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FESTIVALS Czech Republic

A celebration of Czech cinema at Febiofest

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- The recent growth of Czech productions and co-productions has triggered the introduction of a new section at the upcoming Febiofest

A celebration of Czech cinema at Febiofest
Menandros & Thaïs by Antonín Šilar and Ondřej Cikán

The Prague International Film Festival – Febiofest, an impressive showcase of non-commercial cinema held in the Czech capital, is ready for its 23rd edition, set to start on 17 March. The programmers have created a new section for the upcoming edition, Czech Track, reflecting the recent increase in the number of domestic productions and co-productions. Among the selected films are Marko Škop’s intense portrait Eva Nová [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marko Škop
film profile
]
; Tomáš Weinreb and Petr Kazda’s powerful debut, I, Olga Hepnarová [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Tomáš Weinreb, Petr Kazda
film profile
]
; the bizarre comedy Šiška De Luxe [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Slovenian director Jan Cvitkovič; Martin Jelínek’s debut, Road-Movie [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
; Fatal Stories, a film crammed with special effects, combining 3D and 2D animation with actors; the thriller The Red Spider [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marcin Koszalka
film profile
]
, inspired by real-life events linked to serial murders in 1960s Poland; the domestic pre-premiere of Petr Václav’s harrowing parable We Are Never Alone [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Petr Vaclav
film profile
]
; and the long-awaited experimental adventure film combining present-day and mythological aspects, Menandros & Thaïs [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
.

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The backbone of the festival’s programme consists of the New Europe Competition section, which zooms in on debuts and sophomore features by “European directors with a distinctive style, radical approach, strong story or relevant issue”. This year’s selection revolves mostly around the theme of outsiders and social outcasts – the line-up consists of Eva Nová, I, Olga Hepnarová, Rúnar Rúnarsson’s poetically realistic Sparrows [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Atli Óskar Fjalarsson
interview: Rúnar Rúnarsson
film profile
]
, Thomas Stuber’s A Heavy Heart [+see also:
trailer
interview: Thomas Stuber
film profile
]
, Jake Gavin’s Hector [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jake Gavin
film profile
]
and Barbara Eder’s Thank You for Bombing [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, among others. Meanwhile, the latest films by Wim Wenders, Alice Winocour, Marcin Wrona, Jerzy Skolimowski and Yorgos Lanthimos have been singled out in World Cinema Panorama. Slovakian cinema will also have a special spot in the guise of Slovak Day, which will include the screenings of Peter Bebjak’s compromise between art and genre film, The Cleaner [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martin Žiaran
interview: Peter Bebjak
film profile
]
; the road film Stanko [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
 by Rasťo Boroš, which addresses human trafficking; and Eduard Grečner’s Czechoslovak New Wave oeuvre, Dragon’s Return.

After last year’s edition of the gathering supported the protests against the imprisonment of Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, the organisers have now decided to introduce the Amnesty International Febiofest Award (originally set to be named the Oleh Sentsov Award), with which they wish to single out wrongfully imprisoned artists and journalists. The critically and publically acclaimed Mustang [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Deniz Gamze Ergüven
film profile
]
by Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Dariusz Gajewski’s Strange Heaven [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, Jonas Carpignano’s Mediterranea [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jonas Carpignano
film profile
]
and Paddy Breathnach’s Viva [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
are all in the running for the award. Febiofest will, as usual, welcome a plethora of guests, besides domestic filmmakers, actors and producers, including British screenwriter Peter Morgan, Spanish actress Carmen Maura, German actor Daniel Brühl, Scottish actor and director Peter Mullan, Norwegian scriptwriter Bjørn Olaf Johannessen, Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio and others.

The 23rd edition of the Prague International Film Festival – Febiofest runs from 17-25 March.

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