The 59th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF), which kicks off within the Czech spa town on Friday, is once more offering up a combination of world premieres and hidden gems to find, in addition to highlights from the festival circuit of the past yr.
As is tradition, Central Europe’s biggest cinema fest and party will feature regional and international movies, with KVIFF will once more presenting some more edgy, yes, even outright bizarre sounding movies.
Here is THR‘s have a look at a few of the more odd and offbeat movies that KVIFF will unspool for cineasts, tastemakers and industry insiders at its 2025 edition, running July 4-12.
The “Czechoslovak Tom Jones”
Duchoň
Special Screenings section
‘Duchoň’
Courtesy of KVIFF
Czardas of Two Hearts, Within the Slovak Valleys and I Love You — those are the titles of a few of the hits that made pop singer Karol Duchoň right into a household name greater than 4 many years ago. Now, the younger generations within the Czech Republic and Slovakia are discovering the legacy of the person nicknamed the “Czechoslovak Tom Jones.”
Peter Bebjak (The Line, Nineties) presents a cinematic portrait of the singer at KVIFF that is predicated on a stage play by Jiří Havelka and Róbert called The Earth Remembers (Zem pamätá). The festival website teases which you can expect “subtle irony.”
All in all, we get the sensation that “It’s Not Unusual” might not be the song to explain this one.
A Demon Called Jimmy Jaguar, or Jagu
Jimmy Jaguar
Crystal Globe Competition section
‘Jimmy Jaguar’
Courtesy of KVIFF
“Jimmy Jaguar, aka Jagu, is a demon who drifts from soul to soul, awakening something dark inside. His hosts develop into vessels of revenge.”
So reads the ominous synopsis of the Hungarian film written and directed by Bence Fliegauf. Wait, there’s more, based on the festival website: “Why do their victims, chosen with no clear pattern, all appear to share the identical eerie trait?” They’re alive only because “it’s against the law to kill them’.”
The film is ready within the “vast, unforgiving plains of Hungary, where silence hangs heavy and secrets sleep beneath the soil. Listen closely, and you may hear the silence rumble with threat… or catch echoes of a buried past.
Peruvian time travel
The Anatomy of the Horses
Proxima Competition section
‘The Anatomy of the Horses’
Courtesy of KVIFF
How’s this for a cinematic teaser with a twist? “Defeated in combat, Ángel returns home to his village in a distant a part of the Peruvian Andes. When he arrives, nonetheless, he finds the place has completely modified. What was the 18th century is now the current day.”
On this co-production between Spain, Peru, Colombia, and France, director Daniel Vidal Toche, who co-wrote the movie with Ignacio Vuelta, dissects what the individuals who live in Peru today are fighting for and whether there remains to be a spot for revolutionary considering. Ángel is joined in his quest by Eustaquia, a woman looking for her sister.
It feels like audiences can expect a hell of a ride, each when it comes to presentation and story. With cinematography by Angello Faccini, The Anatomy of the Horses “takes the viewer on a visually and intellectually stimulating journey through the space-time continuum,” KVIFF guarantees.
Eccentric Twins
Higher Go Mad within the Wild
Crystal Globe Competition section
‘Higher Go Mad within the Wild’
Courtesy of KVIFF
Author-director Miro Remo’s latest loosely develops a theme explored within the book of the identical name by Aleš Palán and Jan Šibík, which “provocatively asks whether it’s possible to spend your whole life in a single place,” based on KVIFF.
In what feels like an absurdist ride outside the norms of society, it tells the story of twins František and Ondřej Klišík, who’ve decided to just do that, far-off from civilization. “Crazy eccentrics or charismatic, possessed storytellers?” asks the festival website.
Either way, “of their real bucolic enchantment, they provide us all the possibility to distill our source of inspiration, those of us who sometimes tire of conformist adherence to order.”
An “explosive” film a couple of Syrian refugee camp on the outskirts of Berlin
TrepaNation
Proxima Competition section
‘TrepaNation’
Courtesy of KVIFF
A Syria, Germany, France co-production getting the KVIFF highlight is one in every of the longest movies at this yr‘s fest, clocking in at 222 minutes.
