Today, I would definitelyrecommend the excellentBritish black comedy FourLions. This originally writtenand shot movie, screened in theForum of Independents sec-tion, offers a bizarre journeyinto the world of suicidebombers and Islamic funda-mentalists. Director and co-writer Christopher Morris isa distinctive personality on theBritish comedy scene and iswell known in this country forplaying the role of DenholmReynholm in the popular TVseries The IT Crowd.

Four Lions screens today at3:30pm in Čas Cinema.

Jiří BartoškaKVIFF president

denicek@kviff.com

Bilingual program for today

(Czech Section: pages 6, 7, 8)

Introducing the KVIFFGrand Jury

page 2

Teenage Paparazzodirector Adrian Grenier

page 3

ENGLISH SECTION

day

9DIVÁCKÁ CENA / AUDIENCE AWARDDENÍKUVote for the best film of the 45th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival!

(Czech Section: page 2)

Saturday, July 10, 2010 free • page 1 ENG

Festival DailyTHE OFFICIAL ENGLISH DAILY OF THE 45TH KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

SPECIAL EDITION OF

Before becoming a film direc-tor, Christopher Morris madea name for himself in the UK withsatirical radio and televisionshows such as The Day Today andBrass Eye, lampooning currentaffairs coverage with intelligent,but pitch black humor. He hasnow brought his highly contro-versial brand of comedy to thesubject of Islamist suicidebombers in his feature debut FourLions, which is screening atKVIFF.

� You said in an interviewsome years ago that you didn’tsee much comedic possibility intackling the War on Terror andIslamic fundamentalism. Howcome you subsequently endedup making Four Lions?

I needed a comic clue beforegetting stuck into it – it’s whenpeople behave in a venal way,even when they are advertised asmasterminds of terror. I was read-ing an interview where KhalidSheikh Mohammed, who was oneof the plotters of the 9/11 attacks,was being interviewed bya journalist from Al-Jazeera andhe wanted to come across likea learned Sheikh, so he gotdressed up and starting wavinghis finger and giving all sorts ofgrand statements and quotationsfrom the Koran. And the journal-ist who was Muslim realized thathis Koranic quotes were wrongall over the place. And so did allthe other guys in the room whowere basically his co-plotters.And they were all pissing them-selves laughing, and taking thepiss out of this guy who is now ontrial in the US for organizing the9/11 attacks. So he looks ridicu-lous, and that would be a comic

scene if that was part of the film.And if you get several of those, itstarts to break down the way thething looks at first inspection. � Besides terrorism, you’ve

previously taken a humorousswipe at other sensitive subjectssuch as pedophilia. Is there anysubject even you would consid-er taboo?

I think it’s entirely to do withwhat you find in the subject andwhether you find somethingthat’s funny, that’s going oninside a situation, which hasa grossly serious label. You canfind humor in severe prisons; you

can probably even find humor intorture. But the challenge is youhave to find it. You can’t just go “Iinsist that torture is funny, there-fore you will laugh.” You have towork something out of it. It’s thesame with the film. Obviously,blowing people up is not in itselffunny, but messing up a plan orstruggling with your capacity topull something off and the ideolo-gy that is driving you into it…maybe that is…� For me, it’s almost like

a “double joke” that The Roadto Guantanamo star Riz Ahmedis also in Four Lions. Did his

appearance in that movie influ-ence your decision to cast him?

It probably brought him to myattention. Even though he wasalmost kind of just modeling real-ly. There was hardly any dialoguein The Road to Guantanamo. Itwas almost like he was “vogue-ing” the Jihadi role… I cast himbecause he has the capacity tohold the screen in a really power-ful way. � How did you end up in The

IT Crowd, which is pretty“straight” comedy for someonelike you?

It was partly a favor, because

I have known Graham [Linehan]for a long time and he phoned upand said, “I’m having real troublecasting this part.” But I kind ofthought of it as a challenge aswell, because I’d be away froma lot of what I was familiar with.That’s quite a good thing to do toyourself. It also sort of coincid-ed with the beginning of theresearch that I was doing on FourLions so it was quite a good coun-terpoint to that. If you’re diggingaround in some fairly ripe leaf-mould, it’s nice to jump on top ofa Christmas tree every now andthen and behave like an idiot. � When you first met Peter

Cook on a radio collaboration,was it kind of a Bob Dylanmeets Woody Guthrie moment?

That would be overplaying it,but I wouldn’t dismiss it altogeth-er. Of course, he was part of mychildhood. In a way I was quitelucky, because I didn’t worshiphim, but I loved certain thingshe’d done. And then, once I methim, he had such an obviouscomic temperament. I rememberbeing delighted when I first methim that this still remaineddespite all I had read about himbeing a busted flush. Some of thepaintwork was a bit scrappy per-haps, but his comic mind was stillintact. That was clear just onmeeting him. � Was there much alcohol

involved when you collaborat-ed?

There were a couple of super-market bags of Kestrel lagerintroduced right at the start of thesession, so you always knew thatthere was a kind of ticking clock,not just on the studio time, but onhis brain time, and then we’dhave to go and watch football orsomething. You’d have to start bymorning and get done bylunchtime. �

Notorious British comedian turned filmmaker Christopher Morris.

Photo: Jan Handrejch

Vogueing the Jihadi roleControversial Four Lions director sees the funny side of terror

Film fests without awards would belike… well, like lots of film fans andfilm bizzers all getting together and justexchanging ideas, praises, disses andinspiration. Not so bad, perhaps. But ifa filmmaker hopes to have their workpicked up and distributed around theworld, as most do, then being awardeda Crystal Globe at KVIFF is a great start.

It’s the kind of thing potential audi-ences take note of, and therefore thepeople who buy films are more likely todo so if its been lauded in such a way.

Of course, even if it’s not the best filmwinner of the Official Selection feature competi-tion, which is technically the only official CrystalGlobe given for a movie under festival rules, thereare still a host of prizes that are just as important inrecognizing outstanding work.

The best director, best actor, best actress, bestdocumentary under 30 minutes and best documen-tary over 30 minutes, and the winner of the East ofthe West competition all have achieved somethingpretty special – which is probably why they put

such things on the poster from that dayon.

Individual personalities who haveadvanced the cause of great film canalso be honored with an official CrystalGlobe, of course. This year, the eminentCzech director of chilling films such asThe Cremator and Ferat Vampire, JurajHerz, will take this honor home (lastyear this award went to JohnMalkovich).

The fest can also recognize person-ages who have done stand-out workwith the President’s Award, which went

to actor Jude Law this year.Despite the official differences, all the top stat-

uettes feature the striking figure of a deco-style nudeholding a crystal orb over her head – which makes itrather heavy, as many film greats have discoveredover the years when it’s placed into their hands.

This, conveniently, makes it a good subject forthe festival trailer, since it’s not hard to imagine itbreaking open doors, pounding pills into powder orfracturing toes if dropped. (WT)

EXPLAINER SEE YOU THERE

So what exactly is a Crystal Globe?

Well, gentle readers, tonight’sthe night – someone’s life workis about to be lauded witha glass orb. Not every film herewill be that successful, ofcourse. In fact, these nine dayslikely formed the only chancemost of the crowds here willever have to see many of thesefilms. Anyone scrumming fortickets hardly needs to be toldthat.

But sometimes that can workout well – if not for the filmmak-er, at least for his setting.

As Russian actor IvanShvedoff, star of the grim immi-gration tale, The Albanian,observed to journalist DavidD’Arcy, “My country has justlost 2,500 tourists.”

The canny observation wasprompted by a screening ofSergei Loznica’s My Joy,which D’Arcy described in theAbu Dhabi newspaper TheNation this week as “chillingeven by Russian standards.”Presumably, tourism promotersare hoping it doesn't becomea box-office hit.

Nor can they expect muchmore support as a goodwillambassador from Russia’sprime movie mogul, NikitaMikhalkov, here at KVIFF topresent Burnt by the Sun 2:Exodus. He offered a neat sum-mation of critics and audienceswho don’t respond to his workat a press conference Friday:

“I don’t now want to under-stand the people,” he said. “Iwant the people to understandme. To understand people is likeMcDonald’s. It’s like fast food.It’s bad for your health.”

Finally, we’d like to wishbirthday boy Adrian Grenierour best wishes (he turns 34today). We hope someone willtreat him to some new under-wear to mark the occasion. TheTeenage Paparazzo direc-tor/producer told a journalist hehad been going commandosince arriving at KVIFF, as hisbags had been mislaid atFrankfurt airport. �

THE LOWDOWN

Cóilín O’Connor

PAGE 2 ENG SATURDAY, JULY 10, 2010

denicek@kviff.com

FESTIVAL DAILYTHE OFFICIAL ENGLISH DAILY OF THE 45TH KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The filmmaker who takes homethe Crystal Globe for best filmtonight can rest assured; they haveimpressed an astute and demand-ing group of professionals.

Grand Jury president RonYerxa, founder of Bona Fide pro-ductions and producer of the dou-ble Oscar winner Little MissSunshine, describes the challengeof getting good films made:

“It’s very hard to get projectsfinanced right now. It’s harderthan ever. It’s amazing how hardit is.”

Not only do Hollywood pro-ducers need to find great stories,adapt them into great scripts,attach great directors and stars, hesays, they now also have to comeup with the funding sources.

Fellow juror MirjanaKaranović, a European FilmAcademy-nominated Serbianactress who starred in JasmilaŽbanić’s Grbavica and is dean ofBelgrade’s Academy of Arts, saysthat in Europe it can be just aschallenging to do unconventionalfilms.

The actress, who can be seenon screen currently in Žbanić’sOn the Path, believes that per-formers should take on roles thatnot only challenge themselvesprofessionally but that challengesociety, causing it to question itsassumptions and prejudices.

“I was attacked in my owncountry,” she says of her work onGrbavica, “but also supported. Tosome people it was really coura-geous – but for me it was justa normal thing to do. I also play anAlbanian mother in one movie.I try to say that nationality is notthe question. It’s not an obstacle inhuman communication. We shouldcommunicate as people, not asa member of a certain nation.”

Actors must do more thanentertain, she insists. “Acting isthe best part of myself. Throughacting I try to improve my world.This is all I can do.”

Juror Lee Chang-dong,a South Korean director and for-mer culture minister whose work

is familiar to KVIFF audiences,will no doubt be looking hard atthe writing of competing films.He debuted with the gangster filmGreen Fish in 1997 and won thebest director prize in Venice forthe 2002 film Oasis, but his cur-rent film, Poetry, which is also

screening at KVIFF, won theCannes best screenplay honor thisyear.

Juror Lola Mayo of Spain isalso a veteran screenwriter andproducer who penned the scriptwith Javier Rebollo for his 2009San Sebastian winner Woman

Without Piano. The two have col-laborated since 1996 and their2006 feature, Lola, screened atKVIFF 2007.

Two directorial heavyweights,Russia’s Alexei Popogrebskyand Czech filmmaker BohdanSláma, are both strong advocates

of personal stories with a strongsense of place.

Popogrebsky put out his inde-pendent debut in 2006, SimpleThings, screened in the main com-petition at KVIFF, where it wonecumenical jury and FIPRESCIprizes. His new film, How I EndedThis Summer, won acting honorsat Berlinale and Sláma’sSomething Like Happiness wonthe San Sebastian fest in 2005.Last year, Variety magazine choseSláma at the Sundance festival asone of its 10 Directors to Watch.

David Stratton, the celebratedBritish film critic and director ofthe Sydney Film Festival from1965 to 1983, believes that films– and film festivals – need toshow courage.

He cites the emotional impactof film such as Max Ophüls’s1948 gem Letter from anUnknown Woman, screening atKVIFF this year, noting that “I’veseen it dozen of times and everytime I see it I cry. It’s so moving,to me.”

He recalls mixing it up withtimid government officials in theearly days of the Sydney fest overcontent questions.

“I was absurdly confident thatI could win that fight becauseI knew I was right. It was obvi-ous to me that the film festivalshould not be censored. But itwas not obvious to the govern-ment. So I found myself havingvery long and difficult and frus-trating discussions with bureau-crats and government ministerswho didn’t know what I wasI talking about.”

They, like many in power, wereuncomfortable with challengingfilms. “For them films were justentertainment. Who wants to seesomething nasty like Easy Rideror Midnight Cowboy? Who wantsto see that for entertainment?That was their argument.” �

KVIFF Grand Jury to give its verdict

The KVIFF Grand Jury (left to right): Lee Chang-dong, Lola Mayo, Alexei Popogrebsky, Ron Yerxa (president), MirjanaKaranović, Bohdan Sláma and David Stratton.

