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The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has unveiled nan charismatic action and assemblage members for its upcoming 60th edition, moving from July 3 to 11.
12 titles person been group for nan Festival’s Crystal Globe Competition. Among those titles is Hijamat, the latest characteristic from Iranian filmmaker Nader Saeivar. Saeivar is champion known for his semipermanent collaboration pinch Jafar Panahi. The brace person written 2 films together, including past year’s Palme d’Or victor It Was Just an Accident.
Scroll down for nan afloat database of title titles astatine this year’s Karlovy Vary Film Festival.
The New Yorker movie professional Justin Chang will service connected nan assemblage of this year’s Crystal Globe Competition alongside filmmaker Amanda Nell Eu, Czech sound designer, producer, and composer Pavel Rejholec, shaper Nadia Turincev, and filmmaker Eskil Vogt.
Karel Och, creator head of Karlovy Vary, said 1 of nan cardinal themes of nan activity presented successful this year’s version was “the directors’ awesome effort to comprehend nan diverseness and complexity of nan world done firsthand confrontation, and done a relentless hunt for nan narration betwixt nan creator and nan political, nan friendly and nan societal.”
Och continued: “The charismatic action of nan jubilee version offers a speech betwixt seasoned veterans of world cinema and first-time directors, 15 of whom are featured crossed nan Crystal Globe Competition, nan Proxima Competition, and nan Special Screenings section. This, too, makes Karlovy Vary a spot of continuous speech betwixt interpreting nan coming and preserving memory, opening up caller visions of nan early for some creators and audiences alike.”
CRYSTAL GLOBE COMPETITION
3 nedelje posle / 3 Weeks After
Director: Miroslav Terzić
Serbia, Bulgaria, 2026, 94 min, World premiere
A group of precocious schoolhouse students group off for a people travel to Bulgaria. When their autobus breaks down, they find themselves stranded successful an aged edifice adjacent nan mountains. The ambiance grows tense erstwhile nan quiet and withdrawn Zoza decides to talk astir his champion friend’s caller suicide. Why did Andrij take to end his life? And wouldn’t it person been amended if Zoza hadn’t brought it up? Like his erstwhile outings, Serbian head Miroslav Terzić’s 3rd movie is characterized by an overwhelming, meticulously crafted consciousness of tension. 3 Weeks After takes america into nan susceptible world of adolescents, wherever innocence is mixed pinch cruelty. It besides exposes nan mechanisms of bullying successful a nine that closes its eyes astatine decisive moments erstwhile looking distant is nan past point we should do.
Cherni pari za beli noshti / Black Money for White Nights
Director: Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov
Bulgaria, Greece, 2025, 94 min, World premiere
After years of redeeming money from nan mini bribes they collect, sixty-year-old Marina and her hubby Gosha from Bulgaria are preparing for their dream travel to St. Petersburg to witnesser nan White Nights. But erstwhile Russia invades Ukraine and nan recreation agency vanishes pinch each their savings, nan couple’s dream collapses on pinch their illusion of power complete their civilized principles and the relationship they person pinch each other. Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov, recipients of nan 2019 Crystal Globe, return to Karlovy Vary pinch a tragicomic image of a procreation forced to reassess its values arsenic they mobility everything that is considered achromatic and achromatic successful post-Soviet society.
Chica Checa
Director: Šimon Holý
Czech Republic, France, Slovak Republic, 2026, 96 min, World premiere Following a trilogy of low-budget films, 2 of which (Mirrors successful nan Dark and And Then There Was Love…) were screened successful Karlovy Vary, Šimon Holý returns pinch nan world co-production Chica Checa. Once again, nan communicative revolves astir a female protagonist: here, nan widowed colony message bearer Zdena (Pavla Tomicová), who tries to fulfill nan past wish of her ailing mother. A bid of unexpected events brings her person to her boy Lukáš (Jan Cina) and awakens successful her a longing for a different life. Holý erstwhile again confirms his talent for study and his expertise to create a vibrant image of his characters’ soul conflicts, each while giving Tomicová ample abstraction to afloat definitive her acting abilities.
Cinco años, cuatro meses / Five Years, Four Months
Director: Esteban Hoyos García, Juan Miguel Gelacio Ramírez
Colombia, USA, 2025, 83 min, World premiere
Not only did Martha suffer her oldest son, but to this time she doesn’t cognize what happened to him aliases his remains. After years of searching successful vain, she meets Sandra, who offers her 1 much possibility, possibly her past hope: to group retired for a distant spot wherever nan statement betwixt nan surviving and nan dormant is blurred. The directorial duo of Juan Miguel Gelacio and Esteban Hoyos García gives sound to Colombian women who, aft their children’s disappearance, took nan hunt into their ain hands. The film’s subdued, focused communicative calls attraction to 1 of nan astir achy consequences of nan country’s long-lasting equipped conflict while portraying nan hunt for bid and reconciliation successful a spot that has ne'er witnessed a farewell.
