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KARLOVY VARY 2020

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will happen this year - in pared-back form

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- A non-competitive, streamlined festival dubbed KVIFF 54 ½ is set to take place in the autumn

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will happen this year - in pared-back form
(© KVIFF)

The global pandemic heavily disrupted the schedules of film festivals in the first half of the year, including that of the largest Czech film gathering, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Due to social distancing and self-isolation measures, many festivals opted to unfold as virtual events instead. The KVIFF organisers officially postponed the 55th edition to July 2021 (see the news) while preparing a hybrid event for this year called KVIFF at Your Cinema, which starts on 3 July with physical screenings in theatres across the Czech Republic (see the news), and virtual industry events for film professionals (see the news).

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As the spread of the coronavirus has been kept in check, restrictions have been lifted and life has gradually been returning to the “new” normal, governments have allowed cultural events and mass gatherings to take place again. “KVIFF at Your Cinema was our immediate response to the situation, one that allowed us to offer our viewers interesting movies that we’d chosen for the festival. But we still feel that the key to the Karlovy Vary Festival is its atmosphere, where encounters readily happen and where together we can enjoy a shared movie experience: feelings of joy, fear and being deeply touched. We believe that the time is coming soon when we can be together again,” says KVIFF president Jiří Bartoška.

Besides the 2020 hybrid version of the Czech Republic’s biggest film festival, the KVIFF organisers are bracing for a more traditional affair in November. The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 54 ½ is being designed as a streamlined, non-competitive film gathering that will unfold in the usual venues of the Hotel Thermal, the Karlovy Vary Municipal Theater, the Čas Cinema and the Grandhotel Pupp, all in the town of Karlovy Vary. The programming structure will feature 30 films screened twice each during the four-day event. Furthermore, the KVIFF crew is also planning a host of traditional events from the accompanying programme to restore the festival’s original atmosphere.

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 54 ½ will take place from 18-21 November 2020.

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