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Press release
Febiofest will welcome producer Mike Downey and will thus join with the European Film
Academy in the support of the imprisoned Ukrainian director, Oleg Sentsov
Ticket sales for the Festival begin today, March 11th!
The New Europe Competition jury will be chaired by Vlasta Chramostova!
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Lillete Dubey, Richard Gere
In addition to the previously announced film stars, the International Film Festival Prague –
Febiofest will be visited by one of the most significant European independent producers, Mike
Downey. He is also coming as the envoy of the European Film Academy, which supports the
imprisoned Ukrainian director, Oleg Sentsov, in all imaginable ways. Like the annual film awards
ceremony in Poland where people supported the protest with signs “I Am Oleg Sentsov”, Febiofest will
join with their own protest event, Freedom for Sentsov. IFF Prague – Febiofest begins on March
19th, with actress Vlasta Chramostova as the Jury Chairwoman. The festival will offer 159 films from
56 countries in 562 screenings in Prague and the Regional Echoes. The ticket sale starts today,
March 11th.
Febiofest starts in CineStar – Prague Andel multiplex with the screening of Alan Rickman's A Little
Chaos and Jean-Jacques Annaud's Wolf Totem. Mr. Annaud will personally accept the Kristian
Award for Contribution to World Cinema, and the opening ceremony will then continue in the
Municipal House. Actress Kim Novak will also receive the Kristian Award at the opening. Jolana
Voldanova, popular anchor of Czech Television, will host the Opening Ceremony, as well as the
Closing Ceremony on March 27th. This year's Febiofest will welcome around fifty guests, 44 of them
from abroad. The festival's Closing Ceremony will present The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,
starring Judi Dench and Richard Gere. The director, John Madden, will personally introduce the film.
Both the opening and closing films will be screened in Czech pre-premieres.
IFF Prague – Febiofest will present four of Downey's productions, including Peter Greenaway's
historical-biographical picture, Goltzius and the Pelican Company. The President (2014) about the
last day of a fallen dictator was directed by a famous Iranian director, who has won awards in Cannes
and Venice, Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Downey also produced Ben Hopkins' comedy, Lost in Karastan,
which is an absurd satire on the topic of dictatorship, with the script co-written by the recent winner of
Oscar, Pawel Pawlikowski. Downey's section also includes Breathe Umphfumo by Mark DornfordMay, which was awarded at this year's Berlinale for its music. The South-African filmmaker expands
on his successful adaptation of Bizet's Carmen, which earned him the Golden Bear in Berlin in 2005.
This time, he adapted Puccini's La Bohéme, transposed to the poor environment of today's South
Africa. Downey established the F&ME Company fifteen years ago and has produced more than fifty
feature films and documentaries. He has also concentrated his production activities on local coproduction projects, Bathory and Angels. Downey's visit is also connected with a protest event,
Freedom for Sentsov. “It was during the Cannes Film Festival of 2014 that it finally became clear that
Sentsov was not going to be released anytime soon. And so, with my European Film Academy Deputy
Chairman’s hat on, the Academy began a campaign, which continues today: to draw attention to
Sentsov’s plight and to raise money for his children and legal costs, “says Mike Downey. The
Freedom for Sentsov campaign, organized by the European Film Academy, is supported by Pedro
Almodóvar, Roberto Benigni, Stephen Daldry, Agnieszka Holland, Aki Kaurismäki, Mike Leigh,
Antonio Saura, Volker Schlöndorff, Béla Tarr, Andrzej Wajda and many others. Febiofest will
include Sentsov's Gaamer, in which the Ukrainian director cast real gamers and filmed during real
gaming tournaments. Febiofest will donate the profits from the festival screenings to the bank account
of the director's lawyer. The screenings of Gaamer will take place on Thursday, 26th March at 19:15,
and on Friday, 27th March at 14:30. Director Oleg Sentsov actively participated in the Ukrainian
protests and was also involved in food and supplies deliveries to Ukrainian soldiers blockaded at
Crimean bases. In May 2014, Russian Federal Security Service arrested him on suspicion of plotting
terrorist attacks. Although the Russian’s claim that Sentsov has confessed, the defendants state that
Sentsov was forced to confess under duress.
The IFF Prague – Febiofest has started a long-term cooperation with the Czech Mint, whose aim is to
honour distinguished Czech cinema personalities each year by issuing gold and silver commemorative
medals. Febiofest and the Czech Mint will honour actor Karel Fiala with a medal this year, who
will thus become the very first personality from the film industry to be immortalized with a Czech Mint's
commemorative medal. The medals stamped on the occasion of Mr. Fiala’s 90th birthday will show his
current likeness on one side, and the other side will depict Fiala in his most famous role as Lemonade
Joe. The gold medals, priced at 25,950 CZK, will be issued in a limited edition of 200 pieces, and the
silver medals, priced at 890 CZK, will be limited to 400 pieces. “The Czech Mint will officially start the
presses on Thursday and number one will be stamped in Jablonec nad Nisou by our most famous film
cowboy, Karel Fiala, in person, together with Febiofest's director Kamil Spacil. The first hundred gold
medals will be numbered in hand on the rim,” explained Lukas Jokl from the Czech Mint. The
medals will be available for purchase on March 19th, coinciding with the start of Febiofest.
