“There’s A Significant Shift Occurring Within The Creative Mindset”: As Karlovy Vary Kicks Off, Leading European Execs Dissect The Biz

Zac Ntim
·8 min read
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As tensions rise in Hollywood over an imminent update on SAG-AFTRA’s negotiations with the studios, thousands of miles east, the Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary is gearing up for its annual influx of industry insiders, curious film fans, and stars.

Clocking its 57th annual edition, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) opens this evening. ​​The prominent Central European event is one of the world’s oldest film festivals. It was founded in July 1946, a month before Locarno launched its first festival and a few months before the Cannes Film Festival unveiled its first edition in September of that same year.

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This year’s edition opens with the Cannes Competition title Firebrand, starring Jude Law and Alicia Vikander. The pic is the fictionalized story of Katherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of the tyrannical English King Henry VIII. Vikander plays Parr in the piece alongside an unrecognizable Jude Law, who suits up as King Henry. Vikander will attend KVIFF to introduce the screening. She is also one of this year’s honored guests alongside Ewan McGregor. The pair will receive the fest’s career achievement President’s Award.

The festival will also fete actress Robin Wright and stalwart indie producer Christine Vachon, who will both attend and receive honors. Vachon will present her latest pic, the breakout Sundance hit Past Lives, by director Celine Song. The fest closes on July 8 with a screening of the Woody Harrelson-starrer Champions, directed by Bobby Farrelly.

The jury for this year’s Crystal Globe competition is headed by Patricia Clarkson (Sharp Objects), who is joined by producer Dora Bouchoucha, Sundance senior programmer John Nein, filmmaker Olmo Omerzu, and Irish actor Barry Ward.

Among the Competition lineup is Les chambres rouges (Red Rooms), the latest pic from Canadian filmmaker Pascal Plante and The Hypnosis, starring Herbert Nordrum (The Worst Person In The World). Both pics will compete alongside new works from Iranian filmmaker Babak Jalali and Tinatin Kajrishvili. The Crystal Globe competition will feature nine world and two international premieres, while the Proxima Competition for young filmmakers and experimental pics will screen ten world and two international premieres.

On the industry side, the festival has set an expansion of its popular Future Frames program for emerging European filmmakers. Traditionally, the program sees ten film students and graduates selected to showcase their short and medium-length films to the festival audience. The filmmakers also participate in tailored mentorship programs. This year, the program will be run in collaboration with UTA, Range Media Partners, and global lottery operator, Allwyn.

Participants will receive one-on-one meetings with UTA and Range Media representatives, who will provide feedback on the projects and choose one director who will receive a scholarship — sponsored by Allwyn — to spend a month in Los Angeles. A new creative and networking area, titled the Allwyn Future Frames Lounge, will be erected at the Thermal Hotel festival center. The Future Frames program will run from July 2 — July 5.

Before festivities commence, Deadline sat down with some of the region’s major players in the film world to give us a sense of the lay of the land in their territory at the moment, highlighting some of the major challenges and opportunities facing their sector today. The responses will be updated as they come in. Take a look below.

Jan Naszewski, CEO, New Europe Film Sales

What are the biggest challenges facing your company and sector right now in the Czech Republic and Eastern Europe?
Long term, we might have a problem accessing high-quality local films as more and more of them are being produced as originals for the streamers and are struggling to find top-up financing beyond the grants from the film funds. The region still has strong, passionate distributors interested in high-end arthouse and reaching an audience, so I’m not worried here. The loss of the Russian market is definitely a financial loss for us, but at New Europe we’re committed to not trading with that territory in support of Ukraine.

What are the main opportunities in the Czech and Eastern European markets right now?
Strong festival brands such as Karlovy Vary, New Horizons or Kino Pavasaris have used their brands and experience to become proper distribution companies. They have the budget and ambition, and they know their audience, which is a great asset in promotion. I hope they will not become too big to keep going for arthouse films. Children’s films are also working very well in the region, and I think it’s a growing theatrical market.

What are you most excited about for 2023?
A summer holiday! I’m half joking, but honestly, it seems that since the Covid lockdown in 2020, the industry has been working twice as hard to keep up, and I wish for everybody that it was a little easier to get the results and be able to take more breaks in 2023. Business-wise, we have two great Eastern European movies coming up – The Peasants from the makers of Loving Vincent and Housekeeping For Beginners by Goran Stolevski (You Won’t Be Alone). They are bound to make a big splash this fall.

Vratislav Slajer, Head Producer/ Managing Director Bionaut and Head Of Czech Producers’ Association

What are the biggest challenges facing your company and sector right now in the Czech Republic and Eastern Europe?
The greatest potential and challenge we simultaneously face is the globalization and fragmentation of the audiovisual markets. There have never been as many opportunities as there are now, yet the competition is also fierce. Demand for quality is intensifying, paving the way for intelligent and high-quality projects to flourish. The Czech market and Eastern Europe are becoming increasingly globalized and consequently, more interconnected. This shift is creating more opportunities to reach new audiences. However, as has always been the case, it is crucial to understand your audience well. By targeting your projects more effectively, you can ensure that you don’t lose your way in the vast expanse of global distribution.

The COVID-19 pandemic has expedited changes in the audiovisual market within the Czech Republic, particularly in terms of digitization and the growth of streaming platforms. The number of subscriptions to legal VOD services was low prior to the pandemic, but it is now rapidly increasing, with significant scope for further growth. This trend brings about more investments and opportunities. However, these changes also necessitate a new framework for the entire system, along with a fresh set of rules. We are currently discussing modifications to the Czech audiovisual law alongside reforms to the Czech Film Fund. These changes should ideally accommodate television and online productions and provide the necessary support. The new law should also reform the tax incentive system to better align with the evolving industry and the growing demand for Czech production services. Fortunately, we have the backing of the government, which is advocating for reform and allocating more funds into the system, including selective support and tax incentives. There is still a substantial amount of work ahead, but the future looks promising.

What are the main opportunities in the Czech and Eastern European markets right now?
There’s a significant shift occurring within the creative mindset. Historically, the limitation of having a language market of 10 million (Czech language) has had implications for international distribution. However, the success of local language projects on global platforms demonstrates that audiences are ready and willing to engage with diverse local content. This is evidenced by the success of our International Emmy-winning series, #martyisdead, which was created in the Czech language and has now been successfully sold to more than 20 territories. The younger generation of writers and directors in the Czech Republic and Central Europe are gaining more international experience, pushing their storytelling towards a more global appeal, whether it be drama or genre-driven projects. Consequently, barriers that previously existed, or were perceived to exist, are now breaking down.

What are you most excited about for 2023?
I’m invigorated by the fact that the industry is rebounding following the COVID-19 pandemic. While there remains some uncertainty about the market’s trajectory, the overall sentiment is positive; you can sense that investors are ready to invest capital. The VOD bubble, the endless investment from platforms, may be nearing its end, but the market is hopefully becoming more transparent and understandable. Following a minor setback caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, our company is revitalizing our network of companies within Central Europe. This list includes Bionaut in the Czech Republic, Kosmonaut in Poland, and Raketa in Slovakia. Our goal is to build a Central European network dedicated to the development, production, and marketing of content tailored to younger audiences across both digital platforms and cinemas. We’re connecting creative talents from several countries with the aim of reaching audiences in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, and consequently, all across Europe and potentially the world.

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