is that by curating projects in close collaboration with national film institutes, we can offer producers and investors a selection they can trust, and ultimately help unlock co-financing with greater confidence,” said Hugo Rosák, head of the KVIFF Industry Office (see the interview).

The Eurimages Co-production Development Award was presented to Battalion Records by debuting Romanian director Ștefan Bîtu-Tudoran. In this absurdist heist satire, a group of artists hijack Romania’s oldest music studio to film a radical protest against cultural decline, blurring the lines between myth, memory and political spectacle. The jury praised its rebellious energy and cultural urgency, awarding it €20,000 in development funding. A Special Eurimages Award of equal value went to the Ukrainian project Vacuum by Yelizaveta Smith. A meditation on grief and identity set in post-invasion Odesa, the film follows a young archaeologist navigating the emotional void left by her missing father. The jury hailed it as “a universal story of loss anchored in a city and culture facing erasure”.

In the Works in Development – Feature Launch and Focus Queer programme, the MIDPOINT & KVIFF Development Award was granted to History of Illness by David Gašo. This darkly humorous ensemble piece set over a single, chaotic day in a hospital mixes surrealism with poignant social commentary, described by the jury as “an absurd labyrinth of anxiety and humour”. The Connecting Cottbus Award was handed to RadioAmateur by Polish filmmaker Tomasz Habowski, a tender portrait of a widower rediscovering joy and vulnerability late in life, an emotionally nuanced challenge to outdated ideas of masculinity and ageing.

Czech producer Ondřej Lukeš (Beginner's Mind), with the project Restless by Albert Hospodářský, received the Rotterdam Lab Award, which includes a place on the 2026 Rotterdam Lab training programme, recognising his international potential and forward-looking production slate. The Marché du Film Producers Network Awards were granted to producers Michelle Brøndum Hauerbach, with the project Soyboy, and Genovéva Petrovits, with Democracy: Work in Progress, securing their participation in next year’s Producers Network at Cannes.

The KVIFF Talents programme continued to champion innovative voices from the Czech and Slovak regions, selecting six concepts for development support. In the Feature Pool, funding and mentorship were awarded to the sci-fi identity drama Nameless, the mystical coming-of-age tale Spirit Moose and the psychological climate parable Burnout. The Creative Pool spotlighted the animated series Mould, the anime project Lost Boys and the musical dramedy Remake. A special-guest project, A Siege, was also presented in collaboration with Cine-Collegium Budapest.

Meanwhile, the inaugural Pop Up Series Incubator, focused on serial storytelling, culminated in a pitching session for five promising projects. Among them were the myth-infused, feminist thriller Angelmaker by Cristina Grosan; the historical, female-led mystery The Night of the Beguines; and the surreal political drama The Three Burials of Irma. These works thus offered a glimpse into the emerging boldness and diversity of European series development.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Eurimages Co-production Development Award
Battalion Records – Ștefan Bîtu-Tudoran (Romania)
Producer: Diana Caravia (microFILM)

Eurimages Special Co-production Development Award
Vacuum – Yelizaveta Smith (Ukraine)
Producer: Eugene Rachkovsky (TABOR)

MIDPOINT & KVIFF Development Award
History of Illness – David Gašo (Croatia)
Producer: Marta Eva Mećava (Eclectica)

Connecting Cottbus Award
RadioAmateur – Tomasz Habowski (Poland)
Producer: Marta Szarzyńska (Watchout Studio)

Rotterdam Lab Award
Restless - Ondřej Lukeš  (Czech Republic)

Marché du Film Producers Network Award
Soyboy - Michelle Brøndum Hauerbach (UK)
Democracy: Work in Progress - Genovéva Petrovits (Hungary/Czech Republic/Germany)

KVIFF Talents Feature Pool

Nameless – Daria Kashcheeva (Czech Republic)
Producer: Lukáš Kokeš (nutprodukce)

Spirit Moose – Tomáš Klein (Slovak Republic/Czech Republic)
Producer: Tomáš Michálek (MasterFilm)

Burnout – Greta Stocklassa (Czech Republic)
Producer: Marek Novák (Xova Film)

KVIFF Talents Creative Pool

Mould – Philippe Kastner (Czech Republic)
Producer: Tereza Havlová (BATCH film, 13ka)

Lost Boys – Dužan Duong (Czech Republic)
Producer: Dužan Duong (AZN kru, nutprodukce)

Remake – Kateřina Letáková (Czech Republic)
Producer: Daniel Bleha (Film Kolektiv)

Pop Up Series Incubator

Angelmaker - Cristina Grosan (Romania)
Producer: Anda Ionescu (Tangaj Production)

Erotic Lives of the Superheroes – written by Eric Dupont (France)
Producer: Eric Dupont (Incognito Films)

The Night of the Beguines - written by David Roux (France)
Producers: Candice Zaccagnino (Eliane Antoinette), Olivier Akni (Reboot Films)

The Three Burials of Irma - Elina Psykou (Greece)
Producer: Fenia Cossovitsa (Blonde)

Therapies - written by Birutė Kapustinskaitė (Lithuania)
Producer: Dagnė Vildžiūnaitė (Just a moment)

Guest project from Cine-Collegium Budapest
A Siege – István Kovács (Hungary)