And it’s more likely to cause debate, so far as its summary suggests. “Germany, September 2014. A Syrian refugee camp has opened on the outskirts of Berlin. Visual artist and filmmaker Ammar al-Beik has a cubicle assigned to him for seven months and, with the intention to survive here, he has to film, document and rebel against the conditions of life in exile, and likewise against the established rules of documentaries and features. His phone camera is at all times switched on; he transforms his tiny room and your entire dismal compound right into a universe with its own laws. Ammar’s explosive film is the results of 10 years of editing; the intensive autobiography intersects the history of Europe and the Middle East, and film history, too.”
Al-Beik didn’t just direct the film — he’s also credited with the cinematography, sound, editing and art direction. But his story is shared by many others. Says the KVIFF website concerning the film: “The singular cinematographic form is flanked with memorable individuals who, like exiled Ammar al-Beik, are merely looking for freedom and truth.”
Convergence alert! Gaming becomes a player
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Cinematic Cut
Special Screenings section
‘Kingdom Come: Deliverance II’ promo shot
Courtesy of – KVIFF/Warhorse Studios
A world-famous role-playing game developed by Prague’s Warhorse Studios makes its cinematic debut as a movie specially created for the Karlovy Vary festival. “This distinctive piece offers a strong viewing experience — a treat each for fans of the cult computer game and for many who have yet to enter its intriguing world,” the KVIFF website guarantees.
Daniel Vávra and Petr Pekař are credited as directors of the movie, which is bringing the fest into the gaming world. Artistic director Karel Och calls it “an exceptionally original contribution to our long-standing goal of presenting powerful and gripping stories captured in a novel manner.”
“It’s the yr 1403, and the Bohemian Kingdom is in chaos. While roaming marauders sow fear and terror through a kingdom and not using a clear ruler, Henry of Skalitz seeks to avenge his murdered parents,” reads a synopsis. “As an ally of the rightful king, he is distributed to accompany Sir Hans Capon on a diplomatic mission. After they’re brutally attacked, nonetheless, Henry and Hans undergo a series of dangerous adventures that subject them and their friendship to the final word test.”
Forbidden love
Don’t Call Me Mama
Crystal Global Competition section
‘Don’t Call Me Mama’
Courtesy of KVIFF
“Eva is a preferred teacher who’s married to the local mayor. Although he has betrayed her trust, she still plans to support his election campaign, and so she starts to volunteer at an area refugee center.” Up to now, so good.
However the film from Norway’s Nina Knag’s, who has made a reputation for herself as a casting director and who co-wrote the feature with Kathrine Valen Zeiner, confronts us with an even bigger challenge. In spite of everything, Eva “grows near 18-year-old refugee Amir, who charms her together with his poetic talents,” the film synopsis adds. “However the closer they get, the less control she has over the situation.”
Fireworks sound likely. Or, as KVIFF puts it more philosophically: “A drama about forbidden love, Don’t Call Me Mama confronts its protagonists with an ethical test while provocatively exploring how hypocrisy can masquerade as generosity.”
The Wim Wenders-Inspired Czech Movie Project
The Czech Film Project
Special Screenings section
‘The Czech Film Project’
Courtesy of KVIFF
In case you are searching for a blast from the past with an area twist or are curious how Wim Wenders keeps inspiring Czech creatives, this project from directors Marek Novák and Novotný could also be for you.
“On the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, Wim Wenders invited several of his esteemed colleagues to a hotel room, where he filmed their reflections on the longer term of film,” highlights the KVIFF synopsis. “This exclusive documentary survey, Room 666, inspired two Czech producers to have interaction in the same undertaking in collaboration with the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. During last yr’s festival, they thus invited around 30 Czech or Czech-based filmmakers from all generations and asked them ‘what makes Czech film Czech?’”
The result’s in and prepared for its world premiere. The fest teases “an exciting mosaic not only of views and opinions, but in addition of mannerisms and personalities.”