Detrás de la lluvia / Behind nan Rain
Director: Valeria Sarmiento
Chile, 2026, 97 min, World premiere
In each her films, head and editor Valeria Sarmiento has questioned nan narration betwixt representation and nan unconscious. Is it amended to stay silent, hiding secrets truthful that things do not alteration (as successful Secretos, 2008), aliases to activity existent entree to nan astir achy memories (as successful Huellas, 2023)? In Behind nan Rain, Sarmiento reflects connected nan very conception of repression. Sofía has conscionable vanished her psychology studies successful Valparaíso (the metropolis wherever Sarmiento was born) and returns to her hometown, Valdivia. Her return coincides pinch nan find of a young girl’s body, which awakens successful her memories of puerility intersexual abuse. Like a scratched movie that looks for illustration rain, Sofía must determine whether to extremity nan representation from resurfacing aliases to look beyond nan rain, beyond nan buried fears of an full country.
Gæsten / The Guest
Director: Mads Mengel
Denmark, 2026, 99 min, World premiere
Fresh parents Karl and Emilie are looking guardant to a play astatine a seaside hotel, wherever they scheme to denote their child’s sanction and frankincense officially invited him to nan world. A time earlier nan celebration, however, Karl’s mother Vibeke shows up, pinch whom he hasn’t spoken successful respective years. Building connected nan contented of modern Nordic cinema, debut filmmaker Mads Mengel tells nan friendly communicative of a family that threatens to autumn isolated erstwhile aged wounds are opened up. What originates arsenic a close-knit ceremony turns into an uncomfortable confrontation pinch an unresolved past that won’t fto nan film’s protagonists hide who they really are – aliases wherever they travel from.
A Happy Family
Director: Jan-Eric Mack
Switzerland, 2026, 120 min, World premiere
Niki useful 2 jobs, but nan small money she earns is hardly capable to screen nan surviving expenses for her and her 2 young children. One day, erstwhile nan children are near unsupervised, they accidentally group nan room connected fire, and truthful nan Swiss authorities spot them pinch a foster family connected nan different broadside of nan country. Though forbidden from contacting her children, Niki decides to way them down. Based connected a existent story, nan first Swiss movie to beryllium screened successful Karlovy Vary’s Crystal Globe Competition draws its spot from a wished yet ambivalent protagonist whose actions shed ray connected a rigid societal strategy while reflecting nan conflict betwixt parental small heart and individual responsibility. Adding to nan film’s beardown melodramatic arc is an exceptionally compelling capacity by Anna Schinz.
Hijamat
Director: Nader Saeivar
Germany, 2026, 103 min, World premiere
Fifty-year-old Murad’s life is shaken to nan halfway erstwhile he learns that his younger relative is gay. Murad would for illustration to support his brother, but their accepted Muslim family is against it. As a result, he finds himself subjected to pressures from each sides – from his father, who has adjacent ties to nan section imam, and from his brother’s circle of friends arsenic well. He would for illustration to thief everyone, but arsenic he slow falls into a spiral of conflicts and mounting difficulties, he finds that he, too, is successful request of help. Another integral portion of this family play is nan taxable of migration and speech – not conscionable betwixt different religions, but wrong communities themselves. For his 4th characteristic film, head Nader Saeivar collaborated pinch Jafar Panahí, who contributed arsenic shaper and editor.
The Lion astatine My Back
Director: Tonia Mishiali
Cyprus, Luxembourg, Greece, 2026, 106 min, World premiere
Mariama, an asylum-seeker from Senegal, has conscionable turned eighteen. Stella, astatine first glimpse a withdrawn female successful her forties, has precocious decided to break free from nan clutches of addiction and to springiness her life a caller start. In their effort astatine uncovering their spot successful a world wherever thing comes for free, nan 2 women meet and shape an unexpectedly beardown bond. Following her 2018 debut Pause, Cyprian shaper and head Tonia Mishiali returns to Karlovy Vary pinch a vivid, heartwarming, and hopeful communicative astir really family bonds and motherly emotion tin beryllium recovered successful nan astir improbable places.
Pipes
Director: Karim Kassem
Lebanon, 2025, 112 min, World premiere
Although Hassan has retired from his occupation astatine nan h2o authority, his neighbors are utilized to him ever helping them out. This time, nan business is serious: The full municipality is without water, and tensions are rising among nan organization pinch each passing day. Hassan would for illustration to thief them all, but he besides needs clip to mourn a friend who precocious died nether unclear circumstances. Lebanese head Karim Kassem skillfully useful pinch various cinematic genres to create an elegant double image of an aging man and nan municipality of which he has been a portion each his life. He does truthful pinch a consciousness of nostalgia, subtle humor, and an almost meditative melancholy, mixed pinch a touch of detective work.
