Register

    Ukraine protests Russian film screening at Czech film fest

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments950 Views
    Australian actor Geoffrey Rush poses with his 'Berlinale Camera Award' wich he received prior to the screening of the film 'Final Portrait ' at the 2017 Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. The international film festival in the Czech spa of Karlovy Vary kicks off Friday, July 1, 2022 following a protest by Ukraine against screening a Russian movie. This year’s festival will honor Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush for his outstanding contribution to world cinema at the festival’s closing ceremony. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)
    PRAGUE (AP) --

    An international film festival in the Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary kicked off Friday amid controversy following a protest by Ukraine over the screening of a Russian film alongside Ukrainian-made movies.

    Prior to the start of the 56th edition of the festival, several leading Ukrainian filmmakers along with Ukraine's ambassador to Prague protested the scheduled screening of "Captain Volkonogov Escaped."

    Ukrainian Ambassador Yevhen Perebyinis said in an open letter that it would be "inhuman" to screen Ukrainian films alongside a Russian movie made with support from Russia's Culture Ministry at a time when Russian troops had "committed atrocities" during their invasion of his country.

    Organizers said they consider the Russian movie – whose world premiere was at last year's Venice Film Festival – as being indirectly critical of the current Russian leadership.

    Four Ukrainian films and eight other nearly-completed movies produced or co-produced by Ukraine will also be screened at the festival.

    After being cancelled in 2020 and delayed in 2021 due to the pandemic, this year's festival will culminate in a ceremony to honor Australian Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush for his contribution to world cinema.

    Rush won an Academy Award for actor in a leading role in "Shine" in 1997. Beside that movie, the festival will also screen his movies "The King's Speech" and "Quills."

    Organizers will also honor U.S. Oscar-winning actor and producer Benicio Del Toro and Czech actor Bolek Polivka.

    The festival runs through July 9. The grand jury will consider 12 movies for the top prize, the Crystal Globe.

    Tags:Captain Volkonogov EscapedKarlovy Vary International Film Festival



    Christmas TV movies are in their Taylor Swift era, with 2 Swift-inspired films airing this season

    Friday, November 22, 2024
    This image released by Hallmark Media shows Hunter King, left, and Tyler Hynes in a scene from "Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story. (Joshua Haines/Hallmark Media via AP)

    Two new Christmas TV movies have a Taylor Swift connection that her fans would have no problem decoding.

    "Christmas in the Spotlight" debuts Saturday on Lifetime. It stars Jessica Lord as the world's biggest pop star and Laith Wallschleger as a pro football player, who meet and fall in love — not unlike Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

    "It's clearly inspired by Taylor and Travis, but I don't know them and I don't know what is going on behind the scenes. I only know what's been put out there," said Eirene Tran Donohue, a longtime, devoted fan who jumped at the opportunity to write a script even loosely based on her favorite musician.

    She was inspired by the couple's support of each other's accomplishments, particularly Kelce's ease with dating the star despite the glare of the spotlight, adding, "I love the way that he celebrates her."

    Tran Donohue wants fellow Swift fans to know she wrote the script with them in mind.

    "There are so many Easter eggs," she said of little details added that a Swift fan would pick up on. "I put in as many as I could."

    Then, on Nov. 30, Hallmark will air "Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story." Instead of a nod to Swift, it's an ode to family traditions and bonding, like rooting for a sports team. Hallmark's headquarters is also in Kansas City, so it makes sense why the company chose the Chiefs to be highlighted.

    In this story, written by Julie Sherman Wolfe, sparks fly when a new employee for the Chiefs organization (Tyler Hynes) meets a woman — played by Hunter King — whose family's dedication to the team goes back generations.

    Sherman Wolfe, a San Francisco 49ers fan, said she got the call a week after Super Bowl LVIII, when the Chiefs... Read More

    MySHOOT Profiles


    Add A Comment