Karlovy Vary Film Festival, KVIFF 2015
by Sherif Awad
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) celebrated its 50th anniversary this year with the attendance of many American and international stars and filmmakers. The edition that started on July 3 and wrapped on July 11 also saw the screening of more than 200 films of different genres coming from all over the world. KVIFF’s 50th edition kick-started with the arrival of Richard Gere who was invited to receive the Crystal Globe, the special festival’s award destined for life achievement in cinema arts. Gere, who was overwhelmed by the raving reception of his fans around the festival’s theatre, kneeled in front of KVIFF’s president Jiri Bartoska while receiving the award, a beautiful gesture reminiscent of his scene as Lancelot receiving his knighthood from King Arthur in First Knight (1995).
Gere also presented his new film Time Out of Mind
that opened the festival. Written and directed by Oren Moverman, the film
centers on George (played by Gere) who is kicked out of his apartment only to
become one of many homeless men and women across the streets of New York. While
trying to find a solution for his problems, George reconnects with his daughter
Maggie (Jena Malone) who works as a bartender. Although the dark drama was not
the typical festival’s opening, it scored very positively with the audience.
KVIFF also welcomed Harvey Keitel who returned to the
festival eleven years after his reception of the Crystal Globe tribute. Keitel
also presented his new film Youth by Paolo Sorrentino in which he is playing
an aging filmmaker taking a vacation with his old friend played by Michael
Caine. Keitel also met the press at the
festival’s lounge where he answered their questions that revolved around the
most important peaks of his career. Keitel remembered how he is used to
rehearse with Robert de Niro by reading first their appointed roles then the
full script of the movie. Also, he explained how he raised more than a million
dollars to produce Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. A veteran of the
Actor Studio, Keitel remembered Elia Kazan and Marlon Brando whose works
positively influenced the generation of actors and filmmakers he belonged to.
Another interesting cult actor made a stop in Karlovy Vary:
The German-born, now California-based Udo Kier whose filmography states that he
co-starred in more than 200 films since his debuts in the 1960s. We will know
more about Kier from Kier himself who granted The Westchester Guardian an
exclusive interview that we will posted in a separate article.
Charming American feature film Bob and the Trees, where the
main character, logger and rap fan Bob Tarasuk, plays himself, was awarded with
the Crystal Globe at the 50th anniversary Karlovy Vary Film Festival. Tarasuk
accepted the Festival Grand Prix in person, together with director Diego
Ongaro.
At the closing ceremony, the jury of the international
competition composed of American producer Tim League, Russian screenwriter Angelina
Nikonova, Icelandic actor Olafur Darri Olafsson, Iran-born producer Hengameh
Panahi, and Czech critic Ondrej Zach, awarded
the American film Bob and the Trees The Crystal Globe for Best Film. Bob
that premiered early this year at Sundance Film Festival is part documentary,
part fiction with the main protagonist Bob Tarasuk, a fifty-something
Massachusetts logger and farmer for more than three decades, playing himself on
the screen. When receiving the award with the rest of the crew, Bob admitted he
never had a passport and so it was his first time to travel outside of the USA.
Director Diego Ongaro and his wife screenwriter Courtney Maum also financed the
film that is still looking for American and international distribution. Tarasuk
dedicated the award to his Czech grandmother and his Ukrainian grandfather.
