History of KVIFF – date of establishment, prominent faces, winners

Today’s Karlovy Vary International Festival started in another spa town. In 1946, the first non-competitive film screening, which would eventually become a famous festival, took place in Mariánské Lázně.

The beginning of the competition at the Karlovy Vary IFF

The first year of the competition was the third, held in 1948. Mariánské Lázně already shared its organization with Karlovy Vary. The awards were originally decided by a national jury, chaired by the future long-term rector of the Prague Academy of Performing Arts, Antonín Martin Brousil. The first award-winning film was Auschwitz by the Polish director Wanda Jakubowska.

Since the 5th year, held in 1950, the film festival has definitely moved to Karlovy Vary. A year later, foreign artists also sat on the jury for the first time.

Alternating with the festival in Moscow

Until 1958, with the exception of 1953 and 1955, the festival was held annually. In 1956, the FIAPF organized the festival into category A. However, for political reasons, it was decided that the then socialist bloc should only have one such festival. After the establishment of the international film festival in Moscow, it was therefore decided that the Karlovy Vary festival would alternate with the Moscow show.

This is how the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival continued until the end of the communist regime. In 1968, there were changes in the organization of the jury for the 16th year. Italian screenwriter Cesare Zavattini replaced Brousil at the head of the author’s jury, which replaced the main jury. In addition to the main jury, there was also an acting jury led by Miroslav Horníček and a technical jury headed by Claude Soulé.

However, this arrangement lasted only until the next year. At the 17th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 1970, the main jury met again, headed by the legendary Czech director Karel Zeman. At the 18th year, however, Brousil was back in the lead.

He was replaced at the head of the jury at the 26th Karlovy Vary IFF in 1984 by Dušan Roll. He remained at the helm for the following year as well. However, in 1988, when the 26th edition of the festival was held, he was replaced by screenwriter Chingiz Aitmatov from the Soviet Union.

Hotel Thermal was built for the festival

The festival also significantly affected the architectural form of the center of Karlovy Vary. This is currently dominated by the brutalist building of the Thermal Hotel. It was created so that the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival would have a decent background.

The construction took place from the sixties according to the design of architects Věra and Vladimír Machoninová. However, it only opened before the start of the spa season in 1977.

The sixteen-story hotel has, among other things, a large cinema hall that can accommodate over a thousand people, but it also has a number of other halls and conference lounges, two restaurants and other facilities.

Post-revolutionary changes

The 27th edition in 1990 became the first to be held after the Velvet Revolution. Director Lindsay Anderson from Great Britain sat at the head of the jury. However, the jury under his leadership did not select any film that could receive the Crystal Globe.

Perhaps the most fundamental change came in 1994, when the actor Jiří Bartoška became the director of the festival and his right hand, Eva Zaoralová. Under their leadership, the festival began to be held again every year and, above all, they made it an event that many foreign guests cannot miss. Unfortunately, Eva Zaoralová died in March 2022.

KVIFF vintages and their winners