denicek@kviff.com

Tomorrow’s program

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Today’s Official Selection films

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KVIFF goes on A Musical Odyssey

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ENGLISH SECTION

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5DIVÁCKÁ CENA / AUDIENCE AWARDDENÍKUVote for the best film of the 47th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival!

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Tuesday, July 3, 2012 free • strana / page 1

Festival DailyTHE OFFICIAL ENGLISH DAILY OF THE 47TH KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

SPECIAL EDITION OF

Dan SallittDirector, The Unspeakable Act

Veronika Bednářová

Northern Irish director andcinéaste Mark Cousins is at KVIFF with two films – The Story of Film: An Odyssey andWhat Is This Film Called Love.

n Where did your uniquelove of film come from?

It came from my childhood.I fell in love with cinema as a boy.I just loved it. In Belfast there wasa war on and I was a nervous lit-tle boy but then I would go intothe cinema and just feel so re-laxed. It felt like cinema was tak-ing you in its arms and makingyou feel safe and opening win-dows on worlds. And how couldyou resist? I was born in 1965 soI first went to the cinema in 1976-77. Cinema felt very safe. It stillfeels very safe. When you’re sit-ting in the dark you can imagineyourself as other people in otherworlds and I love that. There’sa lovely phrase that JosephCampbell has – “the rapture ofself-loss.” And that’s what cinemaaffords, the rapture of self-loss.n There wasn’t any specific

film life in the 1970s in Belfastwas there?

No, on the contrary. It was pret-ty dead. But there was TV. Therewas the BBC. And I saw AlfredHitchcock films on TV; I saw Orson Welles films on TV. Andalso there was a video black mar-ket so we watched horror movieson old video tapes. I rememberseeing The Exorcist. We werebrought up very Catholic and myaunt got holy water and blessedthe video recorder before she putin the tape of The Exorcist andI remember thinking if you haveto bless a machine this must be sopowerful, this medium of cinema.It was great fun. n Do you think your feeling of

nervousness regarding reality at

that time helped you to latch onto the medium of cinema?

I think people who feel slightlylike outsiders find themselves in-side in the cinema. I now workwith Tilda Swinton, the great actorand she says we’re all outsiders.All the movie lovers are from an-other planet, from the Planet Cin-ema, we’re all weirdos and let’s trynot to be other than weirdos. So allof these people here [at KVIFF]are weirdos. They’re from thePlanet Cinema. You too. n I don’t deny it at all. Is

your childhood one of the rea-

sons you and Tilda Swinton gottogether to work with the 8½Foundation?

Yes, she and I founded that to-gether. We didn’t know each oth-er till we were grown-ups but weboth fell in love with cinemaaround the age of 8½. So wethought it would be great to tryand create a magic moment,a threshold moment in a child’slife halfway between their 8th and9th birthdays. Because whena child is that age, they’re not yettrying to be cool, not yet teenag-er. Their minds are still imagina-

tively open and they’re sucking ineverything, so it’s a good time toget to a child and say look at thisplenitude, look at this extraordi-nary medium, this luminosity.n It’s like a Fellini movie

isn’t it?It’s totally like a Fellini movie.

Why it’s like a Fellini movie is ofcourse when you see films asa child there are lots of things youdon’t understand like sex andmorality and all sorts of things,but you still have a sense thatthere’s an amazing world outthere that you see in the movie.

nThe project that you are in-troducing here, The Story ofFilm: An Odyssey, can it ever betopped? It seems like you’vedone everything now.

It’s a big piece of work obvi-ously. It took six years. It was sortof made in a way for my boyhoodself. Somebody who had an ap-petite for cinema, a curiosity forcinema. I wanted to make a kindof roadmap, saying look at thisworld of cinema.

I’m a walking IMDbMark Cousins on film and the rapture of self-loss

When seen from the right angle, Karlovy Vary’scertainly a star, even when its trademark festival's notup and running. That (and just possibly cheaper foodand accommodation rates than those of Prague) havewon it prominent roles in lots of films shot in theCzech Republic.

Just about everyone remembers the city's prome-nades popping up in a fantasy version of Montene-gro, where people like James Bond come to bluff andmelt girls' hearts with their card sharp acumen as hedid in Casino Royale (pictured). The GrandhotelPupp becomes the ridiculously opulent Hotel Splen-dide, a veritable den of intrigue and dodgy dealings.The role of the casino itself was performed with gus-to by the Lázně I building, in reality a venerable 19th-century spa facility.

