The selected projects, which are currently in various stages of development, production or postproduction, will be showcased through interactive conversations about the filmmakers' career paths and co-production possibilities across the participating countries. The participating projects will also gain access to exclusive post-production advantages through a generous partnership with industry-leading studios UPP and Soundsquare, while also being eligible for the €20,000 Eurimages Co-Production Development Award.
Another recently established showcase, KVIFF Talents, focused on seeking out and supporting talented Czech and Slovak filmmakers and innovative audiovisual genres, will be joined by a guest project by István Kovács. This established Hungarian filmmaker will pitch the feature-length version of his Student Academy Award-winning short film A Siege (Ostrom) in Karlovy Vary.
List of KVIFF Central Stage selected projects:
The Lime Works (Austria)
Director, Scriptwriter, Producer: Andreas Horvath
Masaryk: The Coup (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovak Republic)
Director: Julius Ševčík
Scriptwriter: Julius Ševčík, Petr Kolečko
Producer: Vanessa Biermannová, Rudolf Biermann
Around the Fire (Czech Republic, Netherlands, Slovak Republic)
Director, Scriptwriter: Michal Hogenauer
Producer: Marek Novák
First Dates (Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Poland)
Director, Scriptwriter: Šimon Holý
Producer: Marek Novák
Hijamat (Germany, Turkey)
Director, Scriptwriter: Nader Saeivar
Producer: Said Nur Akkus, Tatiana Tsyganova, Emre Oskay
Some Good News (Hungary, Romania)
Director: László Csuja
Scriptwriter: Éva Zabezsinszkij, László Csuja
Producer: Anna Szijártó
Democracy Work In Progress (Hungary, Czech Republic, Germany)
Director, Scriptwriter: Mihály Schwechtje
Producer: Genovéva Petrovits
Starska (Poland)
Director, Scriptwriter: Piotr Adamski
Producer: Anna Gawlita, Marta Szymanowska
Voracious (Poland)
Director, Scriptwriter: Jagoda Szelc (based on novel by Malgorzata Lebda)
Producer: Joanna Szymańska
Láska (Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Croatia)
Director: Marko Škop
Scriptwriter: Zuzana Liová, Marko Škop
Producer: Marko Škop, Ján Meliš, Alice Zárubová Tabery, Marina Andree Škop
Purgatory (Slovenia, Austria)
Director: Žiga Virc
Scriptwriter: Iza Strehar
Producer: Žiga Virc, Iza Strehar
The Happiest Day (Slovenia, Norway, Italy)
Director, Scriptwriter: Sonja Prosenc
Producer: Rok Sečen
Vacuum (Ukraine)
Director, Scriptwriter: Yelizaveta Smith
Producer: Eugene Rachkovsky
Making-of (Ukraine, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic)
Director, Scriptwriter: Ivan Tymchenko
Producer: Svitlana Soloviova, Alžběta Janáčková
The KVIFF Central Stage showcase will take place at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, July 8, on the Film Industry Main Stage in the KVIFF Industry Hub in Kaiserbad.
The KVIFF Central Stage showcase is presented in partnership with Czech Film Center, German Films, Polish Film Institute, Slovenian Film Centre, Slovak Film Institute, Soundsquare, Ukrainian Institute and UPP.
KVIFF Talents will also spotlight a guest project – István Kovács' A Siege, a feature-length rework of his eponymous short film that won him the Student Academy Award in 2018. KVIFF Talents, a program dedicated to supporting talented creators from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, offers a presentation opportunity to one guest project selected as one of the two best from a Hungarian program that serves as the counterpart to KVIFF Talents: Cine-Collegium Budapest, an independent film funding initiative launched under the umbrella of the Budapest International Film Festival. Its main goal is to support free and independent Hungarian cinema through community-based funding, without relying on state subsidies.
A Siege (Hungary)
Director: István Kovács
Scriptwriter: Kálmán Gasztonyi
Producer: Patricia D'Intino
The KVIFF Talents showcase will take place at 4:30 pm on Monday, July 7, on the Film Industry Main Stage. Check the full list of the KVIFF Talents 2025 Creative Pool & Feature Pool on KVIFF website.
KVIFF Talents are supported by the ČEZ Foundation and Oneplay. Media partner is Forbes.
In total, this year’s KVIFF Eastern Promises will spotlight 40 promising films and series in the making: 14 feature films in KVIFF Central Stage, 9 treatments in Works in Development – Feature Launch and 5 in Works in Development – Focus Queer, 3+1 feature film and 3 series projects in KVIFF Talents and 5 original series projects in Pop Up Series Incubator. Details about all these projects can be found in the Book of Projects and on the KVIFF website.
KVIFF Industry Days are supported by the PPF Foundation and CME. The media partner is Deadline.
More about the KVIFF Industry Days mission, its Eastern Promises platform and other activities can be found here.
