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The Jirí Mádl-directed movie Waves, a new take on the time before and after the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Soviet Union-led Warsaw Pact troops, is the Czech Republic’s submission for the best international feature race at the 2025 Oscars.

The film, which had its world premiere at the 58th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff) where it won the audience award, was unveiled as the official Czech contender on Tuesday.

“The film revolves around the international news office at Czechoslovak Radio, a place full of talented individuals possessing broad insight, linguistic skills and above all a commitment to honest journalistic work with a focus on the truth,” whose broadcasts played a key role during the Soviet invasion and occupation of Czechoslovakia in August 1968, according to a synopsis. “An epic, dynamically shot, rewarding film, which embraces uncommon heroism in the face of an oppressive regime, the strength...

Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.

Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.

The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.

Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...

Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.

Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.

The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.

Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...

Somewhere in the middle of Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, the eponymous young character (Asa Butterfield) dreams of a catastrophe in which a steam train runs over him, careens through the Gare Montparnasse railway terminal, and takes a nosedive into the street outside. While it isn’t made clear, or mentioned at all after he wakes up, the disaster he dreams about is based on a real crash at the same station that happened in 1895, mere months before the public exhibition of the Lumière brothers’ seminal actuality film Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat.

As the persistent but largely embellished filmic chestnut has it, audience members who first witnessed the Lumières’ cinematographic train fled the screening room in Paris in a panic, reacting as if they were in real danger of being run over. If you “print the legend” regarding these perhaps apocryphal, panicking spectators, it’s not too much...

Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.

Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.

Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry

An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.

Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.

A shortlist of 15 finalists is...

The international-film category was once littered with feel-good stories about the relationship between an older person and a child, such as “Madame Rosa,” “Pelle the Conqueror,” “Burnt by the Sun” and “Kolya” that took home the statuette. Given the Oscars bestowed on the likes of “Cinema Paradiso” and “Life Is Beautiful,” individual nations could be forgiven for skewing their annual submissions in a crowd-pleasing direction.

However, the global film establishment had to take notice as the Academy started honoring tough-minded stories about “The Lives of Others,” as the title of 2006’s examination of post-Cold War suspicion puts it. A heartbreaking Balkan standoff fuels “No Man’s Land.” Assisted suicide is central to “The Sea Inside” and “Amour.” Bullying and xenophobia animate “In a Better World.”

The 2021 Oscars feature five nominees that reflect the sometimes-bleak world but there is always a strong note of hope. The five contenders are “Drive My Car,...

Joaquin Phoenix and Woody Norman’s heart-warming turn as uncle and nephew on a transformative road trip joins classics of the genre from The Kid to Kolya

A single man who has no great attachments in life is, by some complicated chain of circumstances, entrusted with the care of someone else’s child. Adventures ensue, and along the way both child and unlikely guardian do their own share of growing up. As an essential story premise, it’s been a Hollywood go-to for over a century, at least since Charlie Chaplin awkwardly took on a foundling infant in silent classic The Kid.

It’s a trope that often lends itself to gloopy sentimentality and pat buddy comedy – but writer-director Mike Mills avoids both those pitfalls in his altogether lovely film C’mon C’mon, now out for home viewing after getting rather too little attention in cinemas. It’s a film both comforting and bracing,...

Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2022 Academy Awards.

Entries for the 2022 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.

Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry

The 94th Academy Awards will take place on March 27, 2022 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. This is the first time since 2018 that the ceremony will take place in March, having moved to avoid conflicting with the Winter Olympics.

An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly non-English dialogue...

The 55th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Aug. 20-28) will honor Michael Caine and Johnny Depp.

Two time Oscar winner Caine is this year’s festival special guest and will be presented with a Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema at the festival’s opening ceremony.

At the festival, Caine will personally present the comedy drama “Best Sellers” (2021), director Lina Roessler’s feature film debut in which he portrays a cranky old author who sets out on one final book tour.

