Last year, Karel Och, Artistic Director of the KVIFF, promised a “unique epicenter of genres and themes that move contemporary cinema” with the selection of films. This year, the official selection of the 59th Karlovy Vary Film Festival will be an “exciting presentation of the diversity of arthouse cinema”. Among them are 14 German productions and co-productions, which can be seen in six different sections from Proxima Competition to Future Frames.

One German production and two German co-productions are represented in the Proxima Competition section. The major German production RAIN FELL ON THE NOTHING NEW by Steffen Goldkamp is about David, who returns to the “normal” world after serving a juvenile sentence in prison. He strives for structure, wants to reintegrate and fit in, but frustration and lethargy soon supplant the stigmatized ex-con's good intentions. The “good life” appears as an abstract idea that does not seem to be intended for him and his friends.

There will be a reunion with the German films from Cannes in the Horizons section. In addition to the successful competition entry SOUND OF FALLING by Mascha Schilinski, the German co-productions THE MYSTERIOUS GAZE OF THE FLAMINGO by Diego Cespedes, YES by Nadav Lapid and TWO PROSECUTERS by Sergei Loznitsa will also be screened. PETER HUJAR'S DAY by Ira Sachs, which has already been shown at Sundance and Shanghai this year, will also be screened in this section.

ALL THAT'S LEFT OF YOU by Cherien Dabis also premiered at Sundance. In the film, which will be shown in the Special Screening section, a Palestinian mother tells the story of how her teenage son was attacked by Israeli soldiers during a demonstration in the West Bank. The epic historical drama shows the history and traumas of a family over three generations.

Three short films by Julia Ocker are programmed in the Pragueshorts at KVIFF section this year. The short films UNICORN and SNAKE from the animation director's animal film series can be seen in Karlovy Vary, as well as ANIMANIMUSICAL.

SKIN ON SKIN by Simon Schneckenburger was selected for the EFP program Future Frames: Generation Next Of European Cinema. The film shows the harsh, cold reality of a meat factory and attempts to contrast this with a tender queer love story. The short film drama has already won the Audience Award at the Max Ophüls Preis Festival.

An overview of all of the German productions and co-productions screening in Karlovy Vary:

Proxima Competition
RAIN FELL ON THE NOTHING NEW (REGEN FIEL AUF NICHTS NEUES) by Steffen Goldkamp (Tamtam Film)
ACTION ITEM by Paula Durinova (SL/CZ/DE, Universität der Künste Berlin)
TREPANATION by Ammar al-Beik (SY/DE/FR)

Horizons
SOUND OF FALLING (IN DIE SONNE SCHAUEN) by Mascha Schilinski (Studio Zentral)
THE MYSTERIOUS GAZE OF THE FLAMINGO by Diego Cespedes (FR/DE/CL/ES/BE, Weydemann Bros.)
PETER HUJAR’S DAY by Ira Sachs (US/DE, One Two Films)
TWO PROSECUTORS (ZWEI STAATSANWÄLTE) by Sergei Loznitsa (FR/DE/NL/LV/RO/LT, LOOKSfilm)
YES by Nadav Lapid (FR/IS/CY/DE, Komplizen Film)

Imagina
BOGANCLOCH by Ben Rivers (UK/DE/IS, Flaneur Films)

Special Screening
ALL THAT’S LEFT OF YOU by Cherien Dabis (DE/CY/PS/JO/GR/QA/SA, Pallas Film, Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion)

Pragueshorts at KVIFF
ANIMANIMUSICAL by Julia Ocker (Studio Film Bilder)
UNICORN (EINHORN) by Julia Ocker (Studio Film Bilder)
SNAKE (SCHLANGE) by Julia Ocker (Studio Film Bilder)

Future Frames: Generation Next of European Cinema
SKIN ON SKIN by Simon Schneckenburger (Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg)