FESTIVAL PASS PRICES

I really want to see My Winnipeg with a Czechaudience. Guy Maddin is basically the mostbeloved director in Canada, next to Atom Egoyanand David Cronenberg. And he always makesthese very trippy films – he made The SaddestMusic in the World, for example. He’s very goodat this black-and-white silent film. He’s fromWinnipeg, which is the coldest city in Canada.Everyone leaves Winnipeg and goes somewherelike Toronto. He has a love-hate relationship withWinnipeg. It has a lot of magic realism elements.You keep watching it and saying, “Wait - is thatreally happening?” The Czechs could love it –I have no idea. It’ll be really interesting to see.

My Winnipeg screens today at 4.30pm in theLázně III cinema. It also screens on July 7 at1pm in the Divadlo Husovka theater and onJuly 10 in the GH Pupp cinema at 10pm

Vanessa FarquharsonNational Post, Ontario

THERE� KNOWLEDGE�

denicek@kviff.com

LowdownKarlovy Vary officially

launched last night with a suit-ably grand kick-off fete for thescreening of What JustHappened at the HotelThermal’s Great Hall. The film,about the intrigues and powerploys of Hollywood, was pre-sented, of course, by America’sbest-known tough guy, RobertDe Niro, who portrays hisfriend Art Linson, a producer ofsome of his films.

KV Press Departmentdirector Alex Furtula, whointerviewed him last night, wasseen ruminating over De Niro’simpressive career at the HotelThermal bar before the open-ing ceremony. Since De Nirostarted his career with peoplelike Brian De Palma, MartinScorsese and Paul Schrader,all of whom were starvingfilmmakers very much underthe spell of European NewWave films, Furtula wonderedwhether things have nowreversed course, with youngEuropean filmmakers desper-ately trying to emulateHollywood blockbusters.

He thought it might be agood question to ask De Niroabout (the interview should beup today on the festival web-site at www.kviff.com andshould be fascinating stuff).

The opening KVIFF filmwas an appropriate choice, ofcourse, because the business ofmovie making is as unpre-dictable in Hollywood as it isin Europe and the connectionsare often surprising – oddlyenough, one of De Niro’s firstbig breaks was playing a cor-rupt cop for KVIFF jury chairIvan Passer in 1970’s Born toWin, for example.

Today’s big screening, soldout early yesterday, of course,is Bathory, the biggest-budgetfeature in Slovak history, aboutthe legendary woman whosebloodlust and power made hera fearful and fascinating filmsubject.

Films can predict the futureIvan Passer says Czechoslovak film’s New Wave was a grand conspiracy

KVIFF Grand Jury presidentIvan Passer is a Czech cinemalegend. His wistful and melan-cholic films A Boring Afternoonand Intimate Lighting (bothscreening at the fest this year) arewidely considered to be some ofthe finest works produced duringthe Czech New Wave of the1960s. Like his close friend MilošForman, Passer emigrated toAmerica after the Soviet invasionof Czechoslovakia in 1968. Hecontinued to make films, howev-er, and has been responsible forcritically acclaimed works suchas the edgy post-Vietnam thrillerCutter’s Way and HauntedSummer, a stylish examination ofthe friendship between LordByron and Percy Bysshe Shelley.

� Have you ever wonderedwhy the communists let filmsfrom the Czech New Wave bemade? They were quite subver-sive...

Back in the 1960s, films like[Miloš Forman’s] The Loves ofa Blonde or The Firemen’s Ballwere critical of the political situa-tion. The party eventually didn’tlike them, but neither the censors,nor the journalists, nor the studiopeople who saw the films saidanything at first. It was a sort ofconspiracy. No film then could bescreened without the conspiracyof hundreds of people who pre-tended not to realize what the filmwas really about, pretending itwas just a comedy. That meansthe majority of the nation wentalong with things and it kind ofpredicted the momentum withinthe country. This kind of momen-tum eventually reaches a pointwhere change is bound to happen.That’s my theory.

� How do you think Czechcinema today compares withthe golden era of the 1960s?

I’m interested in contemporaryCzech cinema. I don’t know howto read it exactly. After 1989 thefilmmakers first tried to copy the1960s, which was nice. It wasgood training for them. I thinknow they have found their ownfilm language. They are more

brutal than us in their grasp ofcharacters, in the plot, in theirnarration. But I think they have itharder because there is so muchcommercial pressure. � How do you feel about The

Guardian including Cutter’sWay on its list of 50 “Lost MovieClassics”?