Photo: KVIFF

Will Tizard

KVIFF in Numbers*

125,396 tickets sold

11,056 fully accredited participants

765 film professionals

599 journalists

358 screenings

310 filmmakers

27 international premieres

15 world premieres

9 European premieres

6 fully accredited dogs

3 thunderstorms

2 stars swimming in the river

1 nasty arm-wrestling accident

∞ halušky

*Statistics valid at the time of printing (5pm). Final statis-tics to be revealed later today… (PLC)

Don’t forget to take part inthis year’s Audience Awardcompetition (which runs until10am today). Pick up your vot-ing cards whenever you seea film, and on the way out, tearthe card at your chosen place – 1for Excellent, 2 for Good, 3 forAverage, and 4 for Poor. Thenhand the card to a hostess, ordrop it into one of the ballotboxes provided.

PRÁVO Audience AwardCurrent Standings

1. Oldboys2. The Hedgehog3. Sound of Noise4. Friendship!5. Tucker & Dale vs Evil

Mira Furlan is perhaps bestknown internationally for her rolein the American TV series Lostand is a respected film and theateractress in her native Croatia. Shestars in the film The Abandoned,which had its world premiere atKVIFF as part of the East of theWest section.

� You left the formerYugoslavia in 1991 due to thepolitical situation there andmoved to the US. Did you feelyou had no choice but to leave?

My husband and I come from,shall we say, different ethnicsides, so our lives became virtual-ly impossible. And also in the for-mer Yugoslavia I was a very well-known actress so the war propa-ganda tried to use me at that time.I didn’t want to be used in thatway and I didn’t know what elseto do but leave. So I had to leavemy whole life and career. Whenthere is a war you have to choosea side and I was unable to do thatbecause my side is on that ofhuman beings and life. I am ananti-nationalist person. I don’tunderstand that way of thinking. Itruly feel like a citizen of theworld. � But you recently returned

to your homeland to film TheAbandoned. Was that a home-coming of sorts?

For The Abandoned, I really,truly wanted to do something inSarajevo. It was one of myfavorite places in the whole worldwhen I lived in ex-Yugoslavia. So

when this opportunity came fromthese lovely people who did TheAbandoned I took it of course andespecially because it’s about chil-dren. It deals with the post-warsituation of children, who havepaid the biggest price for this warand will be paying for it for gen-erations. It’s a strange summer forme, this summer. I’m doing somework in my native Croatia for thefirst time after 25 years. It really isa coming-back summer for meand I’m very happy. I spent 10summers of my life in Dubrovnikdoing theater and I think I didsome of my best work there. Andthen I left and now there’s thiswhole American chapter of mylife.

� Do you think your pastexperiences helped you to bringmore depth to your characterDanielle Rousseau in Lost?

Somebody said to me “You’rethe heart of pain of Lost,” and Ihad to laugh but there is some-thing to it and I carry that withme. Of course there were frustra-tions with Lost for me as an actor.I didn’t have the chance to devel-op the role because it was cutshort and that didn’t feel too good.I felt like I was left without thepayoff, in acting terms. That’s thething about a big American TVseries. It’s a huge machine thathas a life of its own.� You are based in the US

now but do you think in the

future you will try to work inyour homeland more?

A combination of the twoworlds would be the perfect wayto live. I feel when I go back thereas a well-known person that I ampart of the healing process. That Ineed it and they need it as well.People come up to me in the streetand say “We’re so happy that youcame back,” because people needcontinuity in their lives and all ofour lives were broken by this hor-rible war. Everybody needs thishealing process and to connect thedots, to connect what is now withwhat was before, and so peopleare happy to see me. It means somuch to me. Somehow it’s time tocome to some kind of peace. �

Lost and abandoned at KVIFF

Lost star Mira Furlan who is at the fest with The Abandoned.

Photo: Milan Malíček

Kateřina Kadlecová

PAGE 3 ENGSATURDAY, JULY 10, 2010

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FESTIVAL DAILYTHE OFFICIAL ENGLISH DAILY OF THE 45TH KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

John Boorman, a PortraitDirector: Philippe PilardFrance, 2009, 52 min.July 10, 3:30pm, Cinema B

Michel Ciment and Philippe Pilard’s homage offers an insightinto the films and career of British-born director John Boormanand the influences that shaped his vision. Filmed at the director’shome in Ireland, Boorman looks back to his childhood in pre-war

London and talks about some of his most famous works, including Point Blank, Deliverance andHope and Glory. Boorman, who was a guest at Karlovy Vary in 2003, is a fine raconteur and thisfilm will be a joy for aficionados of his films.