Prameň / Only Beautiful Things to Look At
Director: Ivan Ostrochovský
Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Hungary, 2026, 90 min, World premiere
The movie is group successful nan mid-1980s, erstwhile nan authorities utilized its laws to continually power nan astir friendly facets of its citizens’ lives. Ingrid (Aňa Geislerová) is an ambitious doctor, whose ngo is to bring children into nan world, to terminate unwanted pregnancies, and to participate successful nan sterilisation of Romany women. The melancholy female has greater misgivings astir her backstage business than she does astir her master life, that is, until she is caught “off guard” by a caller relationship pinch a charismatic Romany orderly. Spontaneous Agáta presents to Ingrid nan quality contours of a nationalist number reduced by nan communists to a demographic problem. Ostrochovský’s beguiling play returns to a hitherto unresolved rumor of Czechoslovak history, wherever nan action of having children was wished by nan state.
Thit-thee Khu / Fruit Gathering
Director: Aung Phyoe
Myanmar, France, Czech Republic, 2026, 97 min, World premiere
Seen done nan eyes of 2 young women, life successful modern Myanmar tin look rather oppressive. Working astatine a textile mill successful business Yangon, they look exhausting work, societal repression, and economical uncertainty. Although nan grueling gait of mundane life stifles opportunities for quality connection, some women proceed to dream of intimacy and escape. When they turn closer, they group successful mobility nan antecedently silenced fibers of their ain emotions. Aung Phyoe’s long-anticipated directorial debut unfolds successful shades of silence, subtle gestures, and unspoken wishes. In a captivating hit that oscillates betwixt tenderness and harshness, nan movie explores really women’s desires past successful a state wherever intimacy and emotion betwixt women stay socially unacceptable.
PROXIMA COMPETITION
33 krokov / 33 Steps
Director: Anna Domček, Šimon Domček
Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, 2026, 71 min, World premiere
Thirteen years aft Milan Daniel suffered a superior caput wounded successful a racially motivated attack, his assailant is group to beryllium released. What feelings does this infinitesimal awaken successful a traumatized man who, though he survived, will everlastingly suffer nan consequences of that fateful day? Straddling nan statement betwixt fabrication and documentary, nan characteristic debut by Slovak board Šimon and Anna Domček is an exceptionally cohesive mosaic of fragmentary pieces of mundane life, memories, dreams, and subjective perceptions. Besides exploring nan acquisition of personification seeking to flight nan shadows of nan past – shadows that measurement heavy connected early generations arsenic good – nan movie besides takes an different attack to nan taxable of group intolerance.
Camionero / Truck Driver
Director: Francisco Marise
Spain, Argentina, 2026, 84 min, World premiere
One would deliberation that each roadworthy movie needs its cardinal setting: nan road. But Francisco Marise’s hybrid movie senses that each trip, road, aliases travel requires america to extremity each now and then. It is conscionable specified moments, erstwhile nan film’s Argentinian motortruck driver protagonists move disconnected their engines and extremity driving, that shape this film’s starting point. Interweaving friendly observations pinch subtle glimpses of transcendence, Truck Driver paints a corporate image of group who stock a unusual magnitude of clip wrong nan soundlessness of nan asphalt wilderness – astatine motels, connected nan broadside of nan road, and successful tyre shops, savoring nan axenic joyousness of nan coming infinitesimal while longing for loved ones acold away.
Contra la Naturaleza / Against Nature
Director: Axel Bertha
Mexico, 2026, 86 min, World premiere
After galore years away, Jonás returns to nan countryside to commencement activity arsenic a stonemason. In a spot marked by nan harshness of life, he opens himself up to thing intangible – a unit that permeates nan landscape, bodies, and clip itself. An evocatively told communicative of a silent man whose enigmatic quality stems from nan acheronian broadside of humanity and from his interaction pinch nan sacred, nan movie moves on nan bound betwixt nan beingness and nan spiritual. Thanks to compelling sound design, a hypnotic ocular style, and a rejection of accepted storytelling, Axel Bertha delivers an absorbing cinematic acquisition that explores quality cruelty arsenic portion of a rhythm of demolition from which humanity has yet to find a measurement out.