A few also recall Queen Latifah showing us thatyou can actually see the Alps from your Karlovy Varyhotel window, as she did in Wayne Wang's Last Holiday while contemplating life and the secrets ofCajun cooking.

The city's riverfront has even been spotted inmovies as unlikely as the action-packed Jackie Chan

feature Shanghai Knights (subbing for a slightly sun-nier 19th-century London).

And let us not forget Hostel Part II − even if audi-ences and distributors did pretty quickly − in whichKarlovy Vary showed off its more sinister side. Whoknew this city could pass itself off as an Italian townin which feisty American girls show would-be evil-doers what a bad idea it is to mess with them?

With the Czech Republic's new 20-percent cash-back production incentive now in force, it looks likea good bet that you'll be seeing the city in many morefilms to come − especially when that elegant Old Eu-rope look is needed (but only a modern indie budgetis on tap). (WT)

EXPLAINERSEE YOU THERE

KV’s (sometimes surprising) film cameos

One of the many films I’m looking forward to seeing isHoly Motors by Leos Carax who is obviously a very well-known French filmmaker. He hasn’t made any films fora few years other than a while back, when he made a shortfilm in a portmanteau movie called Tokyo, which was ex-tremely good. The buzz on Holy Motors ever since itsscreening at Cannes a little while ago has been very excit-ing. I don’t know what actually happens in the film be-cause I’ve been trying to keep myself a virgin for it. Itsounds as if Carax has done something extraordinary andhe has certainly done some extraordinary things in the past,so this has to be one of my must-see films while I’m here.

Holy Motors screens today at 10:30pm in the Ther-mal’s Grand Hall and on July 6 at 9:30pm in the SmallHall, also at the Thermal.

You can catch Dan Sallitt’s film, The Unspeakable Act,today at 1pm in the Thermal’s Congress Hall, tomorrowat 7pm in the same venue, and on July 7 at 10am in theEspace Dorleans Cinema. (COC) Photo: KVIFF

It’s a reliable sign of a poorLowdown columnist (and count-less bloggers, while we’re at it)to lead with a weather report;folks who read columns – andeven blogs – are generally awareof how hot, cold, wet or muggythey feel.

But it’s almost impossible notto mention the sweltering heatin KV this year, which has hadThermal audiences sweatingbuckets and nodding off. We justhope that fans remember tobring bottled water along toscreenings until things cool off.

Some have, of course, solvedthe heat issue by heading for thepool. A grand party there Sun-day evening saw a classic velvet-rope-type moment, when world-famous DJ David Holmes wastold that he would not be al-lowed in because the event was“VIP only.” Eventually, some-one was located to explain to thesecurity guys that Holmes wasquite likely the most V of the IPsat the event.

But never one for raging ego,the down-to-earth Holmes him-self ended up getting on fa-mously with the veteran DJ whowas laying down vintage tracks,one Ivo Pospíšil, founder of theRadost FX music shop whocould be described as Prague’sanswer to Terri Hooley, thesubject of KVIFF opening filmGood Vibrations, which Holmessoundtracked.

The pair even swapped emailaddresses so that they could lat-er swap track recommendations.Tunes really do build bridges,folks! n

THE LOWDOWN

Photo: KVIFF

NOTICEThere will be two additional

public screenings of Sára Cser-halmi’s Dear Betrayed Friendsand one for press and industry.The latter takes place tomorrowat 12:30pm in the Thermal’sCinema B; the public screeningswill be held at 4:30pm on July 5at the Pupp Cinema and at12:30pm on July 6 in the ČasCinema. n

Better than Google: director Mark Cousins is a fount of cinema knowledge.

Photo: Jan Handrejch

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STRANA / PAGE 2 TUESDAY, JULY 3, 2012

FESTIVAL DAILYTHE OFFICIAL ENGLISH DAILY OF THE 47TH KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

denicek@kviff.com

n It’s extraordinary how youdo it in an understandable way.It’s not overly academic.

Absolutely. The word auteurdoes not appear in 15 hours; thephrase mise-en-scène does not ap-pear in 15 hours. Because it’s soeasy to put an ordinary person offand say, “This is not for you.” Andof course cinema is the most dem-ocratic art and therefore when wetalk about it we have to talk aboutit in an open and available way.Not compromising the ideas incinema, not trying to make it looklike a lesser art than it is, but cer-tainly making it available and ac-cessible. That’s crucial. n I’ve seen your Mexico trav-

elogue What Is This Film CalledLove. It really contrasts withyour 15-hour film.

