The 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (July 4-12) boasts not one but two competitions, the Crystal Globe and Proxima, curated by artistic director Karel Och and executive director Kryštof Mucha. The festival is the main summer event in the country, which attracts many sponsors and patrons who want to attend, and faces none of the financial hardships of such festivals as Berlin, Toronto, and Sundance.
Last year, 130 films were shown and 140,000 tickets sold. There is no room for growth, given the limited venues, from the many screening rooms at the festival hub, the Hotel Thermal, where jurors hang out between screenings, to the colorful arthouse Kino Drahomira, named after a revered Czech woman director.
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The Central European festival falls between Cannes and Venice, and programs many films in its Crystal Globe Competition that did not make the cut at Cannes, as well as films that weren’t yet finished. Winning a top prize at KVIFF also adds luster to a film’s release trajectory. And visiting celebrities enjoy their time at the festival, from gala dinners at the Hotel Pupp and Hotel Promenada, to after-hours hanging at the basement Becher’s Bar at the Pupp, which inspired Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”
This year’s festival tributes are Stellan Skarsgård, recipient of a Crystal Globe award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema, and Vicky Krieps, Dakota Johnson, and Peter Sarsgaard, who will each accept KVIFF President’s Awards.
Stellan Skarsgård will personally present the Cannes Grand Prix winner “Sentimental Value” (Mubi), the sixth film directed by Joachim Trier, which earned raves and is expected to compete for multiple Oscars. Skarsgård was a guest of the festival in 2002, when he presented director István Szabó’s film “Taking Sides.”
During his long career, Skarsgård has displayed a range rare among actors, alternating between Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse fare: his name helps indie films to get made. He made his international breakthrough as the lead in Lars von Trier’s “Breaking the Waves” (1996), which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. He also starred in the director’s “Dancer in the Dark” (2000), “Dogville” (2003), “Melancholia “(2011), both parts of “Nymphomaniac” (2013), and the television series “The Kingdom.”
Along with recent roles in “Mamma Mia!” and its sequel and in the MCU, Skarsgård scored an Emmy nomination for his role in HBO’s miniseries “Chernobyl” (2019) and played memorable villain Baron Harkonnen in Denis Villeneuve’s two-part “Dune” saga. He’s also been acclaimed for his role on TV’s “Andor.”
At the opening ceremony, the KVIFF President’s Award will be presented to Luxembourg-born Vicky Krieps, winner of a European Film Award for Best Actress for the biopic “Corsage,” a performance for which she also won Best Actress in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard. She broke out internationally in 2017, when she appeared opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Phantom Thread.” She appeared at Karlovy Vary last year in Viggo Mortensen’s western “The Dead Don’t Hurt” (2023). This year’s Un Certain Regard titles at the Cannes Film Festival included “Love Me Tender” (2025; dir. Anna Cazenave Cambet), which will also screen at Karlovy Vary. Later this year, she is set to appear alongside Cate Blanchett and Adam Driver in Jim Jarmusch’s Venice entry “Father, Mother, Sister, Brother.”
American actress Dakota Johnson will also receive the KVIFF President’s Award and present her two latest films, Celine Song’s “Materialists” and Michael Covino’s Cannes selection “Splitsville.”
Peter Sarsgaard recently starred in director Tim Fehlbaum’s “September 5,” which was nominated for Best Motion Picture Drama at the 2025 Golden Globes. Sarsgaard also won the Volpi Cup at Venice 2023 for Michel Franco’s “Memory,” opposite Jessica Chastain. He also starred as Tommy Molto in the 2024 series “Presumed Innocent” (Apple TV+) opposite Jake Gyllenhaal, Renate Reinsve and Ruth Negga.
In 2021, he starred in the Oscar-nominated “The Lost Daughter,” written and directed by his wife Maggie Gyllenhaal, based on the novel of the same title by Elena Ferrante. The film garnered Oscar Nominations for both Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley as well as a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Sarsgaard recently wrapped production on Warner Bros.’ “The Bride!,” which is set to release later this year. Directed by his wife, Maggie Gyllenhaal, the film takes place in 1930s Chicago and puts a spin on the classic Frankenstein story. Peter will star opposite Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley.
In early June, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival announced 11 films that will be vying for the main prize in the festival’s Crystal Globe Competition. The 12th film, Iran’s independently produced “Bidad,” remained secret to protect the safety of the film’s delegation. At Karlovy Vary, director Soheil Beiraghi will present the world premiere of his story of the young singer Seti, who refuses to accept the fact that women in Iran are not allowed to perform in public. Per the festival, “In defiance of her country’s religious laws, she decides to sing in the street. Her performances quickly gain in popularity, and Seti becomes a star for a young generation that no longer wants to be oppressed by the regime.”
As authorities investigated Beiraghi during filming, it was necessary to withhold announcement of the film’s inclusion in the festival’s program until he and his crew members could safely travel out of Iran.
