The Prague International Film Festival – Febiofest will screen 90 films during its 29^th edition (28 April-4 May). “The Prague IFF – Febiofest has always tried to respond to current events in society, and this year will be no different. Given the shocking, aggressive war waged by Russia against Ukraine, which is a global threat affecting us all, we have decided to create a special section called ‘Ukraine: Central Europe’. Art cannot save lives, but it can change our worldview. And in this case, it can help specific people. All proceeds from the admissions for this special section will be donated in support of humanitarian organisations and Ukrainian artists,” says Marta Švecová Lamperová, the artistic director of the Prague IFF – Febiofest.

The retrospective dedicated to Ukrainian cinema will screen Valentyn Vasyanovych’s Atlantis [+lee también:
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entrevista: Valentyn Vasyanovych
ficha de la película] and Oleksii Taranenko’s I Work at the Cemetery, alongside Sergei Parajanov’s 1964 film Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors and Michail Kaufman’s In Spring, from 1929, among other titles. In addition, Oleh Sentsov will be honoured with the festival’s Kristián Award (which he won’t be able to receive personally, as he is still fighting in Ukraine), and his three features to date – Gamer, Numbers [+lee también:
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entrevista: Oleg Sentsov
ficha de la película] and Rhino [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] – will get an airing at the event. Moreover, the festival is dedicating a special industry sidebar, called “Works in Progress – Focus on Ukraine”, to Ukrainian filmmakers who are currently living in the Czech Republic so that they can pitch their projects.

Six films directed by female filmmakers and one by a male helmer will be vying for the awards in the main competition focused on debuts and sophomore features. They are As in Heaven [+lee también:
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entrevista: Tea Lindeburg
ficha de la película] by Tea Lindeburg, Murina [+lee también:
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entrevista: Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović
entrevista: Gracija Filipovic
ficha de la película] by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic, Silent Land [+lee también:
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entrevista: Aga Woszczyńska
ficha de la película] by Aga Woszczynska, You Resemble Me [+lee también:
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entrevista: Dina Amer
ficha de la película] by Dina Amer, Her Way [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Cécile Ducrocq, Other Cannibals [+lee también:
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entrevista: Francesco Sossai
ficha de la película] by Francesco Sossai and Vera Dreams of the Sea [+lee también:
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entrevista: Kaltrina Krasniqi
ficha de la película] by Kaltrina Krasniqi. Recent Central and Eastern European productions will be showcased in the Eastern Delights section, with the domestic dark comedy Somewhere Over the Chemtrails [+lee también:
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entrevista: Adam Koloman Rybanský
ficha de la película] by Adam Koloman Rybanský, 107 Mothers [+lee también:
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entrevista: Peter Kerekes
ficha de la película] by Peter Kerekes, the Romanian co-production Miracle [+lee también:
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entrevista: Bogdan George Apetri
ficha de la película] by Bogdan George Apetri, the Polish social “hiphopera” Other People [+lee también:
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entrevista: Aleksandra Terpińska
ficha de la película] by Aleksandra Terpińska and Darko Sinko’s Inventory [+lee también:
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entrevista: Darko Sinko
ficha de la película].

The festival has decided to split both its Panorama and Generation sections into two. Panorama: Icons thus screens recent works by established filmmakers, such as Bergman Island [+lee también:
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entrevista: Mia Hansen-Løve
ficha de la película] by Mia Hansen-Løve, The Wedding Day [+lee también:
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entrevista: Wojciech Smarzowski
ficha de la película] by Wojciech Smarzowski and Lech Majewski’s Brigitte Bardot Forever, while Panorama: New Currents is orientated more towards “the most interesting and the most recent films from the big festivals”, with this year’s selection including Ursula Meier’s The Line [+lee también:
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entrevista: Ursula Meier
ficha de la película] and Teemu Nikki’s The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic [+lee también:
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entrevista: Teemu Nikki y Jani Pösö
entrevista: Teemu Nikki, Jani Pösö y…
ficha de la película]. Similarly, Generation: Junior is dedicated to the youngest members of the audience (featuring Ivana Šebestová and Katarína Kerekesová’s Mimi and Liza – The Garden, and Alex Kronemer’s Lamya’s Poem, among others) and Generation: Plus to young adults (with Laura Wandel’s Playground [+lee también:
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entrevista: Laura Wandel
ficha de la película] and Flynn von Kleist’s I Don’t Wanna Dance [+lee también:
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ficha de la película], for instance).

The festival has traditionally run a separate section for comedies, where Florian Gallenberger’s It’s Just a Phase, Honey [+lee también:
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ficha de la película], Hannes Þór Halldórsson’s Cop Secret [+lee también:
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entrevista: Hannes Þór Halldórsson
entrevista: Hannes Þór Halldòrsson
ficha de la película] and Fernando León Aranoa’s The Good Boss [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] will be locking horns for the award, and an LGBTQI+ section called Queer Now (including Milica Tomović’s Celts [+lee también:
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entrevista: Milica Tomovic
ficha de la película], Alli Haapasalo’s Girl Picture [+lee también:
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entrevista: Alli Haapasalo
ficha de la película] and Madiano Marcheti’s Madalena, among others). Meanwhile, the TV Now section will premiere solely domestic series: Dan Wlodarczyk’s Morning Glory, about families that are following alternative lifestyles asking the question of where the boundary lies between individual freedom and societal norms; Jan Hřebejk’s miniseries Behind the Curtain, which reflects on changing social and gender roles; and Czech Television’s first webseries, tbh, about the searingly topical issues that secondary-school students are currently facing. The Prague International Film Festival – Febiofest is also running a retrospective of Dutch provocateur Alex van Warmerdam, including Grimm Re-edit. For the second year running, a special section is being dedicated to VR works, this year reaching beyond the format of 360° films and adding more interactive fare plucked from Venice, Sundance and Tribeca.

The full line-up of the 29^th Prague International Film Festival – Febiofest is available here.