PROFILE KAREL OCH
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Karlovy Vary’s velvet revolutionary T
he new artistic director of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF), Karel Och, wants to provoke audiences and launch
Eastern European talents on international careers. He was groomed for the role by Eva Zaoralova, Karlovy Vary’s lead programmer and animating spirit for more than 15 years. Och, 36, joined KVIFF in 2001 and has programmed the festival’s documentary competition as well as retrospectives of Sam Peckinpah, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and New Hollywood.
Q As the festival prepares for its 46th edition, where do you want to lead
Karlovy Vary? I think cinemas are full of products which function as tranquilisers, cementing the audience in their passivity. Our festival is a place for cinematic revolt, where bold fi lm-makers can unsettle or even shock the audience and make them ask questions. So I want to bring to Karlovy Vary more fi lm- makers like [My Joy director] Sergei Loznitsa, who has been a regular with us in recent years. Or Romain Gavras, whose Toronto title Our Day Will Come was one of the most extraordinary fi lms of 2010.
Q How does your perspective differ from that of your predecessor?
Every new head of festival programming wants — even has the responsibility — to introduce a slightly different point of view. But I must say Eva Zaoralova is very much my mentor. For years she and I have discussed fi lms on a daily basis, trying to convince each other of the relative merits of certain titles. She has given me a lot, and we’re very happy and lucky that she will continue to work with us as a consultant.
Q How is a ‘Karlovy Vary fi lm’ different from a fi lm we might see elsewhere?
A Karlovy Vary fi lm is extraordinary in the true sense of the word. Take for example last year’s Crystal Globe winner, The Mosquito Net (La Mosquitera). On one hand it presents familiar issues — family and relationships. On the other hand, it approaches these topics from a very unusual angle. It’s subversive and provocative. Or The Art Of Negative Thinking — it won Bard Breien our best director award in 2007 and was a huge success with our audience. It’s a black comedy which deals with the genre in an original way.
Q You are fond of genre fi lms…
We try to sneak as many genre fi lms into the
■ 30 Screen International in Berlin February 12, 2011
‘I really believe that a film-maker has to be a film buff first, so in a way we’re trying to educate’
programme as possible. Genre fi lms are very popular in Central and Eastern Europe, but very few of our fi lm-makers can make good genre fi lms. I really believe that a fi lm-maker has to be a fi lm buff fi rst, so in a way we’re trying to educate.
Q With so much competition for titles and dates, how can your festival
distinguish itself? We are one of the oldest festivals in the world, though for decades we were hampered by communist ideology. Since our rebirth in the early 1990s, we have become one of the top 10 international fi lm festivals. This, combined with our geographical position and focus, makes us the key event for Central and Eastern European fi lm. With our East of the West competition of fi lms from the former Soviet Bloc, we discover talent from Russia, Poland, Romania, Hungary and elsewhere and bring them to international attention.
Q How do you lure that talent to Karlovy Vary?
In three ways: First, by programming a quality competition line-up. Second, through our East of the West Works in Progress panel, where buyers and festival organisers discover fi lms which will soon be ready for their world premiere. Jacek Borcuch’s All That I Love screened in competition at Sundance last year after its presentation in our panel. Aleksei Fedorchenko’s Silent Souls created a big buzz in competition in Venice. Alexei Uchitel’s The Edge was nominated for best foreign fi lm at the Golden Globes. Third, by creating a bridge to Hollywood. We bring managers, agents and other people from the US fi lm industry to offer their insights to European fi lm-makers who might become the next big import to Hollywood — people like our Grand Prix winners Baltasar Kormakur and Henrik Ruben Genz or best director winner Joachim Trier.
s The Mosquito Net VISITORS’ VIEW OF KARLOVY VARY
JOHN NEIN, SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL, US The programming from Eastern and Central Europe is very good, not
surprisingly, plus I know I’ll see strong work from many other areas, from Scandinavia to Western Europe to Asia and Latin America. The Karlovy Vary programme shares many qualities we admire at Sundance, so it’s an important stop for us every year.
JEAN HEIJL, MOONLIGHT FILMS, NETHERLANDS It’s an intimate festival where you get to see the fi lms you missed at Berlin
and Cannes. I go to discover interesting talent early on in their careers, like Mohamed Al-Daradji’s Son Of Babylon, which we picked up last year. It’s a lot like Edinburgh in that respect.
IGOR NOLA, MAINFRAME FILM PRODUCTION, CROATIA We initiated some deals in Karlovy Vary for Central and
Eastern European territories for our fi lm Just Between Us, which won best director in 2010. We’d love to come back with another fi lm this year, as it’s defi nitely a place to present your fi lm.
IVANA KOSULICOVA, CINEMART DISTRIBUTION, CZECH REPUBLIC We often pick up a Karlovy
Vary competition title for distribution. The audience is a good indicator. In 2007, we took The Art Of Negative Thinking, which was a big hit at the festival. Last year we picked up the audience award winner, A Matter Of Size.
Karel Och
Karel Och, the Czech festival’s incoming artistic director, wants bold fi lm-makers to unsettle his audiences. He talks to Theodore Schwinke about cinematic revolt and Karlovy Vary’s role as a gateway to Central and Eastern Europe
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