It’s kind of a reaction to that ina way, after doing 15 hours in sixyears on a very direct path so I justwanted to go off-piste as they sayand just wander a little bit. As I sayin my Mexican film, I’ve madefilms with neo-Nazis in them andthe Gulf War and lots of serioussocial issues and I wanted to justexperiment, like strumming a gui-tar. I always like the way peoplework in the music world, wherethey’re not afraid to improvise andsee what happens or to make per-sonal work. Some of the best mu-sic is very personal. I sent therough cut [of What Is This FilmCalled Love] to PJ Harvey thegreat composer and she sent mesongs for it, so it allowed me to

collaborate with loads of people.I used three songs by PJ Harveyand the great composer Sam FisherTurner, so I got to work with theseextraordinary musicians.nYou know so many interest-

ing people.I do know loads of people.

I think the reason is that people seethat I’m so passionate about whatI do, In the music world lots ofmusic people are also fascinatedby cinema and want to know moreabout cinema and they see me asa sort of walking IMDb. “We can’tbe bothered to google. Who di-rected this film in 1942?” AndI like that. Also, I teach and writea lot about creativity – the creativeprocess and work and why it’s sofulfilling. What musicians andfilmmakers and actors all have incommon – this idea of creativityand how to keep it going, how tokeep the juices going, how not tolose it, how not to get distracted bymoney or institutions.n Do you still feel the same ex-

citement when you see a greatmovie?

Even more so. I always feel thatI watch movies like a child. De-fenses down. Even intellectual fac-ulties put to one side. Watch itopen-hearted and open-spiritedand as soon as the film finishesthen you use your adult ability toanalyze and reflect. Was I moved?Why was I moved? Was that es-thetically interesting? Why?I think for me that’s the way itworks best. I can maximize the re-sponse. I always sit in the frontrow to be as close as possible tothe screen. n

I’m a walking IMDbIrena TaskovskiTaskovski Films, UK/Bosnia

n So what do you do at KV-IFF?

We have a film in KarlovyVary every year and we representsome very well-known Czechdocumentary makers, such asFilip Remunda, Vít Klusák, andHelena Třeštíková.n Are any of your films

showing at the fest?We have a film this year from

Uruguay by first-time directorAlicia Cano. It’s called The Bel-la Vista and it had its world pre-miere on July 2 as part of thedocumentary films competition.The director, Alicia, and the pro-ducer Thomas Mauch, whosecinematography work you mightknow from Fitzcarraldo, areboth here. n What else?We’re also here to attend the

Docu Talents from the Eastevent, which is taking place to-day in the Thermal at 1:30pm,because that’s how we find newtalent, and take their films onboard to represent them. (COC)

WHAT AM IDOING HERE?

Beasts of the Southern WildDirector: Benh ZeitlinUSA, 2011, 91 minJuly 3, 2pm, Grand Hall − Thermal

This award-winner from Sundance and Cannes confirms the vitalityof American independent cinema. It’s a unique exploration of a father-daughter relationship and a regional community often overlooked bymainstream filmmakers. Set in Louisiana at the time of a devastating

storm, the film may make you think of the people forgotten in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. But it’snot a political message movie; it’s a rare example of poetic cinema that is innovative and deeply stirring.It comes with an electrifying musical score and marvelously atmospheric cinematography.

The Deep Blue SeaDirector: Terence DaviesUK, 2011, 98 minJuly 3, 7pm, Richmond Cinema

To celebrate the centenary of the birth of noted British playwrightand screenwriter Terence Rattigan, many revivals of his well knownplays have been mounted. Terence Davies directed this new screen ver-sion of one of Rattigan’s memorable studies of sexual desire and re-

pression. Rachel Weisz gives a splendid performance as a married woman torn between a staid husbandand a reckless lover. This was one of Rattigan’s favorite themes – the war between responsibility and sex-ual bliss. Davies has an innate understanding of the central theme. The film is a bit slowly paced, but it’sbeautifully designed and undeniably affecting.