When he received his first Oscar for best supporting actor for “Hannah and Her Sisters,” it was his fourth nomination for the Academy Awards, having been previously nominated for “Alfie,” “Sleuth,” and “Educating Rita.” In 2000, he received his second Oscar for his performance in the film adaption of the bestselling book “The Cider House Rules” and in 2003 he was again nominated for “The Quiet American.”

The festival will also honor actor,...

“I wanted to tell this story because it asks so many questions on so many levels,” admits acclaimed Polish director Agnieszka Holland about why she wanted to direct her latest film, the Czech/Polish/Irish/Slovak co-production “Charlatan.” “It’s an intimate story with an epic scope,” she says. Watch our exclusive video interview with Holland above.

“Charlatan” is based on the true story of Czech healer Jan Mikolášek, who dedicated his life to treat the sick using medicinal plants. Throughout the war and turmoil of the 20th century he has to choose between his calling and his conscience. The film stars acclaimed Czech actor Ivan Trojan in a stunning performance as Mikolášek, alongside his real-life son Josef Trojan as the younger Mikolášek. The film co-stars Czech matinee idol Juraj Loj as the healer’s devoted assistant František Palko.

See 2021 Oscars shortlists in 9 categories: International Feature Film, Documentary Feature, Original Song,...

Princ Films has taken international rights to Slávek Horák’s “Havel,” a biopic about the Czech playwright, dissident and his country’s president Vaclav Havel, and will launch sales at the European Film Market.

The film recently received 14 nominations for the Czech Lion Awards, the leading Czech film awards, across all major categories including film, director, screenplay, and all acting categories. It also received two nominations for the Czech Film Critics’ Awards, best actor and actress.

“Havel” premiered at the Visegrad Cinema Days, run by the Kyiv Film Festival in the Ukraine, and went onto play a slew of festivals including Heartland (Indiana), where it was a finalist for best narrative feature, Montreal Independent, where Horák won best director, Rome Independent, where it won best feature, Warsaw, Tallinn Black Nights, São Paulo, Cottbus and Zagreb.

“Havel” stars Viktor Dvorák (“Three Brothers”) as Havel and follows the accomplished playwright and Czechoslovakia’s last President,...

4 things that happened on this day, December 31st, in showbiz history

1992 Czechoslovakia is peacefully dissolved and the Czech Republic and Slovakia both emerge from the split. Which means, for our purposes here at Tfe that they started all new Oscar submission histories ;) Czechoslovakia had had six Oscar nominations and two wins from 23 submissions the bulk of which were in Czech. Interestingly enough just after the split in 1993 only Slovakia submitted to the Oscars while the Czech Republic took a year off. The Czech Repubic has since won one Oscar (Kolya) and had two additional nominations (Divided We Fall and Zelary) and a finalist (The Painted Bird last season). The Czech submission this year is Charlatan. Slovakia has yet to be nominated though they have a Holocaust drama this year, The Auschwitz Report... ...

Bookmark this page for all the latest international feature submissions.

Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.

The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September).

In another change to the eligibility rules,...

In advance of the Oscars, Nick Davis has been looking back at the Academy races of 20 years ago, spotlighting movies he’d never seen and what they teach us about those categories, then and now.

After that trip back to the Documentary race, we're ending the week by spotlighting the other category that's taken the hugest strides to adjust its nominating process and champion better work. It’s also no accident that I’m ending with a category that Nathaniel has tracked with unusual care and detail since Oscar-focused websites have existed—indeed, long before many of his peers paid more than cursory attention. The 72nd Academy Awards took place eight years before the transformative addition of an Executive Committee to the vetting process that produces the annual roster for "Best Foreign Language Film," which of course this year got rebranded as "Best International Film". This category used to be heavy with inoffensive mediocrities,...

Viktor Dvorak has been cast in “Havel,” a biopic of Václav Havel, as the Czech playwright, dissident and national leader. Anna Geislerova, who starred in Oscar nominated “Zelary,” plays his wife, Olga Havlova.

