The expanded and expanding industry program of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) has revealed 11 directors for the second edition of its KVIFF Central Stage showcase and eight titles for its inaugural “From Book to Screen” programme.
The 60th edition of the festival, which takes place in the Czech spa town from July 3 to 11, doubles down on Central European co-productions on the works-in-progress market KVIFF Promises.
The upcoming 11 films selected for central screening at KVIFF, in partnership with eight national film institutes across the region, “are directed by established filmmakers with extensive festival pedigrees, including Nikolai Steiner, Antonio Lukic, Olga Čidas, and Kristina Grossan,” KVIFF said. “These in-production films, which are seeking co-production, financing, sales, distribution and festival premiere opportunities, will be screened during an interactive talk show” on the Film Industry Main Stage on Monday, July 6. Participating projects will also gain access to exclusive post-production benefits through a partnership with UPP Studios and Soundsquare and will also be eligible for a Eurimages co-production development award worth €20,000 ($23,185).
The literary works selected for the first ever Book on Screen exhibition at KVIFF are designed to create a market for film adaptation rights to original intellectual property from Central and Eastern Europe and to foster cooperation between the film and publishing industries. “The award-winning books, selected by an international jury for their strong cinematic potential, will be presented to local and international producers in the format of a talk show moderated by Nicky Theron of the Frankfurt Book Fair on Tuesday, July 7,” KVIFF said. “For this first edition, we were delighted to receive more than 70 entries from 14 countries,” Theron said. “Choosing just eight was a real challenge, but the final line-up now reflects the diversity of countries, genres and themes of the region, from historical epics and folk horror to children’s stories and bold contemporary voices.”
In total, KVIFF Promises 2026 will present 38 projects across five programs to producers, sales companies, distributors, festival programmers and other professionals looking for high-quality emerging films or works available for adaptation: including 11 feature films in the KVIFF Central Stage program, nine treatments in the Works in Development – Features Launch section, four in the Works in Development – Focus Queer section, six feature films or series projects in the KVIFF Talents section, and eight IPs Original literature in book to screen at KVIFF. Details about all showcases can be found on the KVIFF website or project book.
Historical dramas are among the books being considered for possible adaptations Cupid in the Kremlin wallhit Lithuania Aspic Bistro“set in a surreal, almost Orwellian kitchen environment” and AmadokaWhich uses the war in Donbass as its starting point.
“Our long-term ambition with Book-to-Screen at KVIFF is to become a true intellectual property marketplace in Central and Eastern Europe that helps develop dialogue between the film and publishing industries and create a more transparent environment for adaptation rights in the region,” said Hugo Russak, Head of Filmmaking Programs at KVIFF.
Meanwhile, the KVIFF Central Theater is designed to screen upcoming feature films by established filmmakers in the final stages of development, production or post-production. “This format addresses a notable gap in the Central European film landscape, where mid-career filmmakers typically have fewer opportunities for exposure and funding than emerging filmmakers,” Russak said.
With Swiss Films joining as a new partner this year, Switzerland will be represented in the project Flying mountainwritten and directed by Nicholas Steiner, whose previous films such as Above and belowIt was shown in Berlin, Rotterdam and KVIFF.
Ukraine will present two co-productions: Girl screaming Directed by Antonio Lukic, who Luxembourg, Luxembourg It was shown for the first time in Venice My thoughts are silent It was shown on KVIFF, and Noah Directed by director and screenwriter Marisia Nikityuk. Documentary film antiquitiesIt had its world premiere, which she co-directed, and won the Audience Award in the Panorama section at this year’s Berlinale. Her first movie, When trees fallreceived a nomination for Best Debut at the 2018 Berlinale.
The Czech Republic also has two casting representatives. They’re from Tomáš Hodan, who has his next comedy film coming out Stones are rolling to Prague”, which “evokes an iconic moment in the 1990s through the story of the preparations for a huge Rolling Stones concert in Prague in 1990”, and Tomáš Pavlíček, who will present the Czech home culture comedy. A few branches outside.
Meanwhile, Romanian-Hungarian director Christina Grossan (Ordinary failureswhich premiered and was awarded in Venice) will present its own mob drama LesdenzeroIt is a joint production between the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Hungary and Romania.
Polish director Olga Czajdas, known to Karlovy Vary audiences imagowill be showing her women’s road movie tribeWhile the German artist Sebastian Fritzsche, who made his debut Indzeit It premiered in Berlin, and will present his next film Train passengerSlovenian writer and director Goran Vojnovic will present the film adapted from his book Yugoslavia, my homeland.
Rounding out the selection is the upcoming Slovak drama Cowgirl Written by Michal Blaschko (victim) and a biography of boxing by Austrian director Sebastian Braunis Hansi About Hans Ursulx, who photographs Vienna in the 1960s.
Check out the eight book titles in the first Book-to-Screen Gallery and the film projects in the KVIFF Central Stage program below.
