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THE OFFICIAL SELECTION OF THE 59TH KARLOVY VARY IFF REVEALED
„The 59th Karlovy Vary IFF’s Official Selection offers an exciting display of the diversity of contemporary arthouse cinema. Answering exclusively to their artistic integrity, the filmmakers who have accepted the invitation to premiere their brand new works in Karlovy Vary fearlessly protect the right to challenge expectations, to disrupt stereotypes and to win over hearts and minds with equal intensity. Disregarding budgetary constraints, these filmmakers from countries such as Bangladesh, Lithuania, Norway and Colombia push the boundaries while keeping in mind the necessary connection between a film and its audience.
The Karlovy Vary IFF has always addressed political issues through powerful individual stories, fully supporting artists and their freedom of expression. Today we are announcing 11 titles from the usual dozen films in the Crystal Globe Competition. The remaining one comes from Iran; for the safety of its makers, it has been decided to postpone its announcement until closer to the festival.“
Karel Och, artistic director of Karlovy Vary IFF
Cinema Jazireh
Director: Gözde Kural
Turkey, Iran, Bulgaria, Romania
Divia
Director: Dmytro Hreshko
Poland, Ukraine, Netherlands, USA
Les Enfants vont bien / Out of Love
Director: Nathan Ambrosioni
France
Jimmy Jaguar
Director: Bence Fliegauf
Hungary
Quan un riu esdevé el mar / When a River Becomes the Sea
Director: Pere Vilà Barceló
Spain
Raději zešílet v divočině / Better Go Mad in the Wild
Director: Miro Remo
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic
Rebuilding
Director: Max Walker-Silverman
USA
Sbormistr / Broken Voices
Director: Ondřej Provazník
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic
Se meg / Don’t Call Me Mama
Director: Nina Knag
Norway
Svečias / The Visitor
Director: Vytautas Katkus
Lithuania, Norway, Sweden
A Vida Luminosa / The Luminous Life
Director: João Rosas
Portugal, France
La anatomía de los caballos / The Anatomy of the Horses
Director: Daniel Vidal Toche
Spain, Peru, Colombia, France
Avant / Après / Before / After
Director: Manoël Dupont
Belgium
Ayspes asatc qamin / Thus Spoke the Wind
Director: Maria Rigel
Armenia
Balur Nogorite / Sand City
Director: Mahde Hasan
Bangladesh
Forenses / Forensics
Director: Federico Atehortúa Arteaga
Colombia
Futuro Futuro / Future Future
Director: Davi Pretto
Brazil
Kako je ovde tako zeleno? / How Come It’s All Green Out Here?
Director: Nikola Ležaić
Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria
Na druhé straně léta / The Other Side of Summer
Director: Vojtěch Strakatý
Czech Republic, Croatia
Neplatené voľno / Action Item
Director: Paula Ďurinová
Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Germany
Regen fiel auf nichts Neues / Rain Fell On the Nothing New
Director: Steffen Goldkamp
Germany
Renovacija / Renovation
Director: Gabrielė Urbonaitė
Lithuania, Latvia, Belgium
TrepaNation
Director: Ammar al-Beik
Syria, Germany, France
Vgainoun mesa ap ti Margo / They Come Out of Margo
Director: Alexandros Voulgaris
Greece
Dragonfly
Director: Paul Andrew Williams
United Kingdom
Duchoň
Director: Peter Bebjak
Slovak Republic, Czech Republic
Hore je nebo, v doline som ja / Promise, I’ll Be Fine
Director: Katarína Gramatová
Slovak Republic, Czech Republic
Illi baqi minnak / All That’s Left of You
Director: Cherien Dabis
Germany, Cyprus, Palestine, Jordan, Greece, Qatar, Saudi Arabia
Karavan / Caravan
Director: Zuzana Kirchnerová
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Italy
Letní škola, 2001 / Summer School, 2001
Director: Dužan Duong
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic
Projekt český film / The Czech Film Project
Director: Marek Novák, Mikuláš Novotný
Czech Republic
A Second Life
Director: Laurent Slama
France
Tehran, Kenarat / Tehran Another View
Director: Ali Behrad
Iran, United Kingdom
The 2025 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival’s Industry Days programme, which will take place from Sunday, July 6 to Wednesday, July 9 – adding an additional full day of activities – will offer a lot of significant innovations, including a sharpened focus on Central European co-production opportunities in an updated showcase format of its KVIFF Eastern Promises platform. The extended programme broadens its scope with new presentations and events dedicated to the small-screen and series development. Supported by a new partnership with Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (CME), an entertainment company and broadcaster, the festival introduces a Pop-Up Series Incubator featuring five original European series. The aim is to establish Karlovy Vary as a hub for co-productions and creative collaborations across diverse narrative forms.