Jiri Bartoska, the president of Karlovy Vary Film Festival, will appear in the film as “Professor,” inspired by Czech philosopher Jan Patocka.

The pic will follow Havel’s life from the Prague Spring in 1968 to the Velvet Revolution in 1989, when Havel became Czechoslovakia’s president. As well as covering Havel’s experiences as a dissident and his time in prison, it will also focus on his relationship with Olga.

The film is helmed by Czech filmmaker Slávek Horák, who was chosen as one of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch in 2015. It is Horák’s second feature film following his 2015 feature debut, “Home Care,” which won lead actress prizes for Alena Mihulová at Karlovy Vary, and the Czech Lions.

The Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival Honorees

Julianne Moore, Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema

An actress, author and activist, Moore has long earned accolades on her diverse career path.

The North Carolina native won a Daytime Emmy with her first major TV role on the soap opera “As the World Turns,” and a Golden Globe for one of her first big-screen performances, as part of an ensemble cast in Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts” (1993).

Her wide-ranging work has paired her with the likes of Paul Thomas Anderson, Alfonso Cuaron and the Coen brothers. She’s also had roles in the blockbuster “Jurassic Park” and “Hunger Games” franchises.

A five-time Academy Award nominee, she won her first Oscar for “Still Alice” (2014). Moore recently signed on to star in and executive produce the Apple series “Lisey’s Story,” from Stephen King and J.J. Abrams.

In Karlovy Vary, she and her husband,...

Cinematographer Vladimír Smutný Photo: Courtesy of Kviff/Ludek Hudec Karlovy Vary Film Festival has made its first programme announcements this week - including tributes to Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine and Czech cinematographer Vladimír Smutný.

The Czech festival - which runs from June 28 to July 6 - will also commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution by screening a selection of films shot between 1989 and 1992. It will also hold a premiere screening of restored Czech classic The Cremator, directed by Czechoslovak New Wave filmmaker Juraj Herz, which describes the transformation of an ordinary man into a psychopathic killer.

Smutný will receive the President's Award for his contribution to cinema, with his work on films including Encounter With The Shadows (1982), End Of The Lonely Farm Berghof (1983) and Kolya (1996) as well as more recent work Dark Blue World (2001), Barefoot (2017) and Golden Sting (2018).

The retrospective dedicated to Chahine, who died in 2008, will feature...

Festival will also pay tribute to Velvet Revolution, unveils industry strands.

The 54th Karlovy Vary Film Festival (June 28-July 6) will honour Czech cinematographer Vladimír Smutný and Egyptian director Youssef Chahine.

Smutný, a seven-time winner of the Czech Lion for best cinematography, will receive the Kviff President’s Award. His best-known work includes films with Jiří Svoboda and Jan and Zdeněk Svěrák.

Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine (1926-2008), a five-time Palme d’Or nominee and Silver Bear winner (for Alexandria Why? in 1979), will be honoured at Kviff with a retrospective of 11 remastered films, comprising early lesser-known works and internationally recognised classics.

The...

Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival is to honor Czech cinematographer Vladimír Smutný, whose credits include Jan Svěrák’s Oscar-winning “Kolya.” The festival will also pay tribute to the career of the late Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine.

Smutný will receive the festival’s President’s Award. He started his career in the 1980s working with directors Jiří Svoboda, on films like “End of the Lonely Farm Berghof” (1983), winner of the jury prize at Karlovy Vary, and Karel Kachyňa.

As well as “Kolya” (1996), he worked with Svěrák on “Dark Blue World” (2001), “Empties” (2007), “Kooky” (2010), “Three Brothers” (2014), and “Barefoot” (2017).

Other directors he worked with include Ivan Fíla, Jiří Vejdělek and Václav Marhoul.