KVIFF Central Theater
Flying mountain (Switzerland, Ireland, Austria)
Directed and screenplay: Nicola Steiner
Produced by: Katrin Renz, Stefan Jäger, Nicholas Steiner, David Collins, Eamonn Hughes, Alexander Domreischer-Evanciano, Paddy Mink
Girl screaming (Ukraine, Ireland)
Directed by: Antonio Lukic
Screenplay: Antonio Lukic, Ailby Keoghan
Produced by: Volodymyr Yatsenko, Anna Yatsenko, Jesse Fisk, Annie Barclay
Noah (Ukraine, Croatia, Belgium)
Directed, screenplay and dialogue: Marisia Nikityuk
Production: Igor Savchenko, Hrvoj Osvadić, Sebastian Deloy
Lesdenzero (Czech Republic, Switzerland, Hungary, Romania)
Direction: Christina Grossan
Screenplay: Arne Colwer, Christina Grossan
Production: Marek Novak
Stones are rolling to Prague (Czech Republic, Slovakia)
Directed and screenplay: Tomáš Hodan
Produced by: Jacob Krauss, Martin Balan, Tibor Boza
A few branches outside (Czech Republic)
Directed and screenplay: Tomas Pavlicek
Production: Eva Vačova, Pavel Vaša
tribe (Poland, Albania)
Directed, screenplay and dialogue: Olga Chagdas
Produced by: Carolina Galuba
Train passenger (Germany)
Direction: Sebastian Fritzsch
Screenplay: Jan Bredehoeft, Sebastian Fritzsch
Produced by: Corinna C. Potter, Daniel Ehrenberg
Yugoslavia, my homeland (Slovenia, North Macedonia, Serbia)
Direction: Goran Vojnovic
Screenplay: Goran Vojnovic, Aleksandar Popovski
Produced by: Bostjan Ikovic, Miloš Ivanovic
Cowgirl (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary)
Direction: Michal Blaschko
Screenplay: Jakub Medvecki
Produced by: Jakub Victorin, Tomasz Hruby
Hansi (Austria)
Direction: Sebastian Brownis
Screenplay: Sebastian Braunis, Helmut Emersberger
Produced by: Ulrich Gemacher
Book to Screen at KVIFF
The real way out (Czech Republic)
Author: Patrick Banga
Genre: Coming of Age , biography
Publisher: Host
“The right way outjournalist Patrick Banga’s memoir about growing up in the Roma community in Prague’s Žižkov neighborhood in the 1990s, won the Magnesia Litera Award for Best Debut in 2023.
Play wolf (Czech Republic)
Author: Zuzana Cihova
Genre: Folk horror, psychological thriller
Publisher: I hope
Play wolf “It’s a village novel that you want to read safely in the city,” KVIFF said. “This folk horror novel by writer and literary scholar Zuzana Šihova, former Chair of Czech Studies at the University of Oxford, has been successfully published in France and the USA by the publishing houses Éditions du Seuil and Catapult, respectively.”
Area (Slovakia)
Author: Daniel Magling
Genre: Graphic novel
Publisher: BRAC
In this graphic novel by the author and playwright, “a mysterious, hostile space takes on the role of the title itself. Silly characters, dark humor, stunning visuals, and cult status among Central European comic fans (the novel won the Czech Muriel Prize) contribute to the strong adaptation potential.”
Queen of hearts (Moldova)
Author: Julian Ciucan
Genre: Dystopian novel
Publisher: Polyroom
“Queen of heartsa dystopian satire by Moldovan author Julian Ciucan, explores an ever-widening, all-consuming hole in post-communist central Chisinau, Moldova.
Aspic Bistro (Lithuania)
Author: Eva Dembretti
Genre: Magical Realism Satire
Publisher: Kitos Knegos
“Aspic Bistro Written by Eva Dambretti, set in a surreal, almost Orwellian kitchen environment, has won numerous awards in her native Lithuania, including the Most Creative Book of the Year award.
Cupid in the Kremlin wall (Georgia)
Author: Aka Murshiladze
Genre: Historical drama, detective novel
Publisher: Solakauri Publishing House
“Historical drama Cupid in the Kremlin wall The film takes place during a tragic train journey through Georgia, at the height of the Stalinist terror of the 1930s. Historian Aka Murshiladze, its author, is an accomplished writer with more than 30 novels published in 15 countries. He has written many screenplays and his previous books Trip to Karabakh It was made into a movie.”
Kura River Odyssey from Willow Meadow (Poland)
Author: Adam Rubinski
Genre: Children’s Literature
Publisher: Widnokrąg
“A representative of children’s literature, Polish title Kura River Odyssey from Willow Meadow Written by Adam Rubinski tells the story of a young beaver named Cora who is of ecological importance.
Amadoka (Ukraine)
Author: Sofia Andrukhovych
Genre: Historical/war novel
Publisher: Old Lion Publishing House
The war in Donbass serves as the starting point Amadoka“A novel that combines the intimate human story with the broad historical trauma of Eastern Europe in a profoundly cinematic way.” Writer Sofia Andrukhovych won the 2024 Hermann Hesse International Prize for it. Her first novel Felix of Austria It won the BBC Ukrainian Book of the Year Award and was made into a film titled Custom.
