05-02-2013

Czech films at film festivals and markets, February 2013

    Prague, 5 January 2013 - The Czech Film Center will once again be representing the Czech film industry at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival, which will take place from 7 to 17 February. Václav Marhoul will also be in Berlin, with his new project The Painted Bird (Nabarvené ptáče).

    The fresh winner of the Hivos Tiger Award will be one of the films presented at the film market. The award, given to upcoming talents at the IFF Rotterdam, went to the Slovak/Czech film My Dog Killer (Můj pes Killer) by director Mira Fornay.

    The Czech Film Center, the Slovenian Film Centre, and the Slovak Film Institute will represent their national film industries at the Central European Cinema stand (No. 133) at the European Film Market, which is run in conjunction with the festival.

    The stand offers representatives of the Czech film industry (distributors, producers, festival managers, and others) a base for business appointments, meetings, and creative encounters. It also provides information for anyone interested in Czech cinematography, and assists them in coordinating their activities. The stand’s sponsors are Barrandov Studios, MFF Karlovy Vary, Zlín Film Festival and FILM OSTRAVA!!!.

    As usual, the Berlin International Film Festival will host the participants of ScripTeast, a Polish training programme for scriptwriters from Eastern and Central Europe. This year their number will include Václav Marhoul, with his new project The Painted Bird, based on the eponymous bestseller by Jerzy Kosinski. A 3-day workshop to revise their scripts is one of three phases in a yearlong programme for the scriptwriters; the programme will culminate at the Cannes International Film Festival, where the author of the best script will be awarded 10,000 euro.

    During market screenings at the European Film Market, four Czech films will be presented to film buyers from all over the world: the crime film noir In the Shadows (Ve stínu), by David Ondříček, set in 1950s Czechoslovakia; The Third Half (Třetí poločas) directed by Darko Mitrevski; the Polish–Czech collaboration Yuma (Yuma), which premiered at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the East of the West section last year; and My Dog Killer, a Slovak-Czech co-production directed by Mira Fornay. The film was selected for the main competition at the prestigious 42nd IFF Rotterdam 2013. The film premiered last week at the Rotterdam festival, winning the prestigious Hivos Tiger Award competition, designated for upcoming talents.

    Besides Můj pes Killer, two other projects premiered at the 42nd IFF Rotterdam 2013 (outside the competition) in the Signals: Changing Channels section: the three-part mini-series Hořící keř (Burning Bush), created for HBO and directed by Agnieszka Holland, the world-renowned Polish director who is a graduate of the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU); and the co-production Frankenstein’s Army, filmed at the Mayrau Open-Air Mining Museum in Vinařice, Czech Republic, and supported by the Film Industry Support Programme. The film stars Karel Roden.

    Michaela Pavlátová’s Tramvaj (The Tram), filmed as a French/Czech co-production, is also competing in the currently-running 35th annual IFF of short films in Clermont-Ferrand in the national films section. The Czech Film Center is also present at that prestigious festival, representing Czech productions in the concurrent film market oriented on short films.
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