The Summer Film School (LFS), the Czech Republic’s largest non-competitive film festival, started in Uherske Hradiste today; its 50th edition will include 155 films in 223 screenings, according to festival director Radana Korena.
The festival, organised by the Association of Czech Film Clubs (ACFK) and attended by thousands of people every year, traditionally includes a rich accompanying programme. The festival will run until Thursday, 1 August.
Last year, LFS screened 180 films, with 4,500 accredited visitors to the festival and an additional 3,140 tickets sold in packages. This year the festival will offer multiple screenings of around 70 popular films. One extra screening room will be added, raising the total to seven.
Uherske Hradiste Mayor Stanislav Blaha (ODS) said the town hall is providing almost CZK 3.88 million in funding for the festival, which increases annually on the basis of a contract.
“The Summer Film School brings a wonderful festival atmosphere to Uherske Hradiste. The town comes alive, it is literally like a beehive,” Blaha said.
Czech popular author and theatre actor Jiri Suchy will appear as a guest at the festival on Sunday and Monday. French director and screenwriter Arnaud Desplechin and Hungarian director Ildiko Enyedi were due to arrive today. Other awaited guests include American filmmaker Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Icelandic director Fridrik Thor Fridriksson and British director Sean Ellis. The festival will also host a number of domestic filmmakers, including delegations to present new Czech and Slovak films.
The first film screenings started at noon today, and the opening ceremony is scheduled for Saturday evening.
The programme is divided into History, Present, Czech/Slovakia, Guests and ACFK presents. This year, visitors will see films by the legendary Italian director Federico Fellini, as well as from New Hollywood, a period of U.S. cinema from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. There will also be films from Tunisia and films by U.S. director and screenwriter David Lynch, as well as a retrospective of films with music by Czech composer Zdenek Liska.
The annual ACFK Prize will go to Enyedi, Desplechin and Suchy. In memoriam, the organisers will honour Czech actor Jan Kacer, who died on 24 May at the age of 87. Film clubs will also receive prizes, LFS programme director Iva Hejlickova told CTK.
In addition to screenings, the festival also offers concerts, theatre, specialist programmes, creative workshops and events for children.
The LFS programme also includes a new travelling exhibition prepared by CTK, one of the main media partners of the festival, which will present 100 years of CTK’s photo-journalism. The opening will take place on Palackeho namesti on Tuesday afternoon. Vladislav Galgonek, a former CTK photojournalist from Ostrava and Olomouc, will also show his work at LFS. The opening ceremony of the exhibition of his photographs from 1973 to 1989 is scheduled for Monday afternoon at the Culture Club.