The film has many fans; itreceived a number of awards. In

Belgium it even got an award forbest world movie of the year.I like it even though it is verydepressing. � How did you persuade Jeff

Bridges to sign up for Cutter’sWay?

We sent him the script. Heinvited us to his log cabin inMalibu and just after we arrivedone of his dogs bit off the produc-

er’s cheek. You could see his teethall the way to the ear. So the firstthing Bridges said after “Hi” was“Oh my God.” He ran into thehouse to get some towels and werushed the guy to a doctor.Bridges felt so bad about it that hehad no choice. He had to be inthat movie. So that’s howa German shepherd causedCutter’s Way to be made. � Are you bitter about the

fact that it was a box office fail-ure despite the critical acclaim?

The studio went bankruptbecause of another movie. A newmanagement was installed andbecause they wanted to prove thatthe previous managementdeserved to be fired, they didn’tgive any support to my film. Thecritics from major magazineswho saw it loved the movie. Sonyeven created their ClassicsDepartment because of Cutter’sWay. Later, by word of mouth thefilm started to be better known.I realized it was beyond my con-trol. So I don’t worry about thesethings. I make the movie as bestI can and the rest is fate.� Do you think film is simply

entertainment or does it havea more important role to play inpeople’s lives?

I believe that films can antici-pate the future – of a nation ora society, for example. Look atthe way Czech film of the 1960spreconceived the Prague Spring.The same goes for Polish andHungarian cinema in the 1950s.All that was halted by Sovietintervention. I think today’sIranian cinema is very interestingand I daresay that within fiveyears there will be a revolutionthere. Chinese cinema quite pre-cisely predicted today’s develop-ments in the country. If I werea film historian, this would be mymain topic of research. �

Intimate Lighting director Ivan Passer in Karlovy Vary yesterday.

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Tomorrow’s programstrana/page 8, 13, 14

Industry Office puts KVIFF on the map

strana/page 11

Indie film sidebar gets a makeover

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ENGLISH SECTION

day

2DIVÁCKÁ CENA / AUDIENCE AWARDDENÍKUVote for the best film of the 43rd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival!

strana/page 2

Saturday, July 5, 2008 free • strana / page 9

Festival DailyTHE OFFICIAL ENGLISH DAILY OF THE 43RD KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

SPECIAL EDITION OF

Honza Dědek

So now you’ve made it toKarlovy Vary you need to getorganized and see as many filmsas possible, right? That meansyou need a festival pass, like theones you can see most peoplearound town wearing aroundtheir necks on an orange lanyard.By purchasing a festival pass youcan get up to three free ticketsto three different screenings eachday until all the available ticketsfor screenings are sold

out. A festival pass will alsoallow you free access to screen-ing halls without a ticket if thehall is not fully occupied beforethe start of the film.

You may also attend press con-ferences if the hall is not fullyoccupied by accredited journal-ists. And if cheaper movies aren’tenough of an enticement, holdersof a festival pass can get reducedprices for access to the swim-ming pool in the Thermal Hotel

and the Vodafone Fér Klub –Lázně I. You will also needa festival pass to get access toTretter’s Party Power EnergyDrink Club in the basement ofthe Thermal, where seasonedKVIFFers continue the fun aftera long day of watching movies.

You can purchase a pass at anyfestival box office. Your festivalpass entitles you to get tickets forthe screenings of your choiceimmediately, at the same boxoffice. You may purchase a passfor one, three, or five consecutivedays, or for the entire festival.

Lights, camera, festival pass...!

1 day 3 days 5 days Entire Festival

Festival pass 200 CZK 500 CZK 700 CZK 1000 CZK

Discount pass 150 CZK 350 CZK 450 CZK 700 CZK

Students of secondary schools and universities, those with physical disabilities and senior citizens areentitled to buy a discount pass.

STRANA / PAGE 10 SATURDAY, JULY 5, 2008

denicek@kviff.com

FESTIVAL DAILYTHE OFFICIAL ENGLISH DAILY OF THE 43RD KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

RECOMMEND�Alissa SimonFilm Critic for Variety

AmalDirector: Richie Mehta, Canada, 2007July 5, 4pm, Congress Hall – Thermal

The color and chaos of contemporary India come alive in this tight-ly plotted humanistic drama that sports a surprising O. Henry-styletwist. Already voted an audience favorite at many US fests, it followsthe unexpected reverberations from a small act of kindness. For hisfirst feature, charismatic Canadian Richie Mehta expanded his prize-winning short and talked some of India’s top actors into participating.