„We believe that we have a unique opportunity to strengthen our position as the leading industry event dedicated to Central Europe, a region that also includes creative powerhouses like Poland, Germany or Austria, and deserves focused international attention. Our aim is to serve as a central hub for producers, filmmakers, broadcasters, and platforms from Central Europe, alongside global industry professionals who wish to engage closely with this vibrant region. Recognizing the growing crossover of storytelling across various mediums, our expanded Industry Days now have the capacity and vision to fully embrace this evolution,“ says Kryštof Mucha, the Executive Director of Karlovy Vary IFF.
Central Europe to take Central Stage
The most significant innovation is a new format dedicated to showcasing film projects in the making – the previous Works in Progress pitches will be replaced by a more dynamic and CEE-focused KVIFF Central Stage showcase, a new initiative created by the KVIFF Film Industry Office in cooperation with selected national film institutes of eight Central European countries (Austria, Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine). Thirteen fiction films by established filmmakers from these countries that are in late stages of development, in production or post-production. Instead of traditional pitches, the projects will be introduced through interactive talks, focusing on the filmmakers and co-production landscape in each of the participating countries.
“We chose this new format because it addresses a real gap in the Central European film landscape. There is significant support for emerging filmmakers across Eastern Europe, but mid-career filmmakers often lack the necessary spotlight and resources to secure financing, even though their projects are equally compelling,” says Hugo Rosák, the Head of KVIFF Industry Office.
The Central Stage showcase will take place on Tuesday, July 8, on the Industry Main Stage in the KVIFF Industry Hub in Kaiserbad. The 13 selected projects will be revealed by the KVIFF Industry Office later in June.
The projects participating in KVIFF Central Stage will be eligible for exclusive post-production benefits, thanks to a generous partnership with leading studios UPP and Soundsquare. Projects qualifying for the Czech Audiovisual Fund’s 35% incentive for digital production will receive an additional 15% direct discount from UPP and Soundsquare for comprehensive audio-visual post-production services. This unique offer, including administrative support, reflects the positive developments in the regional audiovisual sector, making top-tier post-production more accessible and attractive to filmmakers from the region. The most promising films in development, selected by an international jury, will also be eligible for the 20,000 EUR Eurimages Co-Production Development Award.
Small Screen, Big Ambitions
Another pivotal development in this year’s industry program is the strategic expansion beyond feature films to embrace small-screen content, made possible through a groundbreaking new partnership with Central European Media Enterprises Ltd (CME), a leading content creator and broadcaster in Central and Eastern Europe operating in six geographical segments: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania and Moldova, Slovakia, and Slovenia. It also operates Oneplay (formerly Voyo), its original subscription video on demand platform. This collaboration aims at transforming Karlovy Vary into a comprehensive hub for television and streaming series development, thanks to a dedicated event program consisting of showcases, panels workshops and talks by major small-screen players and experts that will take place on Tuesday, July 8 and Wednesday, July 9.
Pop Up Series Incubator
A vital part of this new small-screen focus is the Pop Up Series Incubator showcase (Tuesday, July 8), a brand new series development program designed to support European producers and scriptwriters by boosting their projects through hands-on development, expert mentorship and financial support. Presented and organised by Tatino Films, co-financed by the European Union and supported and hosted by La Région Grand Est, the city of Reims, and KVIFF, the 8-month-long program comes together in Karlovy Vary with a pitching session where the creative teams will present their series concepts to industry professionals and decision makers, followed by curated match-making sessions with professionals that look to finance or produce series.