TerrafermaDirector: Emanuele CrialeseItaly, France, 2011, 88 minJuly 3, 7pm, Congress Hall − Thermal

Many recent movies from all around the world have dealt with thesubject of immigration, a hot-button topic in many places. Italy’s sub-mission for the foreign language Oscar of 2011 is an eloquent additionto this thriving new genre. An Italian fishing family struggles in an eco-

nomic downturn, and their problems multiply when a group of shipwrecked Africans wash up in their vil-lage. As they get to know the African visitors, they find their complacency challenged. The moral dilem-ma facing the family is incisively rendered by director Emanuele Crialese and a skillful troupe of actors.

Come As You AreDirector: Geoffrey EnthovenBelgium, 2011, 115 minJuly 3, 10pm, Drahomíra Cinema

Belgian cinema has been thriving lately, and this crowd-pleasingcomic drama (an audience award winner at several festivals) indicatesthe diversity of new Belgian cinema. Inspired by a true story, the filmfocuses on three handicapped men who decide to defy their disability

and travel to Spain to visit a brothel that caters to men with special needs. Their families resist the ideaof a road trip, but when they find a driver, they manage to set out on an adventure. Uproariously funny aswell as deeply poignant, Geoffrey Enthoven’s film may not be a prestige picture, but it represents the bestin offbeat, audience-friendly entertainment. n

Stephen FarberFilm critic, The Hollywood Reporter

REVIEWERS RECOMMEND

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There are some pretty well-known faces in town today. Keepyour eye out for highly respectedAmerican writer/director KennethLornegan, whose eagerly antici-pated Margaret is part of Horizonsthis year. He’s joined by two otherHorizons writer/directors, ToddSolondz, with Dark Horse, andMasato Harada, whose Chroni-cle of My Mother he adapted fromYasushi Inoue’s novel.

Look out for beloved Iranianstar Leila Hatami, who is expect-ed to arrive today for the OfficialSelection competition entry TheLast Step. She plays an actresscalled Leila, who loses her controlafter the death of her husband.The husband is played by her ac-tual husband, the film’s writer anddirector Ali Mosaffa. Lots to

think about there. Also competingis Polski film, whose co-starTomáš Matonoha is due today.This film also blurs the line be-tween real and fictional filmmak-ing, but takes care to remind usthat “The fact that I’m playingmyself doesn’t mean that this isactually me.” Jan Budař, Czechactor and musician, arrives todayfor Polski film as well, but he’s al-so in Lidice and Long Live theFamily in the Czech Films selec-tion.

Jacob Dammas and HelgeRenner, the writing/directing duobehind Polish Illusions, arrive to-day for the documentary competi-tion. Another powerful contenderthis year is the troubling Sofia’sLast Ambulance, directed, shotand co-edited by Ilian Metev.

And from Hungary, director PéterBergendy and actor János Kulkaarrive today to compete in the Eastof the West section with The Ex-am, a psychological secret policethriller about loyalty and friend-ship under Communism.

Forum of Independents featuredebut director Jan Ole Gerstergets into town today for theworld premiere of his characterstudy Oh Boy. He’s joined byAleksey Igudesman, director ofthe star-studded arch mockumen-tary Noseland, star and producerJulian Rachlin and editor Se-bastian Leitner. Also arrivingfor FOI today is writer/directorRony Sasson Angel, here withWherever You Go, and In a Bed-room’s writer/director TomaszWasilewski. (PLC)

FACES

Kenneth Lornegan Todd Solondz Masato Harada Ali Mosaffa Jacob Dammas Péter Bergendy

Pokud zabloudíš ve Varech, or if you get lost in Karlovy Vary, some of these phrases might help youto get directions from the locals:

