Village Gamer

With a selection of five debut feature films, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will be a perfect opportunity to discover Canada’s next generation of film talents. Four films will be receiving their world premieres: two of the films, Roméo Onze and Collaborator, will be in Official Competition, one, Laurentie, will be presented Out of Competition, and one, Sunflower Hour, will be screened during the Forum of Independents.

The Festival is also organizing a tribute to Denis Villeneuve, with the filmmaker himself in attendance. Denis Villeneuve first attracted attention at the Festival in 1996. Held in the city of Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival runs from July 1 to 9, 2011.

“Major events such as Karlovy Vary highlight the cultural success of Canada’s film industry and also encourage the industry’s industrial and commercial development,” said the Executive Director of Telefilm Canada, Carolle Brabant, who will be attending the Festival.

“Telefilm Canada enthusiastically provides support to Canadian industry representatives and creators at the Festival. We are delighted with the retrospective of Denis Villeneuve’s work as well as with the selection of Canadian filmmakers who will be presenting their first feature films. Canadian diversity will be much in evidence at Karlovy Vary.”

Telefilm Canada is delighted that the Embassy of Canada to the Czech Republic is supporting the efforts to promote Canadian cinema at Karlovy Vary.

Official competition
Collaborator (Canada, United States) – world premiere
Director: Martin Donovan
Production companies: DViant Films (Toronto), This Is That (New York)
International distribution: Entertainment One Films International (Toronto)

Roméo Onze (Romeo Eleven) – world premiere
Director: Ivan Grbovic
Production and international distribution: Reprise Films (Montreal)

Out of Competition
Laurentie (Laurentia) – world premiere
Directors: Simon Lavoie and Mathieu Denis
Production company: Metafilms (Montreal)
International distribution: FunFilm Distribution (Montreal)

Forum of Independents
Sunflower Hour – world premiere
Director: Aaron Houston
Production and international distribution: Unpaved Productions (Vancouver)

Midnight screenings
Hobo with a Shotgun
Director: Jason Eisener
Production companies: Rhombus Media (Toronto), Whizbang Films (Toronto), Yer Dead Productions (Halifax)
International distribution: TF1 International (Paris)

Tribute to Denis Villeneuve
As Telefilm Canada announced in February, 2011, the Festival will pay tribute to Denis Villeneuve. The Tribute to Denis Villeneuve will present four of his features, Un 32 août sur terre (32nd Day of August on Earth), Maelström, Polytechnique and Incendies, and two shorts, Next Floor and REW-FFWD.

Karlovy Vary recognized Denis Villeneuve’s talent at the very start of his career: the collective movie Cosmos screened at the Festival in 1996, shortly after receiving its world premiere at Cannes. “Our festival aims to delight movie-lovers by inviting filmmakers who bring their vision to the screen with true passion,” said Karel Och, the Festival’s Artistic Director. “This year we are thrilled to shine the spotlight on Denis Villeneuve and his unique body of work. He’s never afraid of upsetting convention, and his highly personal approach and vision of society have been lauded throughout his career.”

Denis Villeneuve will be invited to meet with festival-goers and journalists during his retrospective.