Works in Development – Feature Launch & Focus Queer to Compete for Eurimages Co-production Development Award
One of the KVIFF Eastern Promises staples, the MIDPOINT Institute’s Works in Development international script development program will showcasenine feature-length projects that are currently in development, and five additional projects developed within MIDPOINT – Focus Queer, a program supporting filmmakers exploring queer narratives, highlighting the importance of diversity and inclusion in contemporary storytelling.
The projects, now looking for co-production partners, will compete for the traditional 10,000 EUR Midpoint & KVIFF Development Award as well as the aforementioned Eurimages Co-production Development Award of 20,000 EUR.
You may find this year’s selection of Works in Development – Feature Launch here, and Focus Queer here. The presentations will take place on Monday, July 7.
Fresh Flight of KVIFF Talents
Now in its third edition, KVIFF Talents is a year-long program with the purpose of seeking out and supporting talented Czech and Slovak filmmakers and innovative audiovisual genres. The Creative Pool focuses on identifying innovative ideas for audiovisual works of any genre or format — from short films and series to podcasts or game concepts. The Feature Pool, on the other hand, is dedicated to supporting the development of original auteur-driven feature-length fiction films.
This year, nearly 200 submissions were received, making the selection process highly competitive. Six outstanding projects have been selected — three series and three feature films. They will receive development funding, mentorship from industry experts, and the opportunity to present their projects to potential producers, partners, and investors during the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The creative teams will pitch their projects to potential production partners during a dedicated KVIFF Talents showcase on Monday, July 7.
KVIFF Talents 2025 – Selected projects
FEATURE POOL:
Nameless (Czech Republic)
Feature debut combining live action and stop-motion animation
Animator & Director: Daria Kashcheeva
Producer: Lukáš Kokeš, Nutprodukce
Spirit Moose (Czech Republic, Slovakia)
Feature film – thriller
Director: Tomáš Klein
Screenwriter: Barbora Námerová
Producer: Tomáš Michálek, Master Film
Burnout (Czech Republic)
Feature debut based on the novel by Petr Šesták
Writer & Director: Greta Stocklassa
Producer: Marek Novák, Xova Films
CREATIVE POOL:
Mould (Czech Republic)
Animated series for both children and adults
Animator & Director: Phillip Kastner
Producer: Tereza Havlová
Lost Boys (Czech Republic)
Anime Series
Writer & Director: Dužan Duong
Producers: AZN kru and Nutprodukce
Remake (Czech Republic)
Live-action musical series
Writer & Director: Kateřina Letáková
Producer: Daniel Bleha, Filmkolektiv
In total, the KVIFF Eastern Promises platform will showcase no less than 38 projects that, thanks to support from the festival and Industry partners (Barrandov Studio, Connecting Cottbus, ČEZ Foundation, Eurimages, IFF Rotterdam, Marché du Film, Midpoint Institute, Oneplay, Soundsquare, Tatino Films, UPP), can take home awards that can significantly help them advance their projects, including the Eurimages Co-production Development Award for projects in the development phase.
Proven Industry Events Anchor Expanded Program
In addition to these brand-new and established showcases, the extended KVIFF Industry Days (Sunday, July 6 to Wednesday, July 9) will offer its traditional mix of events, such as the inspirational Czech Film Industry Forum and International Industry Insights Forum, a series of swift sessions providing a comprehensive overview of the current state of things both locally and globally. The program also includes more in-depth workshops, panels and talks on the Workshop Stage, as well as the industry networking and meeting opportunities, all within the generous premises of Kaiserbad, the majestic building next to Grandhotel Pupp. The complete Industry Days schedule will be published later in June.
KVIFF Industry Days are supported by the PPF Foundation and powered by CME. The media partner is Deadline.
More about the KVIFF Industry Days mission, its Eastern Promises platform and other activities can be found here.
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