Jak se dostanu do kina ...? (Yak se dost-anoo do Keena...) − How can I get to the Cinema...?Kde je hotel Thermal? (Gdeh yeh hotel Thermal) − Where is the Hotel Thermal?Kudy se jde na kolonádu? (Koody seh deh na kol-o-nadoo) – How do I get to the collonade?Hledám autobusové nádraží (Hled-aahm ow-toe-bus-ovay nad-razhee) − I’m looking for the bus stationJe to daleko/je to blízko? (Ye to bleezko/dal-echo) − Is it near/far?Je to hrozná dálka (Yeh to hroz-nah dahl-ka) − It’s miles awayJe to kousek odsud (Ye to koe-sek od-sud) − It’s just a little way awayJe to hned za rohem (Yeh to hi-ned za roe-hem) − It’s just around the cornerJe to na opačném konci města. (Yeh to na opatchnem kontsee myesta) − It’s at the other end of townJděte rovně a pak odbočte doleva/doprava (Deh-tay rovnyeh a pak od-botch-tay doe-lev-ah/doe-prav-ah) − Go straight and then turn left/rightJděte rovnou za nosem (Deh-tay rovnyeh za nosem) − Go straight on (lit. Go straight after your nose)Promiňte, ztratil/a jsem se (Pro-min-tay straat-eel sem seh) − Excuse me, I’m lostPromiňte, prosím, kde je tu bankomat? (Pro-min-tay pro-seem gdeh yeh bankomat) − Excuse me, where can I find an ATM here?Nemůžu najít poštu (Ne-moo-zhoo nai-yeet po-shtu) − I can’t find the post office (COC/PH)

Czech, please!

Pena on European filmVeronika Bednářová

Richard Peña is the ProgramDirector for the Film Society ofLincoln Center and Director ofthe New York Film Festival. Heis this year’s President of theGrand Jury at KVIFF.

n Do you remember seeingyour first movie?

I think the first movie I saw thatI remember seeing in a movie the-ater was Jason and the Argonauts.I distinctly remember the sword-fight against the skeletons. Itseemed rather sad, as there's noway you can stab a skeleton. n How did your family back-

ground affect your taste inmovies?

I think my family backgroundaffected me by always remindingme that there was an alternative toAmerican culture – there wasAmerican dancing, and Latindancing, American music and Lat-in music, American movies andLatin movies... Once you acceptthe existence of an alternative,then it opens you up to many oth-er possibilities. If two, why notthree?n How do you see the festival

in Karlovy Vary in the interna-tional context?

Karlovy Vary is a widely re-spected festival that has becomeknown as a great platform for newcinema emerging from Centraland Eastern Europe. It also has thereputation of being a very youngfestival, with those youthful audi-ences we're all trying to attract.

n Do you have a favoriteCzech movie?

I'm a great fan of MarketaLazarová and František Vlácil'swork in general. I also very muchlike Distant Journey; for me it’sthe best of the early Holocaustfilms. Recently, I was very muchtaken with Something Like Happi-ness. And of course the CzechNew Wave, which has a powerfullink to the New York Film Festival. n In what way is the New

York Film Festival differentfrom other film festivals?

Now celebrating its 50th year,the New York Film Festival is dis-tinguished from other, especiallyNorth American festivals, by itssize. Unlike festivals that show200, 300 or even 400+ films, weonly show 25-28 films in a givenyear, which has been our practicesince the NYFF's founding in1963. Thus, we have gained a cer-

tain "elite" reputation among film-makers and audiences. We alsodon't give prizes of any sort. TheNYFF, I should add, shows muchmore than European cinema, andI think it's fair to say we've beena key platform for Chinese, Iran-ian, Korean, Argentine, Israeli andother international cinemas. n How do you foresee the fu-

ture of European cinema? The most important thing for

European cinema is to be seen firstand foremost by other Europeans.Although there are multiple agen-cies to promote "European" cine-ma, I still think the concept has little resonance with the vast ma-jority of Europeans. There areenormous talents throughout Eu-rope and a strong sense of pre-serving and promoting cinematicpatrimony, so I think the future ofEuropean cinema looks prettygood. n

KVIFF Grand Jury President Richard Peña.

Photo: Jan Handrejch

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STRANA / PAGE 3TUESDAY, JULY 3, 2012

FESTIVAL DAILYTHE OFFICIAL ENGLISH DAILY OF THE 47TH KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

denicek@kviff.com

Panter z Varù:na vlnách publikaSkupina ÈEZ, geniální panter 47. roèníku MFF Karlovy Vary

SKUPINA ČEZ www.cez.cz/mff kv

Nos Vemos Papa –an intimate look at loss

Will Tizard

The Mexican entry in the Offi-cial Selection race, Nos Vemos Pa-pa (or See You, Dad) is a hauntingand brooding study of grief, mem-ory, and the fight for resolution inthe wake of a sudden tragedy. Director and screenwriter LucíaCarreras’s story hinges on the af-termath wrought by the death ofher heroine Pilar’s father – anevent that forces the youngwoman to confront her “nearpathological dependence on him,”as observers of the film have de-scribed it.