Enas olokliros anthropos schedon / A Whole Person Almost
Director: Efthimis Kosemund-Sanidis
Greece, Bulgaria, Germany, Cyprus, Romania, 2025, 111 min, World premiere
Ilias arrives connected a distant land to declare his precocious father’s inheritance. But nan longer he is forced to enactment connected nan island, nan much his first indifference originates to fade. As he interacts pinch nan section community, he uncovers his father’s past and, pinch it, a image of a man which differs importantly from his ain memories. His gradually awakening emotions are intensified by his brushwood pinch nan section woman Kalliopi, by abrupt spasms successful his body, and by mysterious powerfulness outages that impact nan full island. This feature-length debut paints a tender image of a world that is some existent and mysterious – a spot where, contempt distant echoes foreboding nan imaginable extremity of nan world, we brushwood love, reconciliation, and unexpected understanding.
Homo Sive Natura
Director: Giovanni C. Lorusso
Italy, 2026, 115 min, World premiere
In nan distant forests of eastbound Cambodia lives a organization of indigenous inhabitants. An unnamed forty-year-old businessman arrives pinch seemingly selfless intentions: he claims he is simply a tourer seeking to discover the life of his “brothers”. In actuality, however, he is gathering accusation for nan imaginable expropriation of their land. Italian globetrotter Giovanni C. Lorusso lives up to his estimation arsenic a filmmaker balancing connected nan statement betwixt fabrication and documentary. Through unsocial locations, mesmerizing camera work, and immersive sound design, he captures nan slow soul translator of his protagonist on pinch nan rich | taste and belief life of a organization facing a modern shape of colonialism.
The Ink-Stained Hand and nan Missing Thumb
Director: Yashasvi Juyal
India, 2026, 120 min, World premiere
If nan world had an edge, it mightiness look thing for illustration nan distant area of bluish India wherever Santosh and Rajji live, collecting road tolls successful dilapidated booths. Work and endless waiting are blurred together. Bound by nan powerfulness of love, but besides by nan request to perpetually move astir successful hunt of work, they dream of nan happiness that awaits them successful a caller place… until 1 day, a abrupt calamity turns their lives upside down. As melancholic arsenic it is tender, The Ink-Stained Hand and nan Missing Thumb is nan communicative of everyone who has suffered an unexpected loss. It is simply a heartfelt romance bordering connected magical realism, a fleeting representation of a loved 1 who has vanished into nan past, ne'er to return.
Mein Freund der Pornostar / My Friend nan Porn Star
Director: Rosa Friedrich
Austria, 2026, 94 min, World premiere
Rosa – the head Rosa Friedrich herself – was ne'er that willing successful porn, until her friend Timo expresses a wish to prima successful an seductive film. So Rosa agrees to thief him get his task disconnected nan ground. However, nan person it gets to nan shooting date, nan much Timo feels embarrassed and doubtful astir having progressive himself successful nan first place. His look is yet replaced pinch nan thief of AI, and Rosa, together pinch a dominatrix, 3 trans women, a food-porn creator, a activity coach and different protagonists, continues pinch nan film. A playful look astatine nan benignant of porn that tin beryllium worlds isolated from nan depersonalised, omnipresent industry, nan benignant which gives emergence to emotions, misgivings and nan characteristic of each, individual assemblage and experience.
Milovník, nie bojovník / Lover, Not a Fighter
Director: Martina Buchelová
Slovak Republic, 2026, 108 min, World premiere
Andrej wants to extremity causing problem and commencement behaving himself. To walk nan summertime helping his grandmother, and chiefly not to portion intoxicant – because erstwhile he drinks, he does things for illustration climb a character from which he can’t get down anymore. But his scheme doesn’t count connected him gathering and falling successful emotion (or something) pinch Míša. And sometimes emotion is worthy fighting for, moreover if it’s alongside your boring relative Peter. A summertime afloat of challenges tin begin! This debut by Slovak head Martina Buchelová is simply a ceremony of cinematic state that is humorous and inventive successful position of some style and narrative. Come bask summertime for illustration erstwhile we were teenagers.
Paris Paris
Director: Isabelle Tollenaere
Belgium, 2026, 78 min, World premiere
An allegory of searching, loss, displacement, and nan find of caller meanings and commonalities. Three men – Yi-En from China, Junior from Congo, and Hamzah from Palestine – stock a spartan flat successful a seemingly abandoned building successful Paris. Besides this associated surviving arrangement, nan group is bound together by their shared acquisition of life successful exile and nan fleeting quality of their possessions, relationships, and consciousness of home. Director Isabelle Tollenaere’s fabrication movie debut is group successful 1 of Europe’s awesome cities and successful a replica of Paris built successful China – a metaphor for nan immigrants’ aged dream of life successful a caller location and its gradual translator into a caller dream astir their aged home.
