The 58th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF, 28 June-6 July) – the largest film gathering in the Czech Republic – has unveiled its competition selections in addition to the already revealed Franz Kafka retrospective (see the news). Karel Och, KVIFF's artistic director, noted: “The 58th KVIFF official selection, the eagerly watched core of the festival's annual line-up, comprising the Crystal Globe and Proxima Competitions as well as the Special Screenings programme, offers a unique array of vibrant genres and themes coursing through contemporary cinema.”

The main competitive section of the festival, the Crystal Globe Competition, presents a selection of both seasoned directors with major film-festival experience and debutants showcasing their talent. The Crystal Globe jury – which includes producer Christine Vachon, actor Geoffrey Rush, Hungarian director Gábor Reisz, Icelandic author Sjón and Czech actress Eliška Křenková – will be deliberating over a range of titles. These include the new films by Venice Lion of the Future winner White Shadow [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Noaz Deshe
fiche film] director Noaz Deshe, Xoftex [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Noaz Deshe
fiche film], set in a Greek refugee camp in which asylum seekers film satirical sketches while they await news on their status; renowned British documentary filmmaker Mark Cousins, A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things [+lire aussi :
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interview : Mark Cousins
fiche film], on modern British artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham; and Venice's Giornate degli Autori entry Between 10 and 12 [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
interview : Peter Hoogendoorn
fiche film] helmer Peter Hoogendoorn, Three Days of Fish [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Peter Hoogendoorn
fiche film], a glimpse into the relationship between a father and a son who have grown apart; as well as Bruno Anković's Celebration [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Bruno Anković
fiche film], set in a war-torn Croatian village between 1926 and 1945; Margarida Cardoso’s Banzo [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Margarida Cardoso
fiche film], set in 1907 on Prince’s Island and exploring the affliction of slave nostalgia; Lilja Ingolfsdottir's Loveable [+lire aussi :
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interview : Lilja Ingolfsdottir
fiche film], a contemporary and intimate divorce drama; George Sikharulidze's Panopticon [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : George Sikharulidze
fiche film], an exploration of the Georgian society, stuck between religious conservatism and the desire for modernisation; Nelicia Low’s Pierce [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Nelicia Low
fiche film], a thriller about brotherly bonds and hidden truths; and Rude to Love by Japan's Yukihiro Morigaki.

The Proxima Competition is set to welcome a variety of entries, including Pavel G Vesnakov’s Windless [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
interview : Pavel G. Vesnakov
fiche film], an existential reflection on family and identity in modern-day Bulgaria; Abdellah Taïa’s Cabo Negro [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], a queer ode to youth and self-discovery set in a Moroccan resort; Ivana Gloria’s Chlorophyll [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Ivana Gloria
fiche film], a richly coloured story of personal growth; Anja Kreis’ The Alienated [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
interview : Anja Kreis
fiche film], a mystical film raising questions about human conscience, morality and faith; and Victoria Verseau's Trans Memoria [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Victoria Verseau
fiche film], an intimate diary on the director's gender transition journey. The section is completed by European co-productions Nothing in Its Place [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Burak Çevik, Stranger [+lire aussi :
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interview : Zhengfan Yang
fiche film] by Zhengfan Yang and Night Has Come [+lire aussi :
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interview : Paolo Tizón
fiche film] by Paolo Tizón, as well as Second Chance by India's Subhadra Mahajan and Tropicana by Israel's Omer Tobi. The Proxima jury will be made up of Sudanese filmmaker Mohamed Kordofani, producer Bianca Balbuena, Morelia International Film Festival founder Daniela Michel, Square Eyes founder Wouter Jansen and Czech filmmaker Adéla Komrzý.

The forthcoming edition of KVIFF will host ten films in its Special Screenings section, showcasing a range of topics, styles and genres. This selection, comprising both fiction features and documentaries, is designed to complement KVIFF's official selection and this year involves Jan Zajíček’s Czechoslovak Architecture 58–89 [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film], which takes a look at the subject area hinted at by its title; Alireza Ghasemi and Raha Amirfazli’s In the Land of Brothers [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Raha Amirfazli et Alireza …
fiche film], a poignant look at Afghan refugees in Iran; and Oleh Sentsov’s Real [+lire aussi :
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interview : Oleh Sentsov
fiche film], a hyper-documentary offering a unique insight into the reality of the war in Ukraine.