Moscow, BelgiumDirector: Christophe van Rompaey, Belgium, 2008July 5, 7pm, Congress Hall – Thermal

A top-notch cast delivers sharp (and frequently comic) dialogue inthis endearing drama set in working-class Ghent. Sexy BarbaraSarafian leads the way as a tart-tongued 40-ish heroine (a role thatwould suit Frances McDormand if a US remake is ever in the cards).Christophe Van Rompaey’s accomplished feature debut about a work-ing mother unexpectedly caught in a love triangle won multiple prizesin Cannes Critics’ Week.

My WinnipegDirector: Guy Maddin, Canada, 2007July 5, 4.30pm, Lazně III Cinema

The surreal hallmarks of Manitoba auteur Guy Maddin’s distinctiveoeuvre mark this delirious tribute to his hometown. A “docu-fantasia,”it employs what my colleague Eddie Cockrell calls “a fusion of silentfilm technique with pre-moistened melodrama.” The later strain isepitomized by his casting of American “B” movie star Ann Savage(the femme fatale of “Detour”) as his mother in re-enacted familyscenes brilliantly portrayed in film noir style. Enjoy Maddin’s grandil-oquent narration (“Snowy, sleepwalking Winnipeg... I must leaveit…), the dream-like, black-and-white cinematography and playfulanimated segments.

Bad TimingDirector: Nicolas Roeg, United Kingdom, 1980July 5, 10pm, GH Pupp Cinema

Originally released in the U.S. as “Bad Timing: A SexualObsession” the titillating title provided a certain truth in advertising,although Nicolas Roeg’s fifth feature is far from lurid. His trademarkediting style, which fractures the time-space continuum, adds com-pelling mystery to the passionate relationship of a disturbed youngwoman (Theresa Russell) and her psychiatrist (Art Garfunkel) that’sbeing investigated by Harvey Keitel. Shot in widescreen amid thedecaying elegance of cold-war Vienna, with a rousing soundtrackincluding Billie Holliday, Tom Waits and The Who, this shouldn’t bemissed. �

SELECTION�Terribly Happy –a disturbing crime storyfrom Jutland

Danish director Henrik RubenGenz is no stranger to KVIFF. Hisoffbeat love story Chinamanscreened as part of the OfficialSelection in 2005 and picked upboth the Ecumenical Jury andFIPRESCI prizes. This yearGenz’s latest film Terribly Happyis also competing in the OfficialSelection competition. Beforecoming to Karlovy Vary, he had afew words with the Festival Dailyabout this atmospheric tale involv-ing a Copenhagen policeman try-ing to navigate his way around theintricacies of a tightknit rural com-munity in southern Jutland� You grew up in southern

Jutland where Terribly Happy isset. Do you think your filmoffers a realistic depiction of lifein the Danish countryside?

One might say that on a sym-bolic level the story is true interms of the way outsiders aretreated in southern Jutland. Thereare subtle ways of isolating peo-ple and the silent treatment can bea powerful weapon in this area aswell.� The movie is based on a

novel by Erling Jespen, whosework also inspired PeterSchonau Fog’s The Art ofCrying. What attracted you todoing a film adaptation of hisbook?

Jepsen and I grew up not onlyin the same small town in south-ern Jutland but on the same street.

We have been friends since child-hood. Since we are both story-tellers in our own media, it hasalways been in the cards that wewould work together at somepoint. Jepsen wrote for theater for25 years before writing novels,and his writing reflects a keenunderstanding of drama. As such,his work is an obvious candidatefor the screen. � What approach did you

take to filming the book?The main theme of the book is

the relationship between a motherand her son. This relationshipwas not so deeply intertwinedwith the landscape, so I decidedto focus on another aspect of thestory – that of the outsider and hisor her relationship to the socialcohesion that exists in this part ofDenmark. � Are there any similarities

between Chinaman and TerriblyHappy?

There are some connectionsbetween the two films, whichboth deal with loneliness. Bothfilms also ask similar questions.To what extent is one willing tocompromise one’s understandingof social, moral and culturalnorms? How far is one willing togo in order to achieve one’sgoals? The main characters inboth Chinaman and TerriblyHappy share a common objective– to rid themselves of lonelinessand to be accepted socially. In theprocess, both characters distancethemselves from their past.

