K-pop themed series, a show called Burning witches and a feature film set in the “quasi-legal environment of socialist Czechoslovakia” are among the six projects to be featured in the KVIFF Talents program for the KVIFF Industry Days event at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF).
The 60th session of the festival will be held from July 3 to 11.
The six audio-visual works, selected from over 100 submitted projects, will see participants receive development funding, mentoring from industry experts, the opportunity to present their projects at a special event during the Karlovy Vary Festival, facilities to produce proof videos, residencies at film festivals, and residency programs in Karlovy Vary.
In the lineup of feature films dedicated to feature films, three projects will be presented this year. One is Exposed todirector Klara Tasowska’s debut feature film, produced by Lukas Kokeš, set “against the backdrop of the semi-legal queer milieu of socialist Czechoslovakia”. Set over 24 hours in Prague during the “normalization” era of the 1980s, the mystery thriller tells “through a young adult comic, a universal story of personal dilemma and the courage to stand up for our own version of reality,” according to its synopsis.
The second novel project is a drama Nirathe feature-length feature debut of director Ivana Vogrinec-Vidali and screenwriter Darja Miková. The film follows the story of Teresa, a recent high school graduate, whose “life is turned upside down by a relentless diagnosis that gradually robs her of her sight,” as the story description states. “She was rescued from despair by Nera, a guide dog in whom she found a kindred spirit, but she soon encountered the limits of a system that trained Nera in absolute obedience and the suppression of instinct.”
The final film project is Until we leavethe debut of screenwriter Lucia Čižinská, produced by Tereza Wiński. It tells the story of four women in their thirties who travel to France to visit a close friend who is terminally ill. “Their shared journey gradually turns into a confrontation with their lives, relationships and visions of the future,” the synopsis notes. “This intimate drama blends elements of tragicomedy and observational road movie.”
In the Creative Pool, dedicated to projects in all audiovisual forms, two feature series and an animated film will be presented this year.
the Inhalationthe first animated feature film from Para director and animator Anna Steskalova, follows a 13-year-old girl who arrives at a mountain sanatorium to treat her asthma. When her boyfriend disappears, and the employees refuse to talk about him, she sets out with others to find him.
Series project Burning witcheswritten by Martina Babišová and Věra Starečková and produced by Dagmar Sedláčková, is set in the 17th century in the Polish Bohemian borderlands. The film follows noblewoman Katoshi as she attempts to save her sister from being burned at the stake while also seeking to free those around her.
The final project of this year’s KVIFF Talents program is the series K’s dream Directed by Adam Sedlak and producers Linda Craigie and Monica Soukup. It tells the story of Nik, a “European obsessed with K-pop,” according to the film’s synopsis. “After failing to start his career as a K-Pop star, he returned to Europe to establish the first K-Pop Idol Academy in Berlin. He will play the main role [Czech singer and actor] Adam Mischik, who is also involved in the project as co-screenwriter.
In previous versions, the program supported a total of 23 projects.
