The festival will get underway with a