A Chahine retrospective at Karlovy Vary will feature 11 films restored by the director’s production house, Misr International Films, along with other institutions such as La Cinémathèque française and Cineteca di Bologna.

“A thorough look at the work of Youssef Chahine has...

Czech cinematographer Vladimir Smutny, who lensed Jan Sverak's 1996 Oscar winning-film Kolya, will receive the President's Award at the 54th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival this summer.

The festival also will screen a tribute to legendary Egyptian director Youssef Chahine, who died in 2008.

Smutny, who shot a host of other Sverak movies, including Dark Blue World and Empties, is a seven-time winner of the Czech Lion award for best cinematography; his latest credit is on Vaclav Marhoul's adaptation of Jerzy Kosinski's The Painted Bird. Kosinski is best known for his novel and screenplay ...

Czech cinematographer Vladimir Smutny, who lensed Jan Sverak's 1996 Oscar winning-film Kolya, will receive the President's Award at the 54th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival this summer.

The festival also will screen a tribute to legendary Egyptian director Youssef Chahine, who died in 2008.

Smutny, who shot a host of other Sverak movies, including Dark Blue World and Empties, is a seven-time winner of the Czech Lion award for best cinematography; his latest credit is on Vaclav Marhoul's adaptation of Jerzy Kosinski's The Painted Bird. Kosinski is best known for his novel and screenplay ...

Czech director-writer-producer Slávek Horák, who was chosen as one of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch three years ago, has received 14.5 million Czech Koruna from the Czech Film Fund for his second feature film, a biopic of Václav Havel, the Czech playwright and dissident, who became President of Czechoslovakia, and later President of the Czech Republic.

“Havel,” produced by Horák’s company Tvorba Films, will follow his life from the Prague Spring in 1968 to the Velvet Revolution in 1989, when Havel became Czechoslovakia’s President. As well as covering Havel’s experiences as a dissident and his time in prison, it will also deal with his relationship with his wife Olga. The film will shoot next September and October, and will premiere in spring 2020.

At the start of his career, Horak served as second assistant director on Jan Sverak’s 1996 Oscar winner, “Kolya,” and later forged a successful career in advertising.

His 2015 feature debut,...

Czech indie producer director Vaclav Marhoul says he knew from the moment he got his hands on Jerzy Kosinski’s Holocaust novel “The Painted Bird” that he had to adapt it for the screen.

Finding the book at all in Central Europe was not easy even a decade ago, when Marhoul took up the challenge of creating the mythic, war-torn land of the tragi-comic story by the author of “Being There”; it had long been banned during the communist era and copies were still rare, Marhoul says.

He credits below-the-line colleagues in Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic for much of the feat. To conjure the book’s dark and haunting world, the director brought in cinematographer Vladimir Smutny and production designer Jan Vlasak, two of the nation’s top creatives in their fields.

“The Painted Bird” spins a netherworld of Slavic wartime horrors intermixed, Marhoul says, with just the right measure of hope.

With the deadline for submission fast approaching, this week has seen a host of new entrants for this year’s best foreign language film Oscar from European and Middle East markets. New submissions from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Kosovo, Luxembourg and Montenegro will all compete for a slot amongst the five nominees for the Academy Award.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has selected Aida Begic’s drama “Never Leave Me” as its entry. The film, which is a Bosnia-Turkey co-production, tells the story of three Syrian boys living a difficult as refugees is a magical, mythical Turkish city. Bosnia has only seen one previous entry go through to be nominated with Danis Tanovic’s 2001 film “No Man’s Land,” which also went on to win.

Croatia will be represented by Ivan Salaj’s political comedy drama “The Eighth Commissioner.” It tells the story of an ambitious politician, caught...

Screen’s regularly updated list of foreign language Oscar submissions.

Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards are not until Tuesday January 22, but the first submissions for best foreign-language film are now being announced.

Last year saw a record 92 submissions for the award, which were narrowed down to a shortlist of nine. This was cut to five nominees, with Sebastián Lelio’s transgender drama A Fantastic Woman ultimately taking home the gold statue.