Red HillDirector: Patrick HughesAustralia, 2010, 94 min.July 10, 7pm, Congress Hall

Australian director Patrick Hughes in an explosive debut abouta day and night in a small town where a police officer’s first dayin a new job turns into a nightmare when an escaped murdererturns up intent on revenge. Tense and atmospheric with a shocking

core of cruelty and violence, skillful editing and camerawork combine to create a truly shockingthriller.

Oil City ConfidentialDirector: Julien TempleUnited Kingdom, 2009, 106 min.July 10, 7pm, Espace Dorleans Cinema

An odd title for a documentary about British 1970s rock bankDr. Feelgood – for those in the know it is an oblique reference tothe band’s home town, Canvey Island, an oil depot in Essex on the

east coast of England. Julien Temple’s film uses the story and music of the band to explore the socialand cultural environment of the 1970s. For those of a nostalgic bent, there is plenty of archivefootage as the band’s lead guitarist Wilko Johnson guides viewers through the years.

The Double HourDirector: Giuseppe CapotondiItaly, 2009, 95 min.July 10, 5pm, Karlovy Vary Theatre

Italian director Giuseppe Capotondi’s strangely beguiling lovestory that is not all it seems picked up three awards last year inVenice. When Guido, a former policeman, meets Sonia, a lonelychambermaid, he thinks his life is about to change for the better.

But Sonia (played by Russian actress Ksenia Rappoport) is not all she seems and there is more toher attraction for Guido than meets the eye. �

REVIEWERS RECOMMENDNick HoldsworthEastern Europe Bureau Chief, Variety magazine

Actor, director and producerAdrian Grenier, who stars in theHBO TV series Entourage, pre-sented the premiere of his docu-mentary about a 13-year-oldtabloid photographer, TeenagePaparazzo, at KVIFF yesterday.

� The film you’ve brought toKVIFF, Teenage Paparazzo,explores the fame phenome-non. Do you see fame as a posi-tive or negative thing?

As is true for everything in life,there’s good and bad in every-thing. The same is true withfame. It’s something that givespeople a lot of opportunity and itcan be very positive, but at thesame time it can be a burden. Itcan be something you have todeal with. It’s definitely anunusual experience that you haveto reconcile in your life. One dayyou can go to a restaurant withtotal anonymity and the next dayyou can’t. It’s a learning process.There’s no manual on fame. It’ssomething that every individualwho gets to be in that positionhas to deal with. � You got personally

involved in the TeenagePaparazzo story. You weren’tjust telling a story, you were co-creating it...

Well such is life, isn’t it? We’reall contributors to the collectivestory, so to speak. For this moviein particular I made a consciouschoice to blur the lines more,break down the façades and bar-riers, so I thought on one level it

was very important to reveal thefact that I was the director andthat I was actually playing a roleand had a hand in the creation ofthis story. But that’s one of thethings that I really love about themovie, that it’s this hall of mir-rors; art imitating life imitatingart is really taken to a very literaland fully realized place. I alsoplay a role in the movie of thecelebrity. You can’t havea paparazzo without a celebrity.So I was the obvious go-tocelebrity, because I was avail-able, I was willing and I wasn’tcharging myself a fee. I was

lucky to have Paris Hilton andLindsay Lohan, Eva Longoria,Matt Damon, Lewis Black; all ofthese celebrities were quite gen-erous to share their experiencewith me. � There was a scene in the

movie where you told ParisHilton the story of Narcissusand she thought it was a truestory.

Or did she? (laughs)� Do you think she plays

a role? The role of Paris Hilton.To a large degree, yes. If

you’ve seen the earlier footageinterview, she’s quite eloquent

and thoughtful and present. Shedefinitely dips in and out of herpersona. I think we partly ask forit. We want her to fulfill that per-sona on some level because she’salways been that for us. And thevixen is somehow secretlydesired by all of us. � You are an actor, a direc-

tor, also a producer. Whichcame first?

