The Prague International Film Festival (Czech: Mezinárodní filmový festival Praha), also known as Febiofest, is one of the largest film festivals in the Czech Republic and the second most prestigious festival in the country (after Karlovy Vary). The festival presents a wide spectrum of contemporary and retrospective examples of high-quality film including alternative, film-school and amateur works to a diverse viewing public.[2][3][4][5][6]

Prague International Film Festival (Febiofest)
LocationPrague, Czech Republic
Founded1993
No. of films190 (2013)[1]
Websitewww.febiofest.cz/en

History

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The festival was founded in December 1993 in Prague by movie and television company Febiofest. The main personalities of the foundation were Fero Fenič and Pavel Melounek. Originally taking place in one city (Prague) in two small theaters, the event gradually grew (in just ten years) into more than 140,000 viewers in two countries, 12 cities and nearly 43 theaters. In 2005 the festival presented 336 films from 65 countries.[7] The main part of festival is still held in Prague but when the festival in Prague ends, some films are located to other cities.[8]

2020 edition

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It was announced on 10 March 2020 that the 2020 edition would be cancelled because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[9]

Guests

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In 20 years, Febiofest has hosted directors and actors such as Nanni Moretti, Claude Lelouch, Geraldine Chaplin, Gaspar Noé, Peter Weir, Olivier Assayas, Roman Polanski, Volker Schloendorff, Isztvan Szabo, Tsai Ming-Liang, Tom Tykwer, Hal Hartley, Andrey Konchalovski, Armin Mueller Stahl, Nikita Mikhalkov, Carlos Saura or Claudia Cardinale.

Award

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Grand Prix of the festival is dedicated to debuting European filmmakers in New Europe section. Award started in 2008. The 33-member jury awarding the Grand Prix consists of applicants from 15 to 100 years old, to people of all education, social background, professions, and interests plus honorary chairman such as D.O.P. Miroslav Ondricek, Neo-Futurist architect Jan Kaplický, artist David Cerny, conductor Libor Pesek, and former First Lady Dagmar Havlova.[10]

Awarded Films:

Grand Prix
Year Film title Director Country of origin
2008 Magnus Kadri Kõusaar Estonia, United Kingdom
2009 Snow Aida Begić Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, France, Iran
2010 The Children of Diyarbakir Miraz Bezar Turkey
2011 The Christening Marcin Wrona Poland
2012 The Good Son Zaida Bergoth Finland
2013 Broken Rufus Norris United Kingdom
2014 Home Maximilian Hult Sweden, Iceland
2015 Life in a Fishbowl Baldvin Zophoníasson Iceland
2016 Sparrows Rúnar Rúnarsson Iceland, Denmark, Croatia
2017 Heartstone Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson Iceland
2018 Custody Xavier Legrand France

Kristián Award for Contribution to the World Cinema was formerly given to personalities such as Roman Polanski, Helmut Berger, Richard Lester, Claudia Cardinale, Charles Aznavour, Carlos Saura, Daniel Olbrychski, Otar Ioseliani, Wim Wenders and Mike Leigh.

The annual award 1995-2011 was the Kristián (Czech critic's prizes). It focused attention not only on Czech feature films, but on animated and documentary works. The prize was made by famous sculptor Olbram Zoubek.

Venue

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References

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  1. ^ "Mezinárodní filmový festival Febiofest se sídlem v Praze". Aktuálně.cz (in Czech). 18 March 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Febiofest". febiofest.cz. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Febiofest". zaptravel.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  4. ^ "IFF Prague – Febiofest has unveiled its complete program". filmneweurope.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  5. ^ Kingsford-Smith, Andrew. "FebioFest: Prague's International Film Festival Celebrates its 20th Year". theculturetrip.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  6. ^ "FEBIO FILM FESTIVAL". israelfilmcenter.org. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  7. ^ "History of Febiofest Festival". praha.eu. Archived from the original on 12 March 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  8. ^ "Mezinárodní filmový festival FEBIOFEST 2017 v Plzni". kdykde.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Prague Film Festival Called Off Amid Coronavirus Fears". Variety. 2020-03-10. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  10. ^ "Prague Febiofest film festival awards Andrzej Wajda". praguemonitor.com. Archived from the original on 20 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
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