Screen’s interview with Mark Johnson, chair of the Academy’s foreign-language film committee, explains the shortlisting process from submission to voting.

Submitted films must be released theatrically...

Oscar-winning director Jan Svěrák will open the seventh edition of the Czech That Film Festival with his new film “Barefoot” at 4 p.m. on April 14 at Real D theater in Beverly Hills.

Svěrák’s film is a coming-of-age story that takes place in Czechoslovakia during the Nazi occupation. The director was previously presented the 2018 Czech Lion Film Fan Award for his work on the film.

The newly restored sci-fi parody “Accumulator,” also directed by Svěrák, will premiere at the festival, which spans across 18 cities in North America. A panel with Svěrák and lead actress Edita Brychta of the film will follow the 8 p.m. screening April 14 at Real D.

Svěrák received the Academy Award for foreign-language film in 1996 for his “Kolya.” The screenplay for the film was written by Jan’s father, Zdeněk, who frequently works with his son and has had roles in his films.

“Ice Mother,” which was...

The Czech Film and Television Academy (ČFTA) has announced that "Home Care" (Domácí péce) by Slávek Horák as the country's official Oscar submission in the Best Foreign Language Film category. The film was selected from 39 features including documentaries and animated works.

Read More: Mexico Picks '600 Miles' Starring Tim Roth as Oscar Entry

"Home Care" is Horák's debut feature. The filmmaker's only other major credit is as 2nd Ad in Jan Sverák's "Kolya," which coincidentally is the country's only film to ever win the Academy Award after the split of Czechoslovakia. "Home Care" screened at this year's Karlovy Vary International Film Festival where it won the Best Actress award for Alena Mihulová.

Centered on a devoted home care nurse whose existence revolves around those that rely on her, the film points out that even the strongest of people need to be cared for. This drama, which is said to have comedic undertones, beat other strong contenders such as Jan Prusinovský's "The Snake Brothers," the film that took home the Best Actor award at Karlovy Vary.

Read More: Latvia Selects Gambling Tale 'Modris' as Oscar Entry

International sales are being handled by production company Tvorba Films. U.S. rights are still available.

The last time the Czech Republic was nominated for the award was back in 2004 with Ondrej Trojan's "Zelary."...

The CentEast Market is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. What was the motivation behind its creation in the first place?

Stefan Laudyn: It all started back in 2000 when we organized for the first time the Warsaw Screenings, and presented a selection of the most recent Polish films with English subtitles to a small group of international festival programmers. I realized that the industry needed this and – believed me or not – back then nobody did it. My motivation was and still is to locate the weakest points in the system and to try to fix them with our limited resources.

How has it evolved? Is the motivation still the same?

S.L.: Generally, the weakest point of film industries in Eastern Europe – apart from the scripts, but this is pretty universal – is the connection with the international film industry. There are still a lot of myths and very little hands on experience about how the international industry works. Over the years, I learned that the situation is pretty much the same all over Eastern Europe, and CentEast was born as a response.

Has it fulfilled your expectations so far?

S.L.: We have several success stories, like last year’s Ukrainian work-in-progress “The Tribe”, which was presented at CentEast and then went on to win three prizes at Cannes.

Can you give us some numbers from this year’s edition and perhaps mention some of the deals that have been made? Who has bought what?

S.L.: It’s too early to say – let’s give the participants time to digest the films they have seen.

How does the market stand on the international commercial side of international film?

S.L.: For Eastern European film, the fact of getting a theatrical deal abroad is already considered a major achievement. Big box office figures almost never happen, with noble exceptions like “Kolya” by Jan Sverák in the mid 1990s or recently “Ida” by Pawel Pawlikowski.

Why do you think an industry segment at the Warsaw Film Festival is indispensible for the festival itself, the Polish Film Industry and, on a wider lever, the International Film Industry?