I don’t know which came first.In high school I started makingmovies with my friends. We hada Hi8 camera – one of those oldreally crappy cameras. And wewould make little movies with

each other. Film was just a natur-al progression to not only cre-ative expression and theatrics butalso the autonomy of being ableto do it yourself. Now that’s sortof commonplace, but there wasa time when YouTube didn’t existand not everybody had a camera.But we had a Hi8 in the earlynineties and I think it was thebeginning of that DIY film expe-rience. I just took it one step fur-ther and now I’m making biggermovies. � As an actor you don’t real-

ly have control over the finalpiece that you create, but asa producer or as a director it’syour work...

I think you hit it on the head.One thing that attracts me todirecting and being behind thecamera is the objectivity, first ofall, to get a clearer vision of whatit is you’re doing. When you’reacting it’s very discombobulat-ing, because it’s all about youand there’s a lot of internal work,and you don’t always know ifyou’re doing it right and you’realways looking for somebodyelse to tell you if you’re doingOK or if you got the job.Whereas when you’re behind thecamera, you can be the master ofyour own fate more readily. I’mjust trying to achieve more levelsof independence. I don’t likepeople telling me what to do.That’s just the bottom line. Andwithout a good director you’rehelpless. Because you trust thedirector to guide you, and ifthey’re guiding you off courseyou won’t know it until you see iton the screen and that sucks! �

Acting is very discombobulating

Teenage Paparazzo director Adrian Grenier doesn’t like being told what to do.

Photo: Milan Malíček

Ilona Francková Ivan ShvedoffActor

� What brings you toKVIFF?

I’ve been coming for years.There’s usually one or two filmsI’m in screening here – this yearI’m in The Albanian. KV andBerlin are usually a few monthsapart and they are my main fes-tival stops each year. Besidesthe films I use them to socializeand to keep in touch with peoplein the film world.� Has KVIFF changed in

all the years you’ve been com-ing here?

Well, I’m not sure if I’mallowed to say this, but it’s defi-nitely got more professional.� What are you doing here

this year?Well, as an actor, I’m always

studying people and how theyact and behave. You alwaysmeet some nice specimens tostudy at film festivals. So if youmeet me, watch out! I’m proba-bly scanning you! Kind of likeBig Brother… (COC)

WHAT AM IDOING HERE?

PAGE 4 ENG SATURDAY, JULY 10, 2010

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FESTIVAL DAILYTHE OFFICIAL ENGLISH DAILY OF THE 45TH KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

DAILIES

Burnt by the Sun 2: Exodus director Nikita Mikhalkov. Juraj Herz receives this year’s award for contribution to cinema. The sun sets on another KVIFF. See you next year!

Photo: Milan MalíčekPhoto: Jan Handrejch

Ristorante La StradaJaltská 12� 353 223 878www.restaurace-lastrada.czOpen daily 11am-11pm

With a special menu offer dur-ing KVIFF and brunch for late ris-ers, this classy, handy establish-ment is great for modern, healthyfare in a cool, modernist environ-ment. The five fixed-price menus(189-499 CZK) range froma game platter including pâté andfresh strawberries with rosemaryto a simpler lunch of schnitzel andplum cake. They often stay openway past the official closing hourand have a well-stocked cabinet ofMoravian, Italian and Frenchwines. The house special is Italianfood, as you might expect, and thesauces that top the trenette andpappardelle are delectable. Thesleek style of this place sets itapart in tradition-minded Karlovy

Vary and it tends to attract a good-looking crowd to match the goldand plum-colored décor accents.There’s none of the attitude youmight expect with such a setting,however, which makes it worthconsidering if you can’t faceanother pub lunch or, god forbid,yet more halušky.

Aylin Döner Kebab4 Dr. Davida Bechera� 353 541 019Open NONSTOP during KVIFF

This charming Vietnamese-runhole-in-the-wall is a festival life-saver. Open nonstop with theirreduced festival menu, it’s the per-fect place to get all the after-hoursafter-booze nourishment youneed. For one of the best dönerburgers this reviewer has ever had,you only need fork out 45 CZK.And a can of Gambrinus if you’renot quite done drinking yet will set

you back 25 CZK. Whatever youorder will be served smartly, inperfect English, and with a smile.And here’s an insider’s tip, 15CZK will get you a huge, deli-cious, freshly-made deep-friedVietnamese spring roll. Very hardto say no to at four in the morning.