Rain Catcher
Director: Michele Fiascaris
Italy, United Kingdom, 2026, 109 min, World premiere
On acheronian and rainy nights, Miles creeps nan streets of London, photographing nan city’s hidden corners and nan group that populate them. The products of these voyeuristic forays, published nether nan pseudonym Rain Catcher, gain him awesome renown connected societal networks and among precocious culture. With time, however, he starts to announcement nan aforesaid mysterious female successful his photographs – a female who follows his each move and slow originates to frighten each his activity and his very existence. Michele Fiascaris’s suggestive feature-film debut uses his film’s gloomy ambiance to research nan city’s underbelly – and nan disquieting quality mind. The assemblage is invited to immerse themselves successful Miles’s paranoia arsenic he uncovers reality 1 measurement astatine a time.
Shokyakuro / Incinerator
Director: Shuntaro Uchida
Japan, 2026, 97 min, World premiere
Ten-year-old Kozue, who decidedly is not 1 of nan celebrated kids astatine school, secretly spends her clip tossing various objects into nan school’s incinerator. When assemblage student Jinta comes to her schoolroom and invites nan children to a protector play performance, thing awakens wrong Kozue, and her way toward adulthood begins. In this poetic communicative based connected a short communicative by Japanese writer Kaori Ekuni (nicknamed nan “female Murakami”), sunny summertime days operation languidly pinch scenes of mundane life to uncover a silent yet unsettling confrontation pinch a world that often seems impenetrable to children’s eyes. Understanding family relationships, mortality, and one’s ain emotions is importantly much analyzable than turning things into ash.
Sitni lopovi / Petty Thieves
Director: Mate Ugrin
Croatia, Germany, France, 2026, 106 min, World premiere
It’s summer, and nan tourer play connected nan Adriatic is successful afloat swing. Loner Rio earns other money arsenic a room thief astatine a section hotel, but he besides commits insignificant thefts astatine nan disbursal of overseas visitors. When nan young Serbian worker Andrea learns astir his thieving, nan 2 travel to an different agreement: they will bargain together and stock nan profits. But this pragmatic confederation grows into an unexpected closeness. Croatian filmmaker Mate Ugrin’s characteristic debut follows connected from respective unique Balkan films from caller years. Through clever metaphors, subtly elliptical editing, and an evocative usage of atmosphere, Petty Thieves paints a image of solidarity among group who ne'er extremity dreaming of a amended early successful nan look of a tourism manufacture that pushes them to nan margins.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Bára Basiková / Bára – Diary of a Rockstar
Director: Helena Třeštíková
Czech Republic, 2026, 97 min, World premiere
Bára Basiková is an icon of Czech stone and other euphony genres. To what grade tin her public, media-distorted image disagree from nan personification she really is? The reply comes successful nan shape of nan latest long-term documentary study from Helena Třeštíková, whose empathy, coupled pinch admirable self-reflection and openness connected nan portion of nan protagonist, gives emergence to a fascinating movie portrait: complete nan people of 50 years we travel a female who demonstrates singular spot arsenic she faces nan challenges of some her master and backstage lives.
Dvě deci tuše / A Pint of Ink
Director: Ester Geislerová
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2026, 83 min, World premiere
If nan value of a biographical documentary is measured by its expertise to instill successful viewers antecedently unfamiliar pinch nan taxable nan desire to get to cognize that personification and to walk clip wrong their “magnetic field,” past A Pint of Ink is simply a successful film. Another logic is that Ester Geislerová, girl of nan Japanologist, translator, journalist, educator, and calligrapher Petr Geisler (1949–2009), has managed to seizure her father’s exceptional position successful late-twentieth-century Czech civilization (and more) without ever losing show of nan intimate, familial, joyful, and achy dimensions. Through photographs, location videos, letters, and individual recollections, she composes a image of a charismatic charmer who remained mysteriously elusive moreover to his closest family.
Kdyby se holubi proměnili ve zlato / If Pigeons Turned to Gold
Director: Pepa Lubojacki
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2026, 110 min
Not conscionable nan Best Documentary Award astatine this year’s Berlinale turned pigeons to golden for modern Czech documentary film. Have you ever mourned personification who is still alive? Shooting connected her iPhone, head Pepa Lubojacki tries to understand why her beloved older relative and 2 cousins unrecorded unhoused while struggling pinch addiction. Avoiding nan siren opus of sentimality and changeable successful a DIY artistic enriched by nan imaginative usage of stylized remembrances, schematic interventions, and artificial intelligence, this disarmingingly individual movie explores family history, nan causes and consequences of addiction, and nan limits of individual integrity. What is nan correct look of emotion – to save, aliases to fto go?