S.L.: We give another reason to busy international professionals to come to Warsaw. After the Warsaw Film Festival reached a critical mass, it started attracting sales agents, producers, buyers, festival programmers, etc. CentEast, launched in 2007, become one of the key meeting points for professionals interested in Eastern European cinema.

Does the CentEast Market feel threatened by the industry initiatives of the New Horizons Film Festival, namely the Polish Days and the New Horizons Studio?

S.L.: New Horizons copied some of our initiatives – and if something is copied, it’s a proof that the original is in demand.

In what does it differ, especially regarding the Polish part of it? Do they complement each other?

S.L.: We select the films we present. Then we don’t just show the films, but we facilitate communication with foreign festivals, and embrace and support the films and works-in-progress presented at CentEast and Warsaw Screenings. The Polish films that are part of any other event in Poland are not eligible to be presented at CentEast and the Warsaw Film Festival. Producers have to choose between us and other events.

Do you think the Polish Film Industry is healthy?

S.L.: It’s definitely healthier than it used to be in the 1990s. The financing system works and quite a lot of money is available.

What is its weakest point? And, the strongest?

S.L.: The weakest point is that we practically have only one single source of film financing in Poland. The strongest points are the Polish cinematographers and the fact that almost 100% of Polish people speak the same language.

What is your perception of Eastern Europe in terms of the film industry? What are its strengths and weaknesses? What place does the CentEast Market hold there?

S.L.: There is no such thing as an Eastern European film industry. Film is a national sport. National industries are based by the national film subsidies – without them, there would be hardly any films made. In most countries you cannot recoup the film’s production cost from the local market revenues. Exceptions to this rule happen only in bigger countries like Russia or Poland.

CestEast, which is in October, along with the Sofia Meetings in March, and events in Tallinn in November, are key events for professionals in the region. CineLink in Sarajevo, another great event, is more about Balkans than Eastern Europe.

How involved is the Polish Film Institute with the CentEast Market?

S.L.: Not much. But we hope for better.

Can you talk about the market’s relationship with China and Russia? Why are they important?

S. L.: Look at the map.

What are your aims and focuses for its future? Where do you see it going in the long and short terms?

S.L.: While we are talking, two of our neighboring countries are in the state of war after Russia invaded Ukraine. We can’t ignore it. We want peace first. We want the Russians to free Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker they captured and arrested. In Warsaw, we have a number of Ukrainian and Russian filmmakers and there is no tension between them.

Well-established Czech helmer Jan Sverák made a huge splash when he won Oscar for Best Foreign Language film in 1996 for Kolya, his latest film, is not only similar title-wise, but it features a title character in the same age demo. His new film entitled Kooky, shares the name of a dusty teddy bear in a state of disrepair. The bear's owner is a six year-old asthmatic named Ondra. When Ondra's mother throws it away and it finds its way at the city dump, Ondra prays that his beloved teddy bear will somehow his way back home, but when the toddler awakes, he begins the journey of venturing into a creature-filled world, set on a quest to bring him back. "Kooky" works as a live action version of Pixar's "Toy Story", and is dipped in motifs from "Alice in Wonderland" the classic novel, not the recent film. Although the portrait doesn't...

Not long ago I posted the trailer for Kooky's Return, a beautiful-looking film by Jan Sverák (director of the Best Foreign Film Oscar-winning Kolya) that combines live-action and puppets for a slightly off-beat, very imaginative look at childhood. At the time the trailer featured no subtitles. Just after posting, however, I got in touch with the film's production designer, Jakub Dvorský, and he recently mailed to point out that the trailer is now subtitled. So here's an encore presentation. Watch the trailer and read the info below and you'll see why I'm excited about this film. But I was even more excited to find that Jakub Dvorský had a hand in it. Gamers may know Dvorský by his alter-ego, Amanita Design, through which he has been responsible for several truly wonderful flash games: the two episodes of Samorost and, more recently, Machinarium. (If you're unfamiliar with these, you can play...