After the audience hits of the retrospective selections of the cinemas of Norway, Denmark, Sweden,
and Finland, Febiofest will include the Northern Lights section in its program for the second time. Bille
August depicted the topic of euthanasia in Silent Heart with dignity, and the excellent Danish actress,
Paprika Steen, was awarded in San Sebastian for her performance in the leading role. Rockers, as
the main protagonists, appear in two films – in Pernilla Fischer Christensen's Someone You Love,
an ageing musician gets the opportunity to make up all that he has missed to his family because of his
career. On the other hand, Itsi Bitsi is based on reality – the main protagonist, Eik, is a famous
character of the Copenhagen music scene of the raging 1960s, with all that it included – the sexual
revolution, meditations in exotic countries, up to the final devastation by drugs. Northern Lights also
focuses its attention on Norway, offering a slightly crazy comedy, 1001 grams by Bent Hamer; Erik
Poppe, a former war photographer, bases A Thousand Times Goodnight on his own experiences.
The stories of Iraqi immigrants living in a Norwegian refugee camp comprise the plot of Letter to the
King by Hisham Zaman, a director of Kurdish origin. A sick woman, who decides to undergo
psychotherapy under the influence of LSD before her death, is the main character of The Quiet Roar
by a new Swedish talent, Henrik Hellström. The viewers can travel all the way to Iceland with a police
drama, Brave Men's Blood. In his latest opus, I Won't Come Back, Ilmar Raag explores the road
movie genre in a story about young Anya fleeing across Russia.
For the very first time this year, one screening will take place also in Studio Hrdinu in Veletrzni Palac.
On Sunday, March 22nd, 35 Cows and a Kalashnikov, by German director Oswald von Richthofen,
will be introduced here. The documentary revealing the less known facets of Africa – the pride of the
warriors of the Surma tribe, the absurd, almost surreal humour of Brazzaville dandies, and the
exceptional sense of self-irony of the voodoo wrestlers of Kinshasa – was produced by von
Richthofen's friend and classmate from film school, the world-famous scriptwriter, producer and
director, Roland Emmerich. Katarina von Richthofen, the wife of the recently deceased director, will
personally introduce the film in Prague. The Czech premiere of a Hungarian-Slovak co-production,
Mirage, about the journey of a lonely African footballer through the uninhabited parts of Hungary will
be highlighted by the return to Febiofest of the lead actor, Isaach de Bankolé, who was here last year
to accept the Kristian and became one of Febiofest’s favourite guests. The film delegation will also
include the film's director, Szabolcs Hajdu, and his wife who is also the leading actress, Orsolya
Török-Illyes from Romania. The visually impressive film by the internationally acclaimed filmmaker
was introduced at last year's film festival in Toronto.
The ticket sale for the International Film Festival Prague - Febiofest starts today, March 11th at
12:00 at the CineStar Prague – Andel box offices, and for selected screenings at CineStar Prague –
Cerny Most. Online ticket sale at www.febiofest.cz and www.cinestar.cz will start on March 11th at
23:59. Tickets for the screening at Studio Hrdinu will be available only at the venue on the day of the
screening or at Febiofest's information desk in the lobby of CineStar Prague – Andel. The ticket price
for most screenings is 89 CZK, while 3D screenings will cost 99 CZK. When purchasing a ticket for
129 CZK for screenings listed as a “Charity partnership screening”, you will be contributing 40 CZK to
The Foundation for Premature Children and Their Families. Visitors can see photographs by Nguyen
Phuong Thao depicting prematurely born children in the cinema at Andel. The patronage of the fund
is provided by the head physician of the Neonatal Department of the Podoli hospital, Zbynek Stranak.
This year's Febiofest will take place from March 19th to 27th. Film fans will have the opportunity to see
selected films during the Regional Echoes of Febiofest from March 30th to April 17th in fourteen
Czech cities.
Press service: Martina Chvojka Reková, martina.rekova@4press.cz, +420 731 573 993, Klára
Mixová, klara.mixova@4press.cz, +420 731 514 462 IFF Prague – Febiofest, Růžová 13, Praha 1,
www.febiofest.cz , www.facebook.com/febiofest
OTHER SELECTED GUESTS
Urszula Antoniak (Focus on Holland)
The Polish-Dutch director and scriptwriter focused on film studies both in her homeland and in
Holland, where she studied direction at NFTA in Amsterdam. Initially, she concentrated solely on
documentary films, but she soon transitioned to auteur cinema and she always the writes scripts for
her films as well. Her television film, Bjilmer Odyssey (2004) was sold to many European countries,
which is not usual in the Netherlands. Her feature debut, Nothing Personal, was also successful,
winning 5 awards at Locarno festival, as well as being screened at Febiofest. Her second film, Code
Blue, premiered in Cannes in the prestigious section of Directors' Fortnight. In Prague, Antoniak will
introduce her latest opus, Nude Area – an aesthetically refined comprehensive study of passion
between two young women.
Jan Doense (Focus on Holland, panel discussion)
Director and producer Jan Doense studied film in his native Netherlands as well as in New York. Apart
from directing and production, he also works on festivals – he has founded the Amsterdam Fantastic
Film Festival, which, as the name reveals, focuses on fantastic genres. He also concentrates on film
journalism and works as a lawyer. He focuses primarily on horror films as he considers that this genre
is becoming increasingly popular in the last decade thanks to films such as The Sixth Sense.
“Character development is more and more important, and special effects tend to play a smaller role,”
he says, although he adds that B-style shockers and slashers will always be made. Yet he doesn't
condemn this type of cinema either.
Herman Slagter (Focus on Holland, panel discussion)
Herman Slagter is a Dutch producer with degree in law, but he started producing films soon after his
graduation. He has participated in several European production workshops and trainings; he also
works for White Bull Film Company. He produced Fighting Fish (2004), the very first film with martial
arts in the Netherlands. Together with Jan Doense, they will introduce a horror in their production, The
Pool, which proves that that film genre is not exclusively an American domain.
Denis Vaslin (Focus on Holland, panel discussion)
He graduated from Slavic studies in Paris. After five years in film production and distribution, he
moved to Holland, which he selected also thanks to the famous Rotterdam festival. In 2004, he
established the Volya Film Production Company, which concentrates on international coproduction,
auteur cinema – both feature and documentary films. Its focus is talents especially from Asian postSoviet countries – last year's Febiofest introduced for example 40 Days of Silence, co-produced by
Uzbekistan. Vaslin will introduce a poetic feature debut of a renowned Dutch documentary director,
Marjoleine Boonstra, Tales on the Wind, which was made in Kyrgyzstan.
Wilant Boekelman and René Huybrechtse (Focus on Holland, panel discussion)
The experienced producers with vast filmography focus on various genres including children's films,
which represents a very successful Dutch export. In Prague, they will introduce one of their joint
projects, sci-fi for children called T.I.M., a story of an unusual friendship between a little boy and a
“family” robot, focusing on the issue of loneliness in technologically advanced world.
Rick McCallum (Focus on Holland, panel discussion)
Rick McCallum, an American producer and occasional actor, is undoubtedly notoriously famous both
among the Star Wars fans, as he produced several episodes, and among fans of Indiana Jones and
Borgia – a historical TV show. With more than 50 produced films, McCallum is one of today’s most
distinctive producers. At the panel discussion focusing on Dutch co-productions, he will introduce his
latest project, whose intended partners are from the Netherlands.
Jean-Charles Hue (Against the Tide)
Jean-Charles Hue was born in 1968 in Eaubonne near Paris. He focuses on sculpting, multimedia art,
and film direction. A central topic of his work is identity transformation, as proves his both short and
feature films. The latest, Eat Your Bones, premiered at the International Film Festival in Cannes.
Dušan Milić (Balkan Beats)
Serbian director Dusan Milić was born in 1969 in Belgrade. At the age of 19, he started working as an
assistant director for Enki Bilal's Bunker Palace Hotel, and Goran Markovic's Tito and Me. His feature
debut was Strawberries in the Supermarket (2003), and he successfully continued with Guca! which
was presented in Berlin. At Febiofest, he will introduce his latest film, Travelator, a story of a young
champion of computer shooting games who is suddenly asked to show his skill in the real world.
Eché Janga (New Europe)
Eché Janga is a Dutch director who finished his studies in 2010 and has made several internationally
successful short films since then. He will introduce his feature debut at Febiofest: Helium, an intimate
portrait of an ageing Mafioso, which enchanted both the viewers and critics after its premiere at the
International Film Festival in Rotterdam.
Anders Rune (New Europe)
Anders Rune, a festival-winning young Swedish director, focuses not only on film direction, but also on
television and commercial projects. He also dedicates his time to pedagogy and teaches a seminar on
film direction. At Febiofest, he will introduce his unusual feature debut, Aerobics: A Love Story about a
romantic affair of mentally handicapped Maria and similarly afflicted Janne.