The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival recently unveiled a sharpened Central-European co-production focus for its rebranded KVIFF Central Stage showcase. On Monday, the fest unveiled the 14 projects from eight different countries of Central Europe that will be featured at its 59th edition next month.
The movie projects seeking co-production and financing opportunities, sales, distribution or festival premieres come from “established filmmakers with extensive festival pedigrees,” including Iran’s Nader Saeivar (The Witness), who will be presenting a project that he co-wrote with Cannes Palme d’Or 2025 winner Jafar Panahi (It Was Just an Accident) who is also editing it, an adaptation of Austrian author and playwright Thomas Bernhard’s novel The Lime Works by Austria’s Andreas Horvath (Lillian), and Hungary’s László Csuja (Gentle).
“The selected projects, which are currently in various stages of development, production or post-production, will be showcased through interactive conversations about the filmmakers’ career paths and co-production possibilities across the participating countries,” KVIFF organizers said. “The participating projects will also gain access to exclusive post-production advantages through a generous partnership with industry-leading studios UPP and Soundsquare, while also being eligible for the €20,000 ($23,000) Eurimages Co-Production Development Award.”
Meanwhile, the recently established showcase KVIFF Talents, focused on seeking out and supporting talented Czech and Slovak filmmakers and innovative audiovisual genres, will be joined by a guest project from Hungarian filmmaker István Kovács. He will pitch the feature-length version of his Student Academy Award-winning short film A Siege (Ostrom) in Karlovy Vary.
The new KVIFF Central Stage event, taking place on Tuesday, July 8, was created by the KVIFF Film Industry Office in cooperation with the national film institutes of eight Central European countries, namely Austria, Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine.
“We introduced this new format to address a notable gap in the Central European film landscape,” said Hugo Rosák, the head of the KVIFF Industry Office. “While emerging filmmakers often receive substantial support, mid-career filmmakers typically have fewer opportunities for visibility and financing, despite their equally compelling projects.”
Here is a look at the 14 fiction film projects that will be presented at KVIFF Central.
‘The Lime Works’
Courtesy of KVIFF
The Lime Works (Austria) Attending – Director, Scriptwriter, Producer: Andreas Horvath“An adaptation of the eponymous novel by controversial Austrian ‘Nestbeschmutzer’ (denigrator of his own country) Thomas Bernhard” that is both surrealist and nightmarish.
Masaryk: The Coup (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovak Republic)Director: Julius Ševčík Scriptwriter: Julius Ševčík, Petr Kolečko Producer: Vanessa Biermannová, Rudolf Biermann “A standalone sequel to the immensely successful A Prominent Patient by Julius Ševčík, which premiered at Berlinale and won 12 Czech Lion Awards.”Around the Fire (Czech Republic, Netherlands, Slovak Republic) Director, Scriptwriter: Michal Hogenauer Producer: Marek Novák Hogenauer, “familiar to KVIFF audiences from the East Meets West or Proxima competitions, will present his new project in development.”
First Dates (Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Poland) Director, Scriptwriter: Šimon Holý Producer: Marek Novák Holý, “familiar to KVIFF audiences from the East Meets West or Proxima competitions, will present his new project in development.”
Hijamat (Germany, Turkey) Director, Scriptwriter: Nader Saeivar Producer: Said Nur Akkus, Tatiana Tsyganova, Emre Oskay “The German-funded (with Turkish co-production) Hijamat is a new film by renowned Iranian director Nader Saeivar, who won the audience award at Venice for The Witness (2024) and best screenplay at Cannes for 3 Faces, written together with his long-term collaborator Jafar Panahi (winner of this year’s Palme d’Or at Cannes), who is also editing this project. The film is now in production and seeking production and distribution partners.”
Some Good News (Hungary, Romania) Director: László Csuja Scriptwriter: Éva Zabezsinszkij, László Csuja Producer: Anna Szijártó “Csuja, whose feature debut Blossom Valley won the jury prize at KVIFF and whose sophomore feature Gentle premiered in Sundance’s World Cinema Competition, will present his new project in development.”
Democracy Work in Progress (Hungary, Czech Republic, Germany) Director, Scriptwriter: Mihály Schwechtje Producer: Genovéva Petrovits “Schwechtje continues his successful legacy of exploring societal issues through personal dramas with his new project.”
Starska (Poland) Director, Scriptwriter: Piotr Adamski Producer: Anna Gawlita, Marta Szymanowska “Visual artist and filmmaker Piotr Adamski will present his new project, inspired by his late mother and the highs and lows of her bipolar disorder.”
Voracious (Poland) Director, Scriptwriter: Jagoda Szelc (based on novel by Malgorzata Lebda) Producer: Joanna Szymańska ”Szelc, whose first two films premiered at Berlinale and Rotterdam respectively, will showcase her new drama, based on the eponymous novel by successful Polish writer Malgorzata Lebda.”
Láska (Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Croatia) Director: Marko Škop Scriptwriter: Zuzana Liová, Marko Škop Producer: Marko Škop, Ján Meliš, Alice Zárubová Tabery, Marina Andree Škop “Slovak director Marko Škop, whose previous films have been awarded at KVIFF and Toronto, will present his new feature currently in post-production.”
Purgatory (Slovenia, Austria) Director: Žiga Virc Scriptwriter: Iza Strehar Producer: Žiga Virc, Iza Strehar “Virc (Houston! We Have a Problem!) brings his latest project.”
The Happiest Day (Slovenia, Norway, Italy) Director, Scriptwriter: Sonja Prosenc Producer: Rok Sečen “Prosenc (Family Therapy) presents The Happiest Day, now in pre-production.”
Vacuum (Ukraine) Director, Scriptwriter: Yelizaveta Smith Producer: Eugene Rachkovsky “Last but not least, Ukraine will be represented by Vacuum by Berlinale alumna Yelizaveta Smith, whose Militantropos (co-directed with Alina Gorlova and Simon Mozgovyi) just premiered in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.”
Making-of (Ukraine, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic) Director, Scriptwriter: Ivan Tymchenko Producer: Svitlana Soloviova, Alžběta Janáčková“Ukraine’s Tymchenko presents his new project.”
