- Title: Karlovy Vary film festival closes with award for Ethan Hawke
- Date: 29th August 2021
- Summary: KARLOVY VARY, CZECH REPUBLIC (AUGUST 28, 2021) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** "STRAHINJA" FILM DELEGATION POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS WITH GOLDEN GLOBES IN HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (English) FILM DIRECTOR, STEFAN ARSENIJEVIC, SAYING: "All the extras you can see in the movie and some small parts, they are all real migrants from the refugee camps in Serbia. So that was really something that was bringing the authenticity and helping us not to make some wrong move. But otherwise you know, we tried to make our own film but stick to something that is true and to reflect and pass how it is to be a refugee these days and I think it can happen to anybody."
- Embargoed: 12th September 2021 12:46
- Keywords: Ethan Hawke Johnny Depp cinema festival film
- Location: KARLOVY VARY, CZECH REPUBLIC / UNIDENFITIED FILMING LOCATIONS
- City: KARLOVY VARY, CZECH REPUBLIC / UNIDENFITIED FILMING LOCATIONS
- Country: Czech Republic
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA006ESC17I1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:CONTAINS PROFANE LANGUAGE
The 55th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF), the most prestigious film festival in central and eastern Europe, concluded late on Saturday (August 28) at a small spa town in the western Czech Republic.
Actor, writer, and director Ethan Hawke was awarded the festival's President's Award, given to people who "have contributed in a fundamental way to the development of contemporary world cinema".
During the festival, Hawke personally introduced Paul Schrader's thriller "First Reformed" which starred him as a parish pastor in a crisis of faith.
A Serbian film called 'As Far as I Can Walk,' directed by Stefan Arsenijevic and starring Ibrahim Koma, received the festival's main prize, the Crystal Globe award, worth 25,000 dollars.
Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp was among celebrities walking the red carpet ahead of the awards ceremony, delighting the large festival crowd.
Depp had introduced two films at the KVIFF, his most recent producer credits, "Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan" and "Minamata" which stars him as American photojournalist W Eugene Smith.
Women's charities including British-based Women's Aid have criticized the festival organizers for inviting Depp, saying his appearance served only to minimize the seriousness of domestic violence and the suffering of its victims.
The 58-year-old actor lost a libel battle in November 2020 with a British tabloid that labelled him a "wife beater," after a London High Court judge ruled that he had repeatedly assaulted actor Amber Heard during their relationship and put her in fear for her life.
Launched in then-Czechoslovakia in 1946, the festival is one of the oldest in the world but was forced online in 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic hit.
This year's edition was also delayed from its usual dates at the turn of June and July until the third wave of COVID-19 began to ease.
The film festival's organizers have turned to precautions like using wristbands to show filmgoers are either vaccinated against the virus or have been tested.
(Production: Jiri Skacel, Paul Warren, Paul Warren) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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