US actor Peter Sarsgaard called for “collective action” to counter divisions in the US, at the opening ceremony of the 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) on Friday, July 4.
Speaking on stage upon receiving his honorary President’s award, Sarsgaard said, “Any actor will tell you that good work is only possible in an environment that supports it.
“There is no going it alone. As my country retreats from its global responsibilities and tries to go it alone, it is also being divided into factions from within. Factions of politics, gender, sexuality, race, Jews split over the war.
“But when there’s a common enemy, there is no going it alone,” continued Sarsgaard. “The enemies are the forces that divide us, that individuate us. We all know who they are. Collective action is the only way forward in art and in our happiness.”
Sarsgaard ended by quoting Vaclav Havel, former president of Czechoslovakia – “One half of a room cannot remain forever warm while the other half is cold.”
Luxembourgish-German actress Vicky Krieps, the other recipient of a President’s award at the ceremony, also gestured towards social divisions in her speech. “We should try and save the movies so they continue to exist and spread the word of love, peace, and most importantly, forgiveness,” said Krieps, in an off-the-cuff speech,
Most of the opening ceremony was centred around the late festival president Jiri Bartoska, who died in May aged 78. Bartoska had been president of the festival since its relaunch in 1994, and is regularly credited with saving the event from cancellation and transforming it into a premier international festival.
“People say that nobody is irreplaceable – that is not true,” said ceremony host Marek Eben. “If [Bartoska] had been given more years to live, he would have been sitting there in row 12, and would have been there for many more years to come.” Eben credited Bartoska with turning the festival into “a living organism” that “will outlive us all… Jiri would have been delighted to see that.”
Since his death in May, discussions have been underway about a permanent tribute to Bartoska in the town, such as naming a street or terrace after him. Eben joked that a more appropriate gesture would be to rename “the tallest chimney in Karlovy Vary” after Bartoska, who was known to always have a cigarette in his hand.
New trailer
In a poignant moment, the festival premiered the latest of its popular monochrome trailers, featuring acclaimed guests (previous trailers have featured Jude Law, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich and Benicio del Toro).
The new trailer saw acclaimed Czech actor Bolek Polivka getting drunk at a bar with a companion – only for the final shot to reveal an empty chair, for Bartoska.
Eben, artistic director Karel Och and executive director Krystof Mucha then took to the stage, but each refused in turn to officially open the festival, as that was always Bartoska’s duty.
Instead, after a one-hour break in the ceremony, attendees were shown the first screening of We’ve Got To Frame It!, an extended interview with Bartoska, filmed in 2021, in which he talked through his acting career and time at the festival.
The ceremony began in typically eye-catching Karlovy Vary fashion, with a troupe of 30 women dancers contorting themselves beneath individual spotlights to a throbbing techno track.
Music also closed out the evening, with a concert from UK synth-pop singer La Roux in front of the Hotel Thermal venue.
The main programme of the nine-day festival gets underway today (Saturday, July 5), with Crystal Globe Competition titles The Luminous Life from Portugal and Out Of Love from France; plus a special screening of Czech director Milos Forman’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, at which producer Michael Douglas will receive an honorary award.