Čajovna 1000 a 1 noc(“1001 Nights Tea House”)I. P. Pavlova 19� 608 466 947Open daily from 8am till midnight

Whatever your vice is, you canprobably find it on the menu atthis cozy little tea house, whichoffers chocolate, alcohol and cig-arettes just around the corner fromthe Thermal Hotel. Food optionsare fairly limited, unless you’relooking for standard pub grub orsomething sweet. Ice-cream sun-daes range from the simple to thespectacular, and most fall in the100 CZK area, but the real drawhere is the tea. Choose from

dozens of different varieties, fromChinese green tea (65 CZK) toIndian Darjeeling (95 CZK) toJapanese Kyoto (CZK 135). Earlybirds might appreciate the dailyrange of breakfasts around the 70

CZK mark, whereas night owlsare more likely to be drawn in bythe hookah pipes. Black tobaccogoes for 75 CZK, or you couldsplurge on “Superior” for 250CZK. (PLC/WT)

Ristorante La Strada offers modern, healthy fare.

Photo: Jan Handrejch

Established local smoothswing band Swing Studio areplaying at the open-air theatreunder the bridge at 7pmtonight with clarinetist KarelUhlík. They intend to be lifted“on the wings of swing,” whichought to be something to see.

If your tastes run to younger,more experimental Czech jazzwith didgeridoo, fiddle anda strong Balkan flavor, head tothe podium in front of theThermal tonight at 8pm to seeKumbalu. This ethnobeat five-piece from Brno should providesome infectious pacy rhythms tomove yourself around to andend the fest on an energeticnote.

Industry types might like tocheck out a screening of selectedCzech TV co-productions (byappointment only) at the CzechTV Meeting Point beside theThermal from 10am. (PLC)

ON THE TOWN

Crazy Heart directorScott Cooper on casting

Colin Farrell, who apparently is cut

from the same cloth asJude Law.

“I think Belgium is like a couplethat are having a disagreement.The Flemish people are like thewoman that has been neglected foryears. And as you know, neglectedwomen are always little bitches.And then you have the Walloonswho are like the husband, saying:‘Please give me a second chance!’But they have had a child togetherso they will have to stay with eachother for its sake, even if it’s anugly child called Brussels!”

Director CarolineStrubbe on marital

problems in Belgium.

“Never use your own money.”

Danish writer/directorTorben Bech, when

asked for filmmakingadvice.

“Mainly you don’t want peopleto see it, but it’s not a rule thatcan’t be broken. We sometimeslike to slap the audience in theface.”

Thelma Schoonmaker on the art of editing.

“It was kind of a love letter toprint journalism, which is dying,as we all know.”

Kevin Macdonald, director of State of Play,

lets us know our days are numbered.

“Education often prevents youfrom seeing the world differently.The world is often more open toseafarers, conquistadores, whoresand soldiers.”

Director Dmitri Mamuliaon the perils of formal

training.

“It is a beautiful, quiet andcomfortable place. Full of cultur-al and artistic atmosphere. It islike a cup of Chinese Longjingtea; refreshing and fragrant.”

Chinese director ChiZhang on Karlovy Varybeyond the beer tents.

“It was actually easier than weall expected. After all, animalsare more predictable than humanbeings.”

Director Agustí Vila onhandling a cast of cats,

dogs and a pigeon for TheMosquito Net

“He pretended, or maybe hedidn’t pretend, that he was sleep-ing with his sister, was late, alwaysin a white tuxedo, or he came tothe Intercontinental Hotel inPrague sporting an SS hat and giv-ing the Nazi salute while a confer-ence on anti-Semitism was heldthere, causing a scandal.”

Juraj Herz on thecharms of German actor Ben Becker

“I said when we were making itlast year ‘Thank god, the econo-my tanked so that I can makea movie!’ – Please put ‘he saidlaughingly’ if you quote me onthat!”

Director John Wells onmaking The Company Men

Off the KVIFF remarks What they saidat the fest this week

“The film I’ve just finished iscalled Arctic Blast, and you’dwant to consult your urban dic-tionary for that one.”

Director Brian Trenchard-Smith invites

us to get googling.

“I remember you! Oh, no!I think you heard me sing. Oh,dear. I’ve gone red.”

Jude Law upon spotting a journalist who witnessed

his karaoke the nightbefore.

“Colin is a character actor ina leading man’s body, and he’sdoing very interesting, detailedwork, and I had a hunch that hehad spent some time in a pubsomewhere singing.”

Photo: Milan Malíček