Renée Zellweger, star of Friday night’s official opening of the 42nd KV IFF, first heard about the festival from none other than Madeleine Albright, the Prague-born former US secretary of state. “We talked about it when I met her in Jordan about a year and a half ago,” said the Oscar-winning actress, as she spoke to the TV cameras in front of the Thermal hotel. “She was telling me how beautiful it was and I told her I’d love to go some time. So she called and said, do you really want to go? I said, yeah, I really want to go,” explained Zellweger, describing Albright as a friend.

The Hollywood star said KV IFF’s history and location were also part of the attraction: “It’s important, it’s the oldest festival in Europe, it’s half-way between the East and the West – it’s sort of like a conduit between different worlds of cinema. It’s small, so it’s exciting and fresh and real.”