Terribly Happy screens todayat 2pm in the Thermal’s GrandHall and tomorrow at 10pm inthe Espace Dorleans Cinema

Zbyněk Vlasák

SELECTION�The Early Bird Catchesthe Worm – a Tuscantale of redemption

Italian director FrancescoPatierno’s second feature filmThe Early Bird Catches theWorm is based on Il Giacotore(“The Gambler”) the autobiogra-phy of renowned Florentine DJMarco Baldini, who nearly threwaway his burgeoning career bybecoming heavily addicted togambling in the early 1980s. Withlarge doses of humor, this OfficialSelection film convincinglyrecreates Italian society of thatera and Elio Germano (MyBrother Is an Only Child) gives astunning performance as theembattled Baldini whose chaoticdouble life almost destroys him.The Festival Daily managed toemail a few questions to Patiernobefore he came to KVIFF.� How did you become

involved with Baldini’s lifestory?

When I “saw” Marco Baldinifor the first time, it was not on theradio but on television, abouteight years ago on a primetimeprogram. As a person, he reallytook my interest and I thought Icould make a film about him.� Was he reluctant to have

his story told by someone else?Marco trusted me and was real-

ly very discreet. He was neverafraid that his book and characterwould be transformed into some-thing “new”. I asked him to tellme everything that wasn’t in thebook. I taped almost twenty hours

worth of interviews and using thatmaterial I started writing thescript. He also introduced me tohis parents and friends from thetime when he lived in Milan –gamblers from casinos all overItaly. Every one of these peopletold me something interestingabout his character. When wefinally organized a private screen-ing of the film for Marco, it wasvery emotional for him. It wasdifferent to experience thesethings as a spectator.� Do you think gambling and

its effect on people’s lives isoften overlooked?

The numbers of people bettingare very high. A great number ofpeople lose large sums every dayat betting tables. In recent yearsthere has been rising awareness ofthis problem. It is hard to tacklebecause the addiction to gam-

bling almost cannot be escaped(as is said at the end of the film).It is much more difficult thantackling a drug problem. Themechanisms that make a persongamble are simple and complex atthe same time.� Do you think your film can

help spark a change in howgambling is perceived, and evenhave some therapeutic value forgamblers who watch it?

That’s a very tough question. Ibelieve that if nothing else, filmcan provide food for thought,without condemning the personin question.

The Early Bird Catches theWorm screens today at 8pm inthe Thermal’s Grand Hall andtomorrow at 10am in the EspaceDorleans Cinema

Zbyněk Vlasák

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STRANA / PAGE 11SATURDAY, JULY 5, 2008

denicek@kviff.com

FESTIVAL DAILYTHE OFFICIAL ENGLISH DAILY OF THE 43RD KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

�

Andrea Szczuková, head ofKVIFF’s Film Industry Office,has one goal for the festival: to bethe best.

For Szczuková and her col-leagues in the industry office, thatmeans accommodating filmmak-ers and industry members, facili-tating meetings and – mostimportantly – connecting the var-ious agents involved in film pro-duction and distribution. If thegoal of the festival is to promotethe development and productionof quality films, the goal of theindustry office is to help thosefilms find a wider audience.

“We want it to be the first inCentral and Eastern Europe, withthe press and with the distribu-tors,” Szczuková says. Whenfilmmakers are deciding where tohold their premieres, Szczukováwants them to choose KVIFFbecause they know the festivalwill have distributors from everycountry in Europe.

To that end, the industry officehas concentrated on invitingEuropean distributors this year.Representatives from 50 coun-tries are in attendance, and dis-tributors from 20 Europeannations.

KVIFF’s industry office is inonly its seventh year of operation,but it has already helped promotethe festival’s reputation as “themost significant film event inCentral and Eastern Europe.”

One of their main objectives is

to ensure that distributors andfilmmakers can contact oneanother easily. Two weeks beforethe festival, Szczuková and hercolleagues send contact informa-tion and schedules to industryattendants. In Karlovy Vary, thisinformation is updated with theofficial film industry guide – a293-page collection of industrycontacts and festival events.

