27/04/2022 - The Czech gathering, which starts tomorrow, has prepared a line-up of 90 recent features across its competitive and non-competitive sections

The Prague International Film Festival – Febiofest will screen 90 films during its 29^th edition (28 April-4 May). “The Prague IFF – Febiofest has always tried to respond to current events in society, and this year will be no different. Given the shocking, aggressive war waged by Russia against Ukraine, which is a global threat affecting us all, we have decided to create a special section called ‘Ukraine: Central Europe’. Art cannot save lives, but it can change our worldview. And in this case, it can help specific people. All proceeds from the admissions for this special section will be donated in support of humanitarian organisations and Ukrainian artists,” says Marta Švecová Lamperová, the artistic director of the Prague IFF – Febiofest.

The retrospective dedicated to Ukrainian cinema will screen Valentyn Vasyanovych’s Atlantis [+see also:
film review
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interview: Valentyn Vasyanovych
film profile] and Oleksii Taranenko’s I Work at the Cemetery, alongside Sergei Parajanov’s 1964 film Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors and Michail Kaufman’s In Spring, from 1929, among other titles. In addition, Oleh Sentsov will be honoured with the festival’s Kristián Award (which he won’t be able to receive personally, as he is still fighting in Ukraine), and his three features to date – Gamer, Numbers [+see also:
film review
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interview: Oleg Sentsov
film profile] and Rhino [+see also:
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film profile] – will get an airing at the event. Moreover, the festival is dedicating a special industry sidebar, called “Works in Progress – Focus on Ukraine”, to Ukrainian filmmakers who are currently living in the Czech Republic so that they can pitch their projects.

Six films directed by female filmmakers and one by a male helmer will be vying for the awards in the main competition focused on debuts and sophomore features. They are As in Heaven [+see also:
film review
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interview: Tea Lindeburg
film profile] by Tea Lindeburg, Murina [+see also:
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interview: Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović
interview: Gracija Filipovic
film profile] by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic, Silent Land [+see also:
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interview: Aga Woszczyńska
film profile] by Aga Woszczynska, You Resemble Me [+see also:
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interview: Dina Amer
film profile] by Dina Amer, Her Way [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Cécile Ducrocq, Other Cannibals [+see also:
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interview: Francesco Sossai
film profile] by Francesco Sossai and Vera Dreams of the Sea [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Kaltrina Krasniqi
film profile] by Kaltrina Krasniqi. Recent Central and Eastern European productions will be showcased in the Eastern Delights section, with the domestic dark comedy Somewhere Over the Chemtrails [+see also:
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interview: Adam Koloman Rybanský
film profile] by Adam Koloman Rybanský, 107 Mothers [+see also:
film review
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interview: Peter Kerekes
film profile] by Peter Kerekes, the Romanian co-production Miracle [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Bogdan George Apetri
film profile] by Bogdan George Apetri, the Polish social “hiphopera” Other People [+see also:
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interview: Aleksandra Terpińska
film profile] by Aleksandra Terpińska and Darko Sinko’s Inventory [+see also:
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interview: Darko Sinko
film profile].

The festival has decided to split both its Panorama and Generation sections into two. Panorama: Icons thus screens recent works by established filmmakers, such as Bergman Island [+see also:
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interview: Mia Hansen-Løve
film profile] by Mia Hansen-Løve, The Wedding Day [+see also:
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interview: Wojciech Smarzowski
film profile] by Wojciech Smarzowski and Lech Majewski’s Brigitte Bardot Forever, while Panorama: New Currents is orientated more towards “the most interesting and the most recent films from the big festivals”, with this year’s selection including Ursula Meier’s The Line [+see also:
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interview: Ursula Meier
film profile] and Teemu Nikki’s The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic [+see also:
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interview: Teemu Nikki and Jani Pösö
interview: Teemu Nikki, Jani Pösö an…
film profile]. Similarly, Generation: Junior is dedicated to the youngest members of the audience (featuring Ivana Šebestová and Katarína Kerekesová’s Mimi and Liza – The Garden, and Alex Kronemer’s Lamya’s Poem, among others) and Generation: Plus to young adults (with Laura Wandel’s Playground [+see also:
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interview: Laura Wandel
film profile] and Flynn von Kleist’s I Don’t Wanna Dance [+see also:
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film profile], for instance).

The festival has traditionally run a separate section for comedies, where Florian Gallenberger’s It’s Just a Phase, Honey [+see also:
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film profile], Hannes Þór Halldórsson’s Cop Secret [+see also:
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interview: Hannes Þór Halldórsson
interview: Hannes Þór Halldòrsson
film profile] and Fernando León Aranoa’s The Good Boss [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] will be locking horns for the award, and an LGBTQI+ section called Queer Now (including Milica Tomović’s Celts [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Milica Tomovic
film profile], Alli Haapasalo’s Girl Picture [+see also:
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interview: Alli Haapasalo
film profile] and Madiano Marcheti’s Madalena, among others). Meanwhile, the TV Now section will premiere solely domestic series: Dan Wlodarczyk’s Morning Glory, about families that are following alternative lifestyles asking the question of where the boundary lies between individual freedom and societal norms; Jan Hřebejk’s miniseries Behind the Curtain, which reflects on changing social and gender roles; and Czech Television’s first webseries, tbh, about the searingly topical issues that secondary-school students are currently facing. The Prague International Film Festival – Febiofest is also running a retrospective of Dutch provocateur Alex van Warmerdam, including Grimm Re-edit. For the second year running, a special section is being dedicated to VR works, this year reaching beyond the format of 360° films and adding more interactive fare plucked from Venice, Sundance and Tribeca.

The full line-up of the 29^th Prague International Film Festival – Febiofest is available here.