The 59th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival kicked off with plenty of style on Friday evening in the Czech spa town outside of Prague. But the opening ceremony also contained plenty of serious undertones, as honorees Peter Sarsgaard and Vicky Krieps received President’s awards before giving brief remarks praising peace and speaking out against fascism.
Krieps championed how cinema can cross borders and decried needing a judge or passport to determine what can be shared, while Sarsgaard specifically warned of a perilous drift towards fascism that is playing out in America, lamenting that the United States is “retreat[ing] from its global responsibilities and tr[ying] to go it alone.”
As usual, the ceremony also included a performance by dancers in cones of light choreographed by the Caban brothers that wowed attendees in the Grand Hall at the Hotel Thermal. Later in the evening, the pop duo La Roux performed a show that drew crowds both inside and out of the venue as its tunes echoed through the small town.
However, the centerpiece of the opening night was a film that paid tribute to the festival’s late director, Jiří Bartoška, who died this past May at the age of 78. Having served in the role since 1994, working for years alongside the festival’s late, former artistic director and film critic Eva Zaoralová, Bartoška offered many stories about his time as both an actor and festival director in the intimate documentary “We’ve Got to Frame It! (a conversation with Jiří Bartoška in July 2021).”
Directed by Milan Kuchynka and Jakub Jurásek, the film split into chapters of sorts with its subject taking us back decades with nothing else but him and a couple of occasional interjections as he talks from a chair while smoking. Though full of moments where Bartoška grows reflective about the long journey he and the festival have been on, the documentary about a Czech film and TV titan is never tiring as the late icon was able to spin a playful yarn with plenty of humor to spare.
As the conversation becomes more of an extended monologue of sorts, Bartoška brings a depth of knowledge about both film and the history of the festival so that, even when he may forget a detail here or there, he always has plenty more to say.
With every name drop and story, several of which are quite literally gut-bustingly funny, the twinkle in Bartoška’s eye grows brighter just as he brings a refreshingly candid openness about the work of creating the festival. Though very much a loving tribute to the man, the film doesn’t skip over how there were many challenges that KVIFF had to overcome to get the festival to where it is now.
The title of the film itself is a reference to a story Bartoška tells near the very end about how there was a year where they didn’t have enough money and he had to get a loan from a friend to make it through. That the director saved the documentation to this is only part of how the film captures his passion for the work and also his willingness to poke fun at himself.
Naturally, this all played extremely well in the cavernous Grand Hall, serving as one last farewell of sorts from Bartoška to the community he brought together. Friday’s premiere felt like the kind of special screening that can’t be replicated anywhere else. It’s hard to imagine the film getting a wide release in the same way that other opening-night films at the festival have, but that narrower focus suits it just fine.
The fact that it could have only happened in Karlovy Vary is a testament to Bartoška himself. As he reflects with great openness, there are many festivals around the world, but none that is quite like his. That it kicked off with the late director getting the chance to look backwards one last time in an almost communal sending off into the future made for a moving opening to the festival that now must carry on without him.
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