Karlovy Vary lineup to feature Krauze, Ovashvili, Khlebnikov

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival, Central and Eastern Europe’s leading movie event, has selected its 12-strong competition lineup, which includes films from two past winners of the Czech festival’s Crystal Globes, the late Krzysztof Krauze and George Ovashvili, Variety said.

Krauze, who hailed from Poland and won the film and directing prizes in 2004 with “My Nikifor,” is represented by “Birds Are Singing in Kigali,” which he co-directed with his wife Joanna Kos-Krauze. It depicts the painful aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. The co-directors received a special mention at Karlovy Vary in 2013 for “Papusza.”

Three years after winning the Crystal Globe for best film with “Corn Island,” Georgia’s Ovashvili returns to Karlovy Vary with “Khibula,” inspired by the tragic story of the first democratically elected president of newly independent Georgia following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Zviad Gamsakhurdia was forced to flee into the mountains after a military coup.

The competition also presents Russian director Boris Khlebnikov’s “Arrhythmia,” a contemporary tale about a marriage in crisis; Czech helmer Václav Kadrnka’s “Little Crusader,” a medieval story about a knight searching for his missing son; and “The Line,” a thriller from Slovakia’s Peter Bebjak, about a criminal gang smuggling cigarettes across the Slovak-Ukrainian border.

Also in the running are directorial debuts from India’s Karma Takapa, with “Ralang Road,” Israeli-German filmmaker Ofir Raul Graizer, presenting “Cakemaker,” and Turkish actor Onur Saylak, premiering “More.”

“This year’s competition lineup will satisfy those who are looking for new exciting talents coming from the region [the festival] is known to represent,” Karel Och, the festival’s artistic director, said. “Radical yet mature and complex debuts are accompanied by the new, eagerly awaited work of masters we cannot wait to launch.”

Oscar-winning actor Casey Affleck will receive the festival’s President’s Award. Full details of the lineup can be found at the festival’s website. The event runs June 30 to July 8.

OFFICIAL SELECTION – COMPETITION

“Arrhythmia” (Russia, Finland, Germany), director: Boris Khlebnikov. International premiere.

“Breaking News” (Romania), director: Iulia Rugină. International premiere.

“The Cakemaker” (Israel, Germany), director: Ofir Raul Graizer. World premiere.

“The Line” (Slovak Republic, Ukraine), director: Peter Bebjak. World premiere.

“Corporate” (France), director: Nicolas Silhol. International premiere.

“More” (Turkey), director: Onur Saylak. World premiere.

“Keep the Change” (U.S.), director: Rachel Israel. International premiere.

“Khibula” (Georgia, Germany, France), director: George Ovashvili. World premiere.

“Little Crusader” (Czech Rep., Slovak Rep., Italy) director: Václav Kadrnka. World premiere.

“Men Don’t Cry” (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany), director: Alen Drljević. World premiere.

“Birds Are Singing in Kigali” (Poland), directors: Joanna Kos-Krauze, Krzysztof Krauze. World premiere.

“Ralang Road” (India), director: Karma Takapa. World premiere.