Khaneh doost injast / The Friend’s House is Here
Director: Maryam Ataei, Hossein Keshavarz
Iran, USA, 2025, 96 min, International premiere
Pari and Hanna, roommates and friends, unrecorded successful modern-day Tehran. Pari is simply a curator and head of an independent theatre group; Hanna is simply a dancer, who wants to get retired of Iran arsenic soon arsenic possible. The business of some women becomes much complicated, but their relationship is beardown successful nan look of governmental oppression. The Friend’s House is Here is simply a rewarding cinematic experience, conveying a consciousness of state and hope, moreover though it originated nether nan nonstop other conditions. Just a fewer days aft nan June War successful Iran, nan crew, headed by directing duo Hossein Keshavarz and Maryam Ataei, took to nan streets of Tehran to make a movie astir a procreation that no longer wants to unrecorded according to imposed rules and is striving to execute 1 of nan basal quality rights, nan correct to state of creator expression.
Learning To Breathe Underwater
Director: Rebekah Fortune
United Kingdom, Netherlands, Ireland, 2026, 95 min, World premiere
Eight-year-old Leo lives pinch his dada and a elephantine shark, which collapsed done nan tile of their home. Yes, you publication that correctly. The shark is Leo’s champion friend, to whom he tin confide each his secrets. He can’t really talk to his dad; he must beryllium missing mum, who’s been gone 5 years now. Then Anya nan au brace bursts into their lives, and their world abruptly changes. It’s much cheerful and Leo discovers that nan metallic shark doesn’t person to beryllium his only friend. An enchanting movie for parents and children astir really to talk together and really to grieve together. About really nan world of adults is sometimes difficult to understand, and really children’s opinions really should beryllium taken seriously. And, supra all, it’s astir learning really to respire again.
Město otců / City of Fathers
Director: Zdeněk Tyc
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Poland, 2026, 100 min, World premiere
Distinctive filmmaker Zdeněk Tyc offers up a communicative astir a begetter and son, who person thing successful communal isolated from their first name, Richard, and an flat connected a lodging estate. The burly, good-natured, 30-something mill worker listens to dense metallic and occasionally lets his woman into his life. The frail, retired teacher, who raised nan boy aft his mother’s departure, is nan embodiment of attraction and understanding. However, their tranquil, shared reality, which embraces both nan hardcore set Našrot and Bergman’s Cries and Whispers, is disrupted by nan abrupt decease of nan mother. Young Richard sets retired connected a peculiar initiation travel pinch bizarre encounters and moments of unexpected enlightenment. Tyc plunges headfirst into existential themes pinch nan dependable support of a stellar formed headed by Tomáš Vravník and Vladimír Javorský.
Mistryně / Everything As It Should Be
Director: Bohdan Karásek
Czech Republic, 2026, 101 min, World premiere
Monika, a doctor, is happy successful her narration and is expecting a child. She still gets on good pinch her erstwhile hubby Petr, and truthful she decides to show him astir her gestation successful person. The 2 of them had had difficulties conceiving. Their day gathering for java extends into evening, truthful they person plentifulness of clip to talk – astir what mightiness person been, and besides astir what mightiness be. Director, screenwriter, and editor Bohdan Karásek pays homage to mumblecore, a genre founded connected conversations. The speech betwixt nan 2 main characters, excellently portrayed by Marie Švestková and Jiří Havelka, opens galore questions faced by much than a fewer men and women successful mediate age.
Morten
Director: Ivan Pavljutskov
Estonia, Lithuania, 2026, 101 min, World premiere
Youthful fragility and self-discovery are predominant motifs of nan modern coming-of-age genre, but fewer filmmakers besides reside societal issues – and do truthful successful a poetic mode aliases pinch a belief dimension. Estonian head Ivan Pavljutskov is decidedly among nan second group. In his characteristic debut, fifteen-year-old photographer Morten finds himself caught betwixt 2 worlds – betwixt 2 girls, betwixt quality and civilization, betwixt mundane reality and nan mystical, betwixt what is correct and what others want. As it explores nan depths of nan Baltic forests and of a young boy’s soul, Morten will charm viewers of each ages pinch its warmth and knowing for each its characters.
Robert Richardson: The White Devil
Director: Jana Hojdová
Czech Republic, USA, 2026, 105 min, World premiere
Jana Hojdová, a erstwhile cinematography student astatine Prague’s FAMU, sent an email successful bid to get a interaction for Robert Richardson, 1 of nan astir distinguished cinematographers on nan segment today. It must person been a awesome astonishment for her to person a reply from nan man himself. What started arsenic a student workout and master’s grade task soon evolved into a imaginative business and individual friendship. The much improbable nan film’s premise seems, nan much fascinated we go by its image of a unique and uncompromising artist, three-time Academy Award winner, and acclaimed collaborator of specified board arsenic Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino.
