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Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
2026-07-03 - 2026-07-11 | N/A
Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

ABOUT THE KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
BASIC INFORMATION
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is the largest film festival in the Czech Republic and the most prestigious such festival in Central and Eastern Europe. It is one of the oldest A-list film festivals (i.e., non-specialized festivals with a competition for feature-length fiction films), a category it shares with the festivals in Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Locarno, San Sebastian, Montreal, Shanghai, and Tokyo. Among filmmakers, buyers, distributors, sales agents, and journalists, KVIFF is considered the most important event in all of Central and Eastern Europe.
Every year, the festival presents some 200 films from around the world, and regularly hosts famous and important filmmakers. The Karlovy Vary festival is intended for both film professionals and the general public, and offers visitors a carefully designed programme, excellent facilities and a broad range of other services.
A BRIEF HISTORY
The first edition of one of the oldest film festivals in the world took place in 1946 in Mariánské Lázně, and some screenings were also held in Karlovy Vary. The festival moved exclusively to Karlovy Vary in 1950. The Crystal Globe Award was first awarded in 1948. In 1956, the festival was classified by FIAPF as Category A.
The Karlovy Vary festival spent 40 years operating under political pressures in socialist Czechoslovakia. In 1994, a new team headed by well-known Czech actor Jiří Bartoška and leading film journalist Eva Zaoralová took over the festival’s organization and decided to reshape the stagnating festival into a film forum deserving of international attention. In just a few years, the new programming and organizational approach implemented by Bartoška and Zaoralová helped the festival regain its previous level of prestige and win back the interest of film professionals and the general public.
PROGRAMME
Each year, the Karlovy Vary IFF presents some 200 films from all over the world. Many of the films are exclusively shown at the festival, while others make it into Czech or foreign distribution, onto television, or into other festivals thanks in part to their screening in Karlovy Vary. Except for films shown as part of retrospectives, all the presented works were made during the preceding year and are shown for the first time ever in the Czech Republic – many of them as world, international, or European premieres.
The greatest focus is on the traditional programme sections – the Crystal Globe Competition, which is reserved for feature-length films shot during the previous season that have not been shown at any other festival in international competition, and the Proxima section, an international competition which aims to complement the Crystal Globe Competition by celebrating contemporary cinema with a collection of forward-thinking and exciting discoveries shown exclusively as world or international premieres. Audiences can also look forward to thematic sections, unique retrospectives and homages to exceptional filmmakers.

DEADLINES & FEES
Opening Submission Date
TBA
Notification Date
TBA
Event Date
July 3 - July 11, 2026

Early
Regular
Late

Feature Films
TBA
TBA
TBA

Short Films
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TBA

Visit the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival website for more information.

VIEW THE EVENT CALENDAR
