The Variety Critics’ Choice: Europe Now! (VCC) section of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic (June 29 - July 7, 2007) focuses international media attention on European cinema. For the tenth year, this official section of the prestigious Karlovy Vary Festival is programmed by the film critics of the international entertainment business magazine Variety.

The founder of the program, Variety executive editor Steven Gaydos, said upon the occasion of the section’s tenth anniversary, “Ten years and one hundred films after we started Variety Critics' Choice at Karlovy Vary, the situation for European filmmakers has both brightened and darkened. The light comes from the creativity and unstoppable energy of the filmmakers in Europe, as evidenced by the films in Critics' Choice. The darkness is all financial. It's never been harder to get films financed and once funded, to get them onto screens in Europe and the rest of the world. I am extremely proud of this section for providing encouragement, a sense of community and increased promotion for European filmmakers when all of those precious commodities of the film marketplace are in increasingly short supply."

Karlovy Vary Film Festival and European Film Promotion (EFP) work closely together to present this cutting-edge showcase which highlights the exciting works of ten European filmmakers. The initiative is supported financially by the MEDIA Programme of the EU and the respective ten participating EFP members. In addition, this year’s programme is generously sponsored by Cinemax – a movie channel from the family of HBO Czech Republic.

Variety’s film critics Derek Elley, Eddie Cockrell, Leslie Felperin, Jonathan Holland and Robert Koehler have taken the best of new European cinema, drawing from their own filmgoing experiences at festivals all over the world. “I'm especially pleased this year,” said Derek Elley, Variety’s senior critic and the director of the program, “that nine out of the 10 films are either first or second features, showing there is no shortage of new and rising talent in European production – and not just in the field of arthouse movies."

The directors will be on hand to present their own films on two days of the festival – 1-2. July. The programme is actually a combination of presentations and celebrations, including 20 screenings as well as a press luncheon and a VIP dinner hosted by European Film Promotion. A gala party for hundreds of guests, cosponsored by Filmstudio Gatteo and Universal Production Partners, will showcase the legendary Festival Band live in concert.

As an example of the impact the programme has on European filmmakers, Martin Schweighofer, managing director Austrian Film Commission, calls VCC “a prominent fixture at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival and an excellent showcase for noteworthy European films and their directors. I am pleased,” said Schweighofer, “that VCC spotlights Andreas Prochaska’s Dead in 3 Days and is thereby prolonging the success story of this bloody entertaining film. The film’s main actress, Sabrina Reiter, was Austria’s Shooting Star 2007 at the Berlin Film Festival; Dead in 3 Days was also part of EFP’s presentation Picture Europe! The Best of European Cinema in London.”


2007 Film Selection for Karlovy Vary
Variety Critics’ Choice: Europe Now!

1. Cold Feet (Kalde fotter) by Alexander Eik, Norway 2. Dead in 3 Days (In 3 Tagen bist du tot) by Andreas Prochaska, Austria 3. Fissures (Ecoute le temps) by Alanté Kavaïté, France 4. Hotel Very Welcome by Sonja Heiss, Germany 5. Hyena (Hiena) by Grzegorz Lewandowski, Poland 6. Parting Shot (Pas Douce) by Jeanne Waltz, Switzerland/France 7. Prague (Prag) by Ole Christian Madsen, Denmark 8. Someone Else by Col Spector, United Kingdom 9. The Distance (La distancia) by Iñaki Dorronsoro, Spain 10. True North by Steve Hudson, Ireland/UK/Germany

Participating EFP member organizations are:
Norwegian Film Institute, Austrian Film Commission, Unifrance, German Films, Polish Film Institute, Swiss Films, Danish Film Institute, British Council, ICAA/Spain, Irish Film Board.

Further information on European Film Promotion is to be found at www.efp-online.com.