The Karlovy Vary festival is traditionally one of the most important cultural events in the Czech Republic. Every year, it provides a special venue for film professionals, audiences, and representatives from the field of culture to come together. We are convinced that at this time when people in the Czech Republic and around the world must come to terms with different living conditions, we must maintain the continuity of important events that reinforce our awareness of cultural values at home and within the international context.

In view of this year’s coronavirus epidemic, we were unable to hold the regular 55th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (3–11 July 2020). In response, we decided to hold Karlovy Vary IFF 54½ from November 18 – 21, 2020. With this non-competition survey of films, we offer our guests and audiences in Czech premiere an exclusive selection of the most distinctive films to have aroused positive responses at their premieres at Sundance, Berlin, or Venice, or that bear the Cannes Label. While respecting all applicable hygienic measures, we aim to provide our guests and audiences a unique chance to experience the festival’s atmosphere during the untraditional autumn season, at a smaller scale but with high-quality programming and the unique opportunity to stay in places that, during regular festivals, are normally closed to the public. It is our ambition to find a way of, even under today’s circumstances, to hold a large-scale cultural event effectively and above all safely. We believe that, if we observe the rules and ensure sophisticated prevention and protection, there is no need to resign on cultural life even today.

The program of the Karlovy Vary IFF 54½ will feature roughly 30 films, each of which will be shown two or three times. The program will be organized in such a way that audiences can see each film either in the first or in the second half of the four-day festival. Screenings will be held at the Grand and Small Halls of the Thermal Hotel, at the Karlovy Vary Theatre, and the Čas Cinema. A complete program of the festival will be available on the official festival website, www.kviff.com, starting 19 October 2020. Safety measures for guests and audiences Besides all national or regional governmental regulations valid during the festival, we are also planning a number of additional measures of our own. www.kviff.com The number of seats in the screening halls will be set in line with the capacity permitted by government regulations. A specialized company will ensure several types of preventative disinfection. Industry activities The activities of the KVIFF Eastern Promises industry platform were successfully conducted on-line in the original July dates and have introduced to international film professionals over 40 unfinished film projects from the region of Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East. With expected travel restrictions, Karlovy Vary IFF 54½ edition will instead focus more locally on the challenging situation faced by theaters and exhibitors in the Czech Republic. Using the experiences of the well-received summer showcase KVIFF at Your Cinema, which organized simultaneous screenings of festival titles in almost 100 cinemas across the country, we will be looking at possible ways of connecting festivals, exhibitors and new distribution models in times of fundamental changes to the traditional film industry.

Visual of the Karlovy Vary IFF 54½

The visual style of the festival has been designed by Jakub Spurný of Studio Najbrt. Information for visitors The special Karlovy Vary IFF 54½ will be open to the general public. For organizational reasons, however, visitors will be subject to different rules than at our regular festivals.

No Barriers at the Karlovy Vary IFF 54½

As the festival’s organizers, we aim to provide the basic services that people in wheelchairs have come to expect over the past twenty years. Disabled festivalgoers and their escorts will again be provided with free admission to all cinemas, assistance services, transportation throughout Karlovy Vary, and parking at the Hotel Thermal. As at our regular festivals, the No Barriers office will be at the Hotel Thermal.

All information will be available at http://www.kinobezbarier.cz/en www.kviff.com Tickets In view of the event’s shorter duration, there will be no Festival Passes. Instead, tickets will be sold for individual screenings, with priority given to online sales.

Ticket presales will begin on 21 October 2020 through the Go Out reservation platform. Ticket prices will be CZK 80. Tickets may also be purchased from ticket offices at the participating cinemas. For health and safety reasons, visitors will have to register their contact information when purchasing their tickets.

Accommodations

Accommodations in Karlovy Vary may be reserved individually at local hotels and other accommodation facilities. Information on available accommodation may be found at www.kviff.com. The festival’s traditional center, Thermal Hotel, has put together a special offer of accommodation packages for the public. Besides accommodations at the hotel, the festival will add tickets to screenings as part of this offer.

For more information, see: https://www.thermal.cz/cs/rezervace/?date_in=2020-11-18&date_out=2020-11- 22&price_group=4503599627370496.

Souvenirs

We are preparing a special collection of festival souvenirs for the Karlovy Vary IFF 54½, and these will be available for purchase at the Thermal Hotel. A printed program brochure will be available as well. Detailed information and the latest news will be published on an ongoing basis on the official festival website, www.kviff.com, and on our social networks.