Below we have the first official trailer for director Gregory Hatanaka’s (Mad Cowgirl, Until the Night) new bizarre flick, Violent Blue. The film stars Silvia Suvadova (Kolja, Polanski), Nick Mancuso, Jesse Hlubik (May, I Know Who Killed Me, The Lost), Barry O'Rourke, Andrea Harrison with special appearances by Shane Ryan (Warning!!! Pedophile Released), Luke Y. Thompson (Wicked Lake), Kai Lanette (Amateur Porn Star Killer 2), Lina So, Aneliese Roettger and producer Barry Barnholtz (Public Enemies, A Christmas Proposal, B.T.K., Cyborg 2).

"Violent Blue" Trailer Now Online! The first official trailer for director Gregory Hatanaka's ("Mad Cowgirl", "Until The Night") new bizarre flick, "Violent Blue", is now online! You Tube Link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ERZyDd_mQY The film stars Silvia Suvadova ("Kolja", "Polanski"), Nick Mancuso ("Under Siege", "Rapid Fire", "Death Warrior"), Jesse Hlubik ("May", "I Know Who Killed Me", "The Lost"), Barry O'Rourke ("Viva"), Andrea Harrison ("Born To Be A Star") with special appearances by Shane Ryan ("Warning!!! Pedophile Released"), Luke Y. Thompson ("Wicked Lake"), Kai Lanette ("Amateur Porn Star Killer 2"), Lina So ("Repo Men"), Aneliese Roettger ("Couples Retreat", "Frat Party") and producer Barry Barnholtz ("Public Enemies", "A Christmas Proposal", "B.T.K.", "Cyborg...

LONDON -- Oscar-winning producer Eric Abraham has teamed with writer-director Mark Dornford-May to set up a theater and movie production house based in South Africa, the duo said Monday. South Africa-born and British-based producer Abraham, who produced Academy Award winner Kolya, has teamed with South African-based Brit Dornford-May to "produce theater and film projects focused on South African talent for an international audience," the parties said. The banner, which will initially operate under London and New York movie production label Portobello Pictures, has also roped in the advice of South African theatre production legend Mannie Mannim who will act as a consultant to the new venture in Cape Town.

MOSCOW -- The Czech Film and Television Academy has chosen Bohdan Slama's Something Like Happiness as the country's Oscar entry for best foreign-language film, the Czech Film Center said Tuesday. Slama's film -- which won the San Sebastian film festival's Golden Shell for best film and Silver Shell for Ana Geislerova as best actress -- is the Czech director-screenwriter's third feature film. "A moving story about a fragile relationship between two young people which gradually grows into true love, the cast and atmosphere are reminiscent of Slama's successful debut 'Wild Bees' which brought the filmmaker several awards at international festivals," the Czech Film Center's Jana Cernik said. Nine Czech films have won a place at the Oscars since 1965 with three taking the prize -- The Shop on Main Street (directors Jan Kadar and Elmar Klos, 1965); Closely Watched Trains (Jiri Menzel, 1967); and Kolya (Jan Sverak, 1996).

MOSCOW -- The world's only festival devoted exclusively to eastern European film, Germany's Cottbus Film Festival, will spotlight Czech movie in its next edition in early November, organizers said Thursday. The special focus on Czech cinema, organized in cooperation with the Czech Film Center -- an independent office funded by the national audiovisual producers association and Prague city council -- will showcase productions made since the fall of communism in 1989. "After the 'Velvet Revolution, ' the Czech Republic was the country in eastern Europe with the most emphatic new beginning for the film world as a new generation of directors took over," the festival said in a statement. Directors from what many critics call the "new" New Wave of Czech film, including earlier Cottbus discoveries such as Jan Sverak (director of Oscar winning Kolya), Sasa Gedeon (Return of the Idiot) and Petr Zelenka (Year of the Devil), will be featured.