The Story of Documentary Film – 1980s
Director: Mark Cousins
United Kingdom, 2026, 120 min, World premiere
The Karlovy Vary IFF’s astir fifteen-year relationship pinch Mark Cousins, whose stunning movie essays person impressed countless viewers complete nan years, is firmly rooted successful a shared passion for nan world of cinema and successful nan festival’s sincere admiration for this inimitable Northern Irish filmmaker, writer, curator, movie professional and traveller. After what are now legendary bid The Story of Film: An Odyssey and Women Make Film, nan magnetic storyteller brings america different saga, this clip devoted to documentary film. Of his sixteen hour-long chapters embracing nan full history of nan tenth muse, Cousins selected for Karlovy Vary nan portion that centres connected nan 1980s, an era that was basal for our region from a socio-political perspective.
To Die to Live
Director: Yuliia Hontaruk
Ukraine, Latvia, Slovak Republic, 2026, 116 min, World premiere
In 2014, Shakhta, Dancer, and Potter volunteered for nan service successful bid to conflict successful nan Russo-Ukrainian conflict successful eastbound Ukraine. Although nan horrible things they knowledgeable during 2 years connected nan beforehand travel them for each 2nd of their existence, they effort to return to civilian life. But nan Russian penetration successful 2022 forces them to again face nan war. Filmed complete nan people of 12 years, this documentary uses a fragmentary cinematic connection to evoke nan trauma knowledgeable by its protagonists, and frankincense to thief america ideate nan unimaginable: really to judge that immoderate unrecorded while others die, and that – faced pinch one’s ain decease – what remains supra each is nan desire to live.
Vyvolený / Gregorius, nan Chosen One
Director: Tomasz Mielnik
Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, 2026, 90 min, World premiere
“Puppeteer, show america a communicative we don’t cognize yet!” nan assemblage calls retired to a walking thespian. And truthful he starts to recount a communicative astir a boy calved of nan forbidden emotion betwixt relative and sister, who had galore adventures, who spent seventeen years tied to a rock, and who possibly was also… a hedgehog? But that’s not arsenic important arsenic how, aft overcoming each these obstacles, he ended up becoming nan pope. Young Gregorius (excellently portrayed by Jan František Uher) is simply a charming operation of naivete and determination, and it is simply a axenic joyousness to watch his wanderings done mythical lands. Director Tomasz Mielnik’s wild, absurd drama is based connected nan last caller by Thomas Mann.
Zpráva pro Minervu 2 / A Report for Minerva 2
Director: Miroslav Krobot, Lubomír Smékal
Czech Republic, 2026, 69 min, World premiere
The lives of a mismatched group of guests and labor go entangled successful a run-down hotel. Some person travel successful hunt of bid and a little flight from their regular routine, while others agelong for alteration – aliases moreover love. A lonely clarinetist crosses paths pinch a young man looking for a romanticist adventure, an unhappily joined couple, an idiosyncratic edifice unit member, and besides an alien sent from nan satellite Minerva 2 successful bid to study connected nan authorities of Earth. A mosaic of fourteen interwoven stories emerges done fleeting situations, awkward moments, interior monologues, and quiet observations. This experimental movie by Miroslav Krobot and Lubomír Smékal is loosely based connected nan shape accumulation of nan aforesaid sanction by nan S 23 Theatre Company, whose non-professional actors put together shape performances based connected nan dialogical acting method.
The Juries of nan 60th Karlovy Vary IFF
CRYSTAL GLOBE JURY
Justin Chang
Justin Chang is simply a movie professional astatine The New Yorker and NPR’s “Fresh Air”. He won nan 2024 Pulitzer Prize for disapproval for his penning astatine nan Los Angeles Times, wherever he spent 8 years arsenic a critic. Previously, he was nan main movie professional astatine Variety. Chang serves arsenic chair of nan National Society of Film Critics and caput of nan Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and is simply a personnel of nan New York Film Festival action committee. He teaches astatine nan Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism astatine nan University of Southern California.
Amanda Nell Eu
Amanda Nell Eu is simply a filmmaker based successful Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Her debut characteristic film Tiger Stripes was nan Grand Prize victor of Semaine de la Critique successful nan 2023 Cannes Film Festival. The movie was besides nan charismatic Malaysian submission for nan Academy Awards successful 2023. Amanda graduated from nan London Film School pinch an MA successful Filmmaking and is an alumna of Berlinale Talents, Tokyo Talents and Locarno Filmmakers Academy. She has besides served arsenic a assemblage personnel astatine various movie festivals and mentored movie workshops internationally.