As Pilar reels from her loss, thepsychological suspense story thatfollows takes us through a mazeof traps with escalating despera-tion as the relationships in the restof the family are revealed andtested. The look and mood of theimages draw us into this shadowyworld while Carreras never com-promises on emotional honesty orresorts to melodrama.

The director calls Nos VemosPapa “a very intimate story,”adding that “the rhythm and thetone were an important aspect.”

That feeling is quite apart frommost movies coming out of Mex-ico these days, which tend towardlighter fare and audience films.Carreras, by contrast, "took inspi-ration from innovative trends inthe Mexican film industry but stillmanaged to find her own style,”in the words of KVIFF program-mers.

So far the film has only screenedoutside Mexico in Ventana Sur,Argentina, and the European FilmMarket at the Berlinale, but thosewere industry screenings. “In thatsense, Karlovy Vary will be thecity where audiences from outsideMexico will see, for the first time,Nos Vemos Papa − it is our inter-national premiere,” says Carreras.

According to Carreras, the filmoriginated with her interest in ex-ploring loss. “I thought that if thisperson had devoted her/his life tosomebody, starting from a veryearly age, the absence would thenmake the character go to really in-teresting places. Those places willbe a limbo where Pilar goes.”

The journey is a tricky, some-times deceptive one, she adds. “Ido not know if I will call thisworld surreal rather than imagi-nary.”

But it’s a sojourn that surelytranscends Latin American cul-ture, the director believes. “Theinternational appeal of the film,I think, will come from differentaspects… For me, the film ex-plores deep layers of emotionsthat are also appealing to audi-ences.”

The exploration of the darkerpalette is something that res-onates in Central Europe, aswell, says Carreras. “Connectingwith the people of the land ofKafka, obviously, is a big dealfor us and it will be amazing tohear what they got from themovie.”

Nos Vemos Papa screens to-day at 5pm in the Thermal’sGrand Hall and at 1pm tomor-row in the Espace Dorleans Cin-ema. n

Cecilia Suarez in Mexican film Nos Vemos Papa.

Photo: KVIFF

To Kill a Beaver –the insidious recesses of the human mind

Barbora Baronová

Dubbed a distinctive film nar-rator, bard of magical realism,and poet of image in his nativePoland, writer/director Jan JakubKolski is now going to be knownas a prophet too. In his feature ToKill a Beaver he forecast the fateof a man without a past who wasdiscovered earlier this year in theTatra Mountains.

That film explores the topic ofthe return of a professional sol-dier to routine, tedious, everydaylife. It opens with the solitarycharacter of Eryk arriving at anabandoned farm. At first it seemsthat only the ubiquitous beaverswill keep him company, untila sassy girl floats into his life ona raft. She has occupied Eryk’shouse in his absence and has nointention of leaving, but she hasno idea how insidious the humanmind can be while processing se-rious trauma.

“I wanted to create a herowhose worlds are getting mixedup. It happens to people who arepushed to their limits. I remem-ber those states of mind from thetime when I was engaged in cav-ing. I wrote the script two yearsago on an impulse which eventu-ally turned out to be secondary.During the shooting I discardedmost of what I had prepared.I surrendered to intuition and myinner voice, which allowed me to‘hear’ Eryk’s mind. The lead

Eryk Lubos helped me a lot bythoroughly researching the topicahead of shooting.”

That topic was made all themore relevant by real-life eventsthat unfolded just as the film wasbeing completed. “When the filmwas almost finished, there wasa breaking news story in Polandof an Afghanistan veteran whowas found in the Tatras. His iden-tity was unknown for many daysuntil it was finally established hewas a war hero who was dis-charged after a number of mis-sions. His family thought he wasstill on a mission while he waslying in a tent in the mountains,frostbitten, and drinking watermade from melted snow.”

Kolski hopes the veteran’s casewill change Polish society’s atti-tude to the serious but neglectedissue of the impact of war on

a soldier’s psyche after returningfrom a mission.

“After the test screening, view-ers told me they struggled to be-lieve what they saw. But whenthe ‘commando from the Tatras’was found, they changed theirminds.”

The sensitive film has a sur-prising ending. “I wanted to tella love story,” Kolski says. “It’sgloomy, powerful, passionate,but still a love story. While wewere shooting, my mother wasdying and I transferred my suf-fering to the film. More misfor-tunes surrounded the film. To tellyou the truth, I am surprised itdidn’t end up killing me.”

To Kill a Beaver screens todayat 8pm in the Thermal’s GrandHall and tomorrow at 10am inthe Espace Dorleans Cinema. n

OFFICIAL SELECTIONOFFICIAL SELECTION

To Kill a Beaver looks at how war affects the psyche.

Photo: KVIFF

STRANA / PAGE 4 TUESDAY, JULY 3, 2012

FESTIVAL DAILYTHE OFFICIAL ENGLISH DAILY OF THE 47TH KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

denicek@kviff.com

PanoptikumBělehradská 3☎ 728 520 822Open 10am-“around 2am”

With pleasant wood-lined wallsdisplaying fascinating photosfrom Karlovy Vary’s rich and col-orful past, Panoptikum is a cozyeatery specializing in traditionalCzech fare at reasonable prices.As is typical for such dumpling-friendly cuisine, the food is a littleheavy, particularly as the portionsare almost ridiculously generous.That is just a minor quibblethough, as overall we were veryimpressed with the personableand relaxed service as well as thedelicious draft beer on offer fromthe boutique Švijany brewery.Panoptikum is a little off the beat-en track, but is definitely worththe trek if you fancy a less hecticand crowded dining experiencethan you’ll find in most restau-rants on the main strip. (COC)

TandoorI P Pavlova 25 ☎ 608 701 341www.tandoor-kv.czOpen noon-9pm Mon-Sat, noon-6pm Sun

Long an oasis of convenient,affordable, colorful, and spicycuisine, Tandoor is the family-run place that festival veteranshave been slipping off to, and re-turning to, for years. It’s just twosimple rooms secreted in thecourtyard of an apartment blockjust around the corner from theThermal, but it’s as welcomingand unpretentious a place asyou’ll ever find. Starters includesome mouthwatering Indian spe-cialties such as dahl, onion bhajiand meat-stuffed paratha (30-60CZK). Follow that up with thecity’s most appealing vegetarianmenu, which offers palak, bhaji, veggie madras, vindaloo,spinach, and jal frezi (85-145

CZK). You can get chicken, beef,lamb, or prawn versions of theseclassics by adding 40 CZK or so.All the usual sides are here, in-

cluding chapatis, garlic andcheese nans (25-45 CZK). Someswear they achieve enlighten-ment when combining the above

with Czech beer on draft, likeGambrinus (25-35 CZK). Also,watch out for the special fast fes-tival menu. (WT)

Foot-tapping Czech percus-sion maestros The Tap Tap aregiving a drumming workshoptoday at 4pm in the beautifulMlýnská kolonáda to get every-one in the swing of things beforetheir Concert for the JedličkaInstitute Foundation at 8pm atPoštovní dvůr (Slovenská 2).The Jedlička Institute was es-tablished in 1913 to help theCzech disabled community, run-ning a school in Prague and or-ganizing events. Many of themembers of The Tap Tap areformer students of the Pragueschool, and they’ve done amaz-ing work raising awareness,playing in festivals around Eu-rope and working with well-known Czech musicians likeDan Bárta. Entry to the concertis by voluntary contribution, andyou can be sure whatever yougive will be used wisely. Excel-lent music in support of an ex-cellent cause. (PLC)

ON THE TOWN

DAILIES

Peter Le Couteur

At first glance, this year’s musicdocumentary selection seems tohave little in the way of commonthemes. Pavel Klusák, head of thesection, explains how they chosethe eight films on offer: “It’s easy!The film must be relevant on botha filmic and musical level. Andwhat’s most important: there mustbe the zeitgeist hidden inside. ShutUp and Play The Hits, for exam-ple, shows a group [LCDSoundsystem] that helped erasea border between the independentscene and the mainstream.”

This theme of erasing borderscertainly has powerful relevancetoday, and runs through the tradi-tional VH1 “Behind the Music”-style work on iconic artists (PaulSimon, ambient pioneer BrianEno, or free-jazz saxophonist Peter Brötzmann), the attempts tocapture the style and surround-ings of live performances (bytranscendent Icelanders Sigur Rós

and NYC electropunks LCDSoundsystem), and other, strangerareas of musical documentarywork.

Marek Šulík and Jana Bučka’sBells of Happiness tells the storyof two Slovakian Romany cousinswho dream of living the life of thegods, in this case the luxuriousrealm of mullets and misty lensesinhabited by Karel Gott and Dari-na Rolincová. The two cousins de-cide to send a video greeting totheir two idols, along with a Romaremix of Zvonky šťastia (Bells ofHappiness), which still resonateswith them almost 30 years after itsrelease. Despite their prayers, nei-ther the fans nor the filmmakersever succeed in contacting theirpersonal Gott, and their dreams ofdoing so are set against the trou-bles of the Roma people in Slova-kia, trapped by physical and cul-tural segregation and endemicpoverty.

Segregation and the question ofmusic’s ability to transcend lin-

guistic, political and conceptualborders is a strong theme in thesection 2012: A Musical Odyssey,whose title alone is suggestive ofthis kind of radical journey. Thedocumentary Under African Skiesfollows the story of Paul Simon’salbum Graceland, recorded duringthe worst years of Apartheid, onthe occasion of its 25th anniver-sary. Simon travels back to SouthAfrica to meet both the musicianswho worked with him on the al-bum and the African NationalCongress spokespeople he an-gered by breaking their interna-tional cultural boycott. This isa well-made look at a sensitivesubject, with a wider relevanceabout the interaction of art andpolitics. Simon is adamant that hedid not want to make a politicalrecord, that working with blackAfrican musicians was a musicaldecision, and that music does notneed to be controlled by its politi-cal circumstances. As proof ofthis, he cites the content of the

African pop songs he reworked;one is about how nice it was whenwomen wore miniskirts. And onememorable verse on I Know WhatI Know can be translated some-thing like, “Kill an owl becausethere’s no chicken, but don’t wor-ry, if we cut the head off it’ll lookjust like a chicken. We can eat it onthe train.” With luminaries likeMaya Angelou, David Byrne,Whoopi Goldberg and PeterGabriel on the cast list, this is def-initely not to be missed.

Contentious borderlines featureheavily in the stand-out work thisyear for anyone interested in theboundaries between experimentalmusic and activism, Steve Elkins’The Reach of Resonance. Whatstarts off as a depiction of four oth-erworldly avant-garde composersswiftly builds into an elegantdemonstration of the links be-tween cultural experimentationand radical political gestures. BobOstertag spent years in El Sal-vador campaigning for the free-

dom fighters, John Luther Adamsled the movement to protect theAlaskan wilderness through thecreation of national parks, and JonRose has become famous through-out the world for using cello bowsto play fences. Starting in the clas-sical tradition, Rose pushed theform of the violin, adding longerand longer strings, until he sud-denly looked around him and real-ized that Australia is strung withmillions of kilometers of resonat-ing wires. These fences are deeplyembedded in Australia’s short andbrutal history, absurd signs ofWestern culture’s insistence onimposing straight lines of divisionon places and peoples where theyhave no relevance. Drawing haunt-ing music from these fences hasled him around the world, to theartificial lines carved between Is-rael and Palestine, or Mexico andArizona. Rose’s work is just onethread in this balanced, thoughtfulpiece, guaranteed to introduce youto new ideas, new directions, and

maybe even change how you thinkabout sound.

Adams, who stopped campaign-ing to focus on composing, asksespecially relevant questions aboutthe place of art in a time of somuch conflict and destruction. Forpeople like Adams in central Alas-ka, where rising temperaturesmean winter often comes monthslate, and huge icebergs crash intothe sea every day, the growing eco-logical devastation is extremelyevident. “What meaning does arthave in a world that is literallymelting?” he asks. But, as he re-counts, Claude Monet was feelingthe same guilt, shuffling out to thegarden to paint water lilies withthe front lines of WWI only 35kmaway. And as Adams says, “wewould all be so much poorer ifMonet hadn’t shuffled out to thegarden to paint those water lilies,even in the middle of a war...thosespaces he created...were his lastgreat gift to his fellow human be-ings.” n

KVIFF goes on A Musical Odyssey

Variety’s Ten Euro Directors to Watch.

Photo: Jan Handrejch

The Jedlička Institute collection.

Photo: Milan Malíček

The ČEZ cat gets down with the kids.

Photo: Milan Malíček

LCD Soundsystem Shut Up and Play the Hits.

Photo: KVIFF

Romany dreams in Bells of Happiness.

Photo: KVIFF

Avante-garde composers explore The Reach of Resonance.

Photo: KVIFF

Panoptikum’s walls comprise a photographic guide to Karlovy Vary’s colorful past.

Photo: KVIFF