Throughout the festival, theoffice hosts a variety of panelsand events. “East of the West –Works in Progress” will give pro-ducers from Central and EasternEurope an opportunity to show-case recently completed and post-production projects to prospectivedistributors, buyers and festival

programmers. Additional panelswill focus on promoting docu-mentaries, interacting withHollywood and developing inter-nationally competitive films.

In past years, the office has alsobeen particularly successful inpromoting European films. JarCity and The Art of NegativeThinking, two films from the2007 KVIFF Official Selection,are excellent examples. Jar City,produced in Iceland andGermany, took home the CrystalGlobe last year, and NorwegianBård Breien received the BestDirector Award for NegativeThinking.

“Both films premiered in themain competition last year, and

both [enjoyed] many distributionsin Europe,” Szczuková says.

This year the industry office isstepping up its efforts. For onething, Szczuková says, there willbe more press and industryscreenings, over 100 in total.Distributors and other press andindustry representatives canattend such screenings withoutobtaining tickets beforehand, giv-ing them greater flexibility andmore opportunities to see thefilms. Press and industry screen-ings will be held for every com-petitive film in the OfficialSelection, as well as the East ofthe West and Forum ofIndependents sidebars.

Every year, the industry officeadds more successes to its record,but the staff are not resting ontheir laurels. Szczuková and hercolleagues in the industry officehave big plans for the future, shesays. That plan includes seeing“festival films bought and distrib-uted in as many countries as pos-sible, and having all the importantdistribution and sales companiescome to Karlovy Vary and reallyenjoy the festival – its film selec-tion, its atmosphere and servic-es.”

With over 700 industry repre-sentatives pouring into the cityover the next week, it seems thatthey’re well on their way. �

Today you may run into directorDaniel Wallentin, producerFredrik Wikström, actor SheblyNiavarani ordirector of pho-tography AriWilley, who arehere to presentSweden’sOneEye Red.Directors StefanKo m a n d a rev(The World Is Big and SalvationLurks around the Corner) andOlga Špátová (Well-Paid Stroll2007) are also in town. NewOfficial Selection arrivals includedirector Zrinko Ogresta, andactresses Jadranka Djokić andDaria Lorenci (Behind theGlass), director FrancescoPatierno and actor Elio Germano(The Early Bird Catches theWorm), director Sam Karmannand actress Catherine Olson(True Enough). You can expect tomeet director/producer MustafaZaveri, producer MuzaffarZaveri and DP Prashant Rai,who are here with their filmR(evolution), and director StianK r i s t i a n s e n ,producer YngveSaether andactors OleC h r i s t o f f e rErtvaag andArthur Berning(The Man WhoLoved Yngve).Screenwriter Lorenzo Semple Jr.(Pretty Poison) is here, as is pro-ducer Thomas Gammeltoft,actors Kim Bodnia and JakobCedergren and editor KasperLeick (Terribly Happy). �

Head of the KVIFF Film Industry Office Andrea Szczuková.

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KVIFF Industry Office shoots for the starsLaura McGinnis

Daniel Wallentin

Stian Kristiansen

Interfacing with Hollywood July 5, 2pm-4pmChopin lounge, Grandhotel PuppFour Hollywood insiders discuss the ins and outs of businessin Tinseltown. Open to the general public.East of the West – Works in ProgressJuly 6, 1pm-6pmChopin lounge, Grandhotel PuppInternational distributors, sales agents and festival program-mers are invited to view presentations on recently completedand post-production films from Central and Eastern Europe.DocuTalents from the East 2008July 7, 10.30am-12pmCinema A, Thermal HotelDirectors and producers from Central and Eastern Europe willpresent brief pitches for their documentaries to festival organ-izers, distributors, buyers and journalists.

* More information and a complete list of industry events canbe found online at http://www.kviff.com/en/film-industry-events/

Some upcoming industry events

STRANA / PAGE 12 SATURDAY, JULY 5, 2008

denicek@kviff.com

FESTIVAL DAILYTHE OFFICIAL ENGLISH DAILY OF THE 43RD KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

DOING HERE?�Forum of Independents finds new gems

Revamped festival sidebar focuses on supporting gifted and uncompromising mavericks Phillip BergsonShipley, West Yorkshire, UK(KVIFF International Consultant)

� What are you doing inKarlovy Vary?

