UPDATE (4 November 2020): In view of the ongoing lockdown announced by the government in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the special Karlovy Vary IFF 54 ½, originally scheduled for 18-21 November, will not take place. KVIFF president Jiří Bartoška said, "We are sorry that we will not be able to hold this event either, but in this era, people’s health absolutely takes priority, and I am sure that everyone sees it the same way. We believe that we will be able to organise our regularly scheduled 55th Karlovy Vary IFF on 2-10 July 2021 to the extent and at the level of quality that our guests, partners and audiences are accustomed to.”

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Despite the setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisers of the largest Czech film gathering, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, were confident that the festival would happen in one form or another. The first instalment unspooled as a decentralised, on-site version organised in local venues throughout the Czech Republic, as the KVIFF at Your Cinema showcase (see the news). The team earlier announced that the second instalment would happen in the usual spot (see the news) as the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 54 ½.

The event will be held as a four-day festival with a non-competitive line-up of films each being screened two or three times as Czech premieres. The screenings are planned to be held in well-known venues such as the Grand and Small Halls of the Thermal Hotel, the Karlovy Vary Theatre, and the Čas Cinema in the spa town of Karlovy Vary. “It is our ambition, even under today’s circumstances, to find a way to hold a large-scale cultural event effectively and, above all, safely. We believe that if we observe the rules and ensure that sophisticated prevention and protection measures are taken, there is no need to give up on cultural life, even today,” revealed the organisers.

The line-up for the special edition includes festival hits and titles blessed with the Cannes 2020 label. Set to screen are Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh’s feature debut, Gagarin [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Fanny Liatard e Jérémy Tro…
scheda film], about “perseverance, the connection to a specific place and the power of the imagination”; the winner of the Venice International Film Critics’ Week Grand Prize, Ghosts [+leggi anche:
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trailer
scheda film] by Azra Deniz Okyay; Emmanuel Mouret’s Love Affair(s) [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Emmanuel Mouret
scheda film]; the opening film of Venice’s Orizzonti section, Apples [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Christos Nikou
scheda film] by Christos Nikou; and the Venice competition title Quo vadis, Aida? [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jasmila Žbanić
scheda film] by Jasmila Žbanić, among others.

Nevertheless, the current situation is volatile, as the Czech Republic entered a state of emergency for 30 days on 5 October (with indoor events involving more than ten people now banned, among other precautions). “In view of the government measures related to the spread of the coronavirus, we anticipate that the current situation will continue to change, and so we are tentatively cancelling the planned start of ticket sales originally scheduled for 21 October 2020. We will inform you about our next steps the moment we have any further information as to how, and under what conditions, we will be able to hold our festival. By holding Karlovy Vary IFF 54 ½, we hope to support cultural life in our country while thoroughly observing all health and safety measures,” the organisers stated.

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 54 ½ will take place from 18-21 November.

Below is the full line-up of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 54 ½:

Apples [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Christos Nikou
scheda film] - Christos Nikou (Greece/Poland/Slovenia)
The Big Hit [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Emmanuel Courcol (France)
Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets - Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross (USA)
Coach to Vienna - Karel Kachyňa (Czechoslovakia)
Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Julien Temple
scheda film] - Julien Temple (UK/Ireland)
DAU. Natasha [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ilya Khrzhanovskiy
scheda film] - Ilya Khrzhanovsky, Jekaterina Oertel (Germany/Ukraine/UK/Russia)
The Disciple - Chaitanya Tamhane (India)
Exile [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Visar Morina
scheda film] - Visar Morina (Germany/Belgium/Kosovo)
First Cow - Kelly Reichardt (USA)
The Furnace - Roderick MacKay (Australia)
Gagarin [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Fanny Liatard e Jérémy Tro…
scheda film] - Fanny Liatard, Jérémy Trouilh (France)
Ghosts [+leggi anche:
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trailer
scheda film] - Azra Deniz Okyay (Turkey/France/Qatar)
Gunda [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Victor Kossakovsky (Norway/USA)
Kiss Me Before It Blows Up - Shirel Peleg (Germany/Israel)
Love Affair(s) [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Emmanuel Mouret
scheda film] - Emmanuel Mouret (France)
Nadia, Butterfly - Pascal Plante (Canada)
The Nest - Sean Durkin (USA)
Nomadland - Chloé Zhao (USA/Germany)
Notturno [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Gianfranco Rosi
scheda film] - Gianfranco Rosi (Italy/France/Germany)
Quo vadis, Aida? [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Jasmila Žbanić
scheda film] - Jasmila Žbanić (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Austria/Romania/Netherlands/Germany/Poland/France/Norway/Turkey)
Sweat [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Magnus von Horn
scheda film] - Magnus von Horn (Poland/Sweden)
This Is My Desire - Chuko Esiri, Arie Esiri (Nigeria)
Wendy - Benh Zeitlin (USA)
Zanka Contact [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Ismaël El Araki (Morocco/France/Belgium)