Domestic cinema will once again be richly represented across all sections. Iveta Grófová’s The Hungarian Dressmaker [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
interview : Peter Hoogendoorn
fiche film], Adam Martinec’s Our Lovely Pig Slaughter [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Adam Martinec
fiche film] and Beata Parkanová’s Tiny Lights [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
interview : Beata Parkanová
fiche film] will premiere in the main competition. The feature-length debut by Paula Ďurinová, Lapilli [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
interview : Paula Ďurinová
fiche film], “finds a unique balance between the personal and the environmental in a modernistic requiem full of perceptive observations on natural phenomena and on man himself”, and will make an appearance in the Proxima Competition, paired with Martin Pavol Repka’s March to May [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
interview : Martin Pavol Repka
fiche film], “an understated, intimate portrait of family togetherness, which is often expressed in the smallest of ways”. Jiří Havelka’s The Gardener's Year [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film] will be unveiled in the Special Screenings strand, along with Marie-Magdalena Kochová’s The Other One [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] (about children who, because they have a special-needs sibling, are neglected by their family), Klára Tasovská’s I’m Not Everything I Want to Be [+lire aussi :
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interview : Klára Tasovská
fiche film] and Jiří Mádl’s Waves [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Jiří Mádl
fiche film].

Here is the full line-up of the competition sections:

Crystal Globe Competition

Celebration [+lire aussi :
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interview : Bruno Anković
fiche film] - Bruno Anković (Croatia/Qatar)
Banzo [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Margarida Cardoso
fiche film] - Margarida Cardoso (Portugal/France/Netherlands)
A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Mark Cousins
fiche film] - Mark Cousins (UK)
Xoftex [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Noaz Deshe
fiche film] - Noaz Deshe (Germany/France)
The Hungarian Dressmaker [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Peter Hoogendoorn
fiche film] - Iveta Grófová (Slovakia/Czech Republic)
Three Days of Fish [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Peter Hoogendoorn
fiche film] - Peter Hoogendoorn (Netherlands/Belgium)
Loveable [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Lilja Ingolfsdottir
fiche film] - Lilja Ingolfsdottir (Norway)
Pierce [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Nelicia Low
fiche film] - Nelicia Low (Singapore/Taiwan/Poland)
Our Lovely Pig Slaughter [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Adam Martinec
fiche film] - Adam Martinec (Czech Republic/Slovakia)
Rude to Love - Yukihiro Morigaki (Japan)
Tiny Lights [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Beata Parkanová
fiche film] - Beata Parkanová (Czech Republic/Slovakia)
Panopticon [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : George Sikharulidze
fiche film] - George Sikharulidze (Georgia/France/Italy/Romania)

Proxima Competition

Nothing in Its Place [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] - Burak Çevik (Turkey/Germany/South Korea)
Lapilli [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Paula Ďurinová
fiche film] - Paula Ďurinová (Slovakia/Germany)
Chlorophyll [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Ivana Gloria
fiche film] - Ivana Gloria (Italy)
The Alienated [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
interview : Anja Kreis
fiche film] - Anja Kreis (Germany/Moldova/France)
Second Chance - Subhadra Mahajan (India)
March to May [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Martin Pavol Repka
fiche film] - Martin Pavol Repka (Czech Republic)
Cabo Negro [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film] - Abdellah Taïa (France/Morocco)
Night Has Come [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Paolo Tizón
fiche film] - Paolo Tizón (Peru/Spain/Mexico)
Tropicana - Omer Tobi (Israel/Canada)
Trans Memoria [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Victoria Verseau
fiche film] - Victoria Verseau (Sweden/France)
Windless [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Pavel G. Vesnakov
fiche film] - Pavel G Vesnakov (Bulgaria/Italy)
Stranger [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Zhengfan Yang
fiche film] - Zhengfan Yang (USA/China/Netherlands/Norway/France)

Special Screenings

In the Land of Brothers [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Raha Amirfazli et Alireza …
fiche film] - Alireza Ghasemi, Raha Amirfazli (Iran/France/Netherlands)
The Gardener's Year [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film] - Jiří Havelka (Czech Republic)
The Song of Others - A Search for Europe [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Vadim Jendreyko
fiche film] - Vadim Jendreyko (Switzerland)
The Other One [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film] - Marie-Magdalena Kochová (Czech Republic)
Waves [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Jiří Mádl
fiche film] - Jiří Mádl (Czech Republic/Slovakia)
Tatabojs.doc [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film] - Marek Najbrt (Czech Republic)
Voyage Along the War [+lire aussi :
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interview : Antonin Peretjatko
fiche film] - Antonin Peretjatko (France)
Real [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Oleh Sentsov
fiche film] - Oleh Sentsov (Ukraine/Croatia)
I’m Not Everything I Want to Be [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Klára Tasovská
fiche film] - Klára Tasovská (Czech Republic/Slovakia/Austria)
Czechoslovak Architecture 58–89 [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film] - Jan Zajíček (Czech Republic/Slovakia)