Well, as a film critic and broad-caster, this is one of my favoriteevents.� Who do you work for as a

film critic?I’ve always been what was

called independent, but now it’scalled freelance. In the very sameweek I left Oxford, I started atThe Sunday Times and BBCradio. I was starting at the top andI’ve been working my way downever since!� How does it compare to

other festivals?I think this is the most enthusi-

astic audience of any festival inthe world. You see crowds inCannes but they’re only there forthe leer. Here in Karlovy Vary theaudiences love the films. Thereare also increasing numbers ofimportant critics, producers, andfilmmakers. I’m putting togetheran agency to represent Europeanactors and filmmakers and this isa great place to brainstorm newprojects face-to-face with peoplewho can make them work. �

What makes an “independent”film? Traditionally, the label wasreserved for films made withoutthe support of a major studio, butdevelopments in the film industryhave blurred the distinctionbetween independent and studioprojects in recent years.

Many major studios now have“independent” divisions, andchampions of the indie scene arereassessing the genre’s definition.Under the direction of co-direc-tors Štefan Uhrík and HanaCielová, KVIFF’s Forum ofIndependents celebrated filmswith unconventional content andspirit for 14 years. This year, pro-gram director Julietta Sichel con-tinues the tradition with 12 filmsby 12 directors – many of themfledgling filmmakers.

Eight of these films will havetheir world, international orEuropean premiere at the festival

“We really wanted to focus ondiscoveries – films which reallycorrespond with what the film-maker was trying to say,” Sichelsays.

The most significant change tothe program this year is in thenumber of entries. The festivalprogrammers opted to presentfewer films in order to give audi-ence and jury members an oppor-tunity to see all of the films atmain screenings. But in otherrespects, this year’s program aims“to keep the tradition of what theForum of Independents used tobe,” Sichel says.

From the beginning, the Forumof Independents has supportedfilms that might not receive tradi-tional studio backing, but that’snot its only function, Sichel says.It also strives to discover new tal-ent and to give audiences theopportunity to see films that arelong shots for film and televisiondistribution.

The 12 films in this year’s side-bar lack the characteristics of atypical Hollywood blockbuster,but each presents a unique story,and a new voice.

“We really tried to focus on thefactor of independence of thefilmmakers, and especially theconditions under which the filmswere made,” Sichel says.

Most of the films in the section

were made on small budgets withsmall production teams. In manycases, the director also served as ascriptwriter, producer, distributoror actor.

Although united by an inde-pendent spirit, the content andstyle of the films varies consider-ably.

Unemployed Easter bunnies, adrumless drummer and a magicalteenager are among the charactersgracing the screens this year.Adventures of Power is an offbeatcomedy about a talentless music-lover with big air-drummingdreams. In Hank and Mike, twoEaster bunnies attempt to find newjobs after they’re laid off. AndMermaid is a modern fairy tale,based loosely on the Norwegian

classic, about a young womanwith the power to grant wisheswho nonetheless struggles to makeher own dreams come true.

Several films explore themes ofmodern urbanity in very differentsettings. In This Beautiful City,five strangers are drawn togetherby tragedy when a young womanfalls from her Toronto balcony.Three months later, their livescontinue to intersect and trans-form one another in unexpectedways.

In Good Cats, urbanizationbrings changes to the Chineseprovince of Sichuan. AndDivizionz, directed by a Ugandancreative team that refers to theirstyle as “guerrilla filmmaking,”tells the story of a day in the life

of a young man in Kampala. Several of the films deal with

the ever popular themes of loveand friendship. Good MorningHeartache follows a young cou-ple whose lives totter betweencomedy and tragedy, privacy andexposure, as their deterioratingrelationship is captured by a doc-umentary team. The Man WhoLoved Yngve is a coming-of-agetale in which 17-year-old Jarlemust choose between the two peo-ple he loves.

A young man, growing up inthe political turmoil of NorthernIreland, finds himself tornbetween the demands of friend-ship, family and the political ide-ology of a long-dead father inPeacefire, a film based on directorMacdara Vallely’s stage play.Poppy Shakespeare, a film abouta friendship forged by two womenin a psychiatric ward, explores theblurred line between sanity andmadness.

Written is an existential dramathat examines the creative processitself. The film follows a charactertrapped within a story. Althoughhe longs for freedom, his creatorkeeps sending him back to thebeginning to follow the narratedpath.

The films may have disparatetopics and production styles,Sichel admits, but what unitesthem is a dedication to the mes-sage they are trying to convey,without making any studio-friend-ly compromises. All 12 films willcompete for the IndependentCamera-Czech Television Prizefor the Best Film. �

Ying Liang’s Good Cats puts a human face on the Chinese economic boom.

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Laura McGinnis

Pub WatchRotes BerlinJaltská 7� 353 233 792Open from 5pm to 6am during fest

True to its name, this buzzingclub is a star of the local scene forits old school Berlin clubbing vibe.With resident DJs like Freedom,Gummy and Chosekilla, it’s fair tosay there’s a double helping ofatmosphere with your beer. Theplace to see and be seen if you’rea clubbing maven, with cool redwalls and bizarre statues every-where. It’s also a decent option fora late, late night meet-up if you’rejust too jazzed to go to bed (ordon’t have one in town). Servicecan be sparse but it’s all just part ofthe show, somehow. Surprisinglyreasonable drink prices.

Side EventsKVIFF’s first big Saturday

night will not disappoint, withlive acts, hot DJ scratching, andscenemaking all over town. Ifyou’re out to spot celebs, a goodbet is the Vodafone FÉR Klub(Lázně I, Mlýnské nábřeží 5),where everyone staying at theGrand Hotel Pupp is likely to beat some point. On the main stage,leading Czech rappers Indy &Wich take charge at 11pm, fol-lowed by PSH (DJ Mike Trafik,Orion and Vladimír 518) and DJRobot Funky. At the HotelThermal’s newly redone base-ment disco, Tretter’s PartyPower Energy Drink Club, it’sMega Star Night (appropriately)with Techtronic and Daisy DeeLive, plus DJ Witek Cerweny,rocking till the wee hours.

XXX LongVřídelní 23-94� 353 224 232Open daily from 11am till 1or 2amas required

With a wall-to-wall chic ethic,this plush little Italian eatery isa place to nosh your gnocchi instyle to be sure. Its motto, “Noteverything cool must be expen-sive,” is encouraging, though youcould still spend a fair packethere without too much trouble.Still, the creamy color tones,Philip Stark designs, banquetteseating and chrome accents domake for a Hollywood-styleexperience if you need to wooa star or impress a potential pro-ducer. Aside from the deliciouspastas and delicate pizzas, the

grilled steaks (200-390 CZK)and fish (up to 850 CZK) aredone with a deft touch and inter-esting sauces. Word of caution:Unless you’re a real power play-er, you may feel awkward unlessyou dress for dinner.

Schaffy’s Garáž I.P. Pavlova (100 m from the Thermal)� 775 727 928Open daily from 5pm till at least 1am

With a rollicking American col-lege bar feel, a close proximity tothe Hotel Thermal and a hugecocktail menu (starting at 89CZK), Schaffy’s would be a goodfind even if it didn’t featurea secret weapon. But it does: Thislively little spot offers hot food

until late into the night. It’s alsogot a decent selection of non-alcoholic cocktails, another wel-come and rare innovation inKarlovy Vary. Do try the SticksMenu (don’t be put off – it’s actu-ally an appealing range of moz-zarella pieces, chicken strips andsuch). Besides offering 0.4 lpitchers of Granát (a maltyamber-coloured Czech lager)there is also a whole range ofshooters (50 CZK).

U ŠvejkaStará Louka 10� 353 232 276Open daily from 11am to 11pm

Don’t be thrown off by the life-size model of one of Czech litera-ture’s most iconic characters sit-ting outside. This is no haunt for

soldiers hoping to avoid the front.But the Good Soldier Švejkwould indeed have approved ofthe atmospheric (borderline fan-tasy) interior, which is almost likea film set of an old-world Czechpub. What’s not a prop is theexcellent Pilsner beer (althoughat a hefty 65 CZK per half-liter,you probably shouldn’t settle foranything less). The kitchen, asyou’d expect, has mastered all theBohemian classics, from beefgoulash and bread dumplings tomore zesty game dishes (veni-son’s a treat) for a range of 150-350 CZK, depending on weight.Non-carnivores, however, shouldbe wary of typical Czech “vege-tarian” dishes, which includea tuna salad and an omelette withham.

TOWN� �Food and Drink

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Who says KVIFF’s too cool for cats?! Halušky (Slovak gnocchi) are now a fine fest tradition. KVIFF just wouldn’t be the same without the rain.

Photo: Laura McGinnis Photo: Laura McGinnis Photo: Laura McGinnis