Pavel Rejholec
Pavel Rejholec is simply a Czech sound designer, producer, composer, and educator. He graduated from nan Department of Sound Design astatine FAMU, wherever he has been caput of nan section since 2011. Throughout his career, he has worked arsenic a sound designer connected much than 50 Czech and world characteristic films. Since 2003, he has served arsenic nan managing head of nan Soundsquare studio. He has won 8 Czech Lion Awards for Best Sound, for instance, for nan films Zátopek aliases The Painted Bird. As a dubbing supervisor, he collaborated pinch Lucasfilm connected Star Wars: Episode II and Star Wars: Episode III. He is simply a personnel of nan Motion Picture Sound Editors and serves connected nan committee of nan Czech Film and Television Academy.
Nadia Turincev
Nadia Turincev was calved successful Moscow, grew up successful Paris and studied taste anthropology. She started disconnected successful nan movie manufacture aged 16, making sandwiches for Marcello Mastroianni. In 2007, she co-founded Rouge International, producing 25+ films (Fix ME, Mimosas, Raw, Oscar-nominated The Insult and Faces Places). In 2019 she near Rouge and created Easy Riders Films (Mariupolis 2, Crossing, Only Rebels Win) pinch Omar El Kadi. She precocious opened her solo institution Sento Films to nutrient “unrealizable” films.
Eskil Vogt
Eskil Vogt is simply a two-time Oscar-nominated Norwegian filmmaker. His directing debut Blind (2014) premiered astatine nan Sundance FF wherever it won nan Screenwriting Award. His sophomore effort, The Innocents (2021), premiered astatine nan Cannes FF earlier going connected to triumph much than 20 world awards. Eskil besides collaborates intimately pinch Joachim Trier, co-writing each of Trier’s features since Reprise (2006), including Oslo, August 31st (2011), The Worst Person successful nan World (2021) and Sentimental Value (2025). Vogt is simply a directing postgraduate from La Fémis, nan French nationalist movie school.
PROXIMA JURY
Estrella Araiza
Estrella Araiza is nan General Director of nan Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG) and Cineteca UDG, wherever she has focused connected strengthening nan beingness of Mexican and Latin American cinema crossed some institutions. Her master profession includes acquisition arsenic Director of Industry and Market astatine FICG, arsenic good arsenic activity arsenic a income agent, academic, and movie supplier successful Mexico. She began her profession successful world movie distribution successful 2005, and successful 2012 founded her ain company, Vendo Cine. Since 2018, she has overseen FICG’s typical projects, including nan acclaimed accumulation Guillermo del Toro: At Home pinch My Monsters successful Guadalajara.
Dirk Decker
Dirk Decker is a shaper and co-founder of Hamburg-based Tamtam Film. Through Tamtam, he useful pinch emerging talents and supports unique auteur cinema crossed fabrication and documentary. His productions person premiered astatine awesome world festivals. Recent titles see Rain Fell connected nan Nothing New (Karlovy Vary 2025), Short Summer (Venice 2025, Lion of nan Future) and Trial of Hein (Berlinale 2026, Teddy Jury Award).
Jakub Felcman
Jakub Felcman is simply a Czech screenwriter, show organizer, movie critic, imaginative producer, director, and qualified plumber. He studied movie astatine nan Faculty of Arts, Charles University, and FAMU, published interviews and movie analyses (for Cinepur), programmed movie festivals, and co-founded 2 of them (Ostrava Kamera Oko, Marienbad). As a book editor he collaborated connected films by Jan Němec, Petr Václav, Radu Jude, and Corneliu Porumboiu. Cinemas person screened respective films that he co-wrote aliases produced (such arsenic A Night Too Young, A Certain Kind of Silence, and The Wolf from Royal Vineyard Street).
Devika Girish
Devika Girish is editor astatine Film Comment mag and a Talks programmer astatine nan New York Film Festival. Her penning besides appears successful The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, The Nation, The New Republic, Sight & Sound, The Criterion Collection, and others, and she has programmed bid and festivals for nan Criterion Channel, nan Brooklyn Academy of Music, Film astatine Lincoln Center, nan Mumbai Film Festival, nan Berlin Critics’ Week, and more. Devika has been invited to juries astatine CPH:DOX, nan Locarno Film Festival, SEMINCI, and Visions du Réel.
Marija Kavtaradze
Marija Kavtaradze is simply a Lithuanian head and screenwriter. Graduating from nan Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre successful 2014, she made her characteristic debut pinch Summer Survivors successful 2018, which premiered astatine the Toronto IFF, followed by Slow (2023), which earned her a Directing Award astatine nan Sundance Film Festival and had its European premiere astatine KVIFF successful 2023. Marija useful arsenic a screenwriter connected shorts and characteristic films, including The Visitor (dir. Vytautas Katkus, KVIFF 2025), Runner (dir. Andrius Blaževičius, KVIFF 2021), nan animated TV bid BFF for kids, and others.
