Karlovy Vary film festival calls it a wrap

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) again drew record crowds in 2011, but don't expect attendance numbers to grow anytime soon, organizers say.

"We have nowhere to expand," KVIFF Executive Director Kryštof Mucha said.

 This year's incarnation of the annual summer festival ended July 9, drawing a total of 126,302 viewers, a number on par with the 2010 attendance figures.

Mucha pointed to a common complaint among festival organizers: the lack of modern screening facilities in the west Bohemian spa resort. He specifically cited a dearth of digital facilities in a briefing with reporters as the festival closed, saying this will prove a particular problem moving forward.

Still, the KVIFF remains capable of drawing stars, media and the general public alike with number of accredited journalists attending jumping by some 1,000 this year to 12,033. International film stars John Malkovich, Judi Dench and John Turturro also attended. The event continues to garner a reputation as one of Europe's most accessible film festivals, with tickets readily available to the general public and nearby campgrounds drawing backpacking students to the no-frills environment.

Dench received the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema, while Turturro shared the President's Award with Bosnian composer Gregor Bregović. Malkovich, who also attended last year's KVIFF, used this year to launch a new collection from his fashion line.

Among the notable award winners was the film Nicky's Family, which won the Audience Award and details the story of Sir Nicholas Winton, a British citizen who chartered trains to rescue Czechoslovak children on the eve of Nazi invasion. That movie had its premier in Prague early this year, which was attended by Winton himself.

Israel Director Joseph Madmony's Restoration took home the grand prize and $30,000, while the jury award went to Cigán by Slovak Director Martin Šulík, who garnered $20,000.

Benjamin Cunningham can be reached at
bcunningham@praguepost.com