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 [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Noaz Deshe
scheda film] director Noaz Deshe, Xoftex [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Noaz Deshe
scheda 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mark Cousins
scheda film], on modern British artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham; and Venice's Giornate degli Autori entry Between 10 and 12 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Peter Hoogendoorn
scheda film] helmer Peter Hoogendoorn, Three Days of Fish [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Peter Hoogendoorn
scheda film], a glimpse into the relationship between a father and a son who have grown apart; as well as Bruno Anković's Celebration [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Bruno Anković
scheda film], set in a war-torn Croatian village between 1926 and 1945; Margarida Cardoso’s Banzo [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Margarida Cardoso
scheda film], set in 1907 on Prince’s Island and exploring the affliction of slave nostalgia; Lilja Ingolfsdottir's Loveable [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Lilja Ingolfsdottir
scheda film], a contemporary and intimate divorce drama; George Sikharulidze's Panopticon [+leggi anche:
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intervista: George Sikharulidze
scheda film], an exploration of the Georgian society, stuck between religious conservatism and the desire for modernisation; Nelicia Low’s Pierce [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Nelicia Low
scheda 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Pavel G Vesnakov
scheda film], an existential reflection on family and identity in modern-day Bulgaria; Abdellah Taïa’s Cabo Negro [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], a queer ode to youth and self-discovery set in a Moroccan resort; Ivana Gloria’s Chlorophyll [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ivana Gloria
scheda film], a richly coloured story of personal growth; Anja Kreis’ The Alienated [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Anja Kreis
scheda film], a mystical film raising questions about human conscience, morality and faith; and Victoria Verseau's Trans Memoria [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Victoria Verseau
scheda film], an intimate diary on the director's gender transition journey. The section is completed by European co-productions Nothing in Its Place [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Burak Çevik, Stranger [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Zhengfan Yang
scheda film] by Zhengfan Yang and Night Has Come [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Paolo Tizón
scheda 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 [+leggi anche:
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scheda 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Raha Amirfazli, Alireza Gh…
scheda film], a poignant look at Afghan refugees in Iran; and Oleh Sentsov’s Real [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Oleh Sentsov
scheda 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Peter Hoogendoorn
scheda film], Adam Martinec’s Our Lovely Pig Slaughter [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Adam Martinec
scheda film] and Beata Parkanová’s Tiny Lights [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Beata Parkanová
scheda film] will premiere in the main competition. The feature-length debut by Paula Ďurinová, Lapilli [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Paula Ďurinová
scheda 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Martin Pavol Repka
scheda film], “an understated, intimate portrait of family togetherness, which is often expressed in the smallest of ways”. Jiří Havelka’s The Gardener's Year [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] will be unveiled in the Special Screenings strand, along with Marie-Magdalena Kochová’s The Other One [+leggi anche:
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scheda 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Klára Tasovská
scheda film] and Jiří Mádl’s Waves [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jiří Mádl
scheda film].

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

Crystal Globe Competition

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

Proxima Competition

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

Special Screenings

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