Karlovy Vary Festival Opens, Awards Krieps and Sarsgaard

The 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival began over the weekend in the Czech spa town, combining its traditional red-carpet fanfare with a moment of reflection for the event’s late president, Jiří Bartoška. Bartoška, who steered the festival’s revival after taking the helm in 1994, died earlier this year aged 78 and was honored with an opening-night documentary and stage tributes. During the ceremony, Luxembourgish actor Vicky Krieps and American actor Peter Sarsgaard received the Festival President’s Award, joining a roster of past Crystal Globe honorees that includes Geoffrey Rush and Julianne Moore. In accepting the prize, both performers stressed cinema’s cross-border power, with Sarsgaard urging “collective action” in art and society. The 11-day event will screen more than 200 titles and culminate with the presentation of the festival’s top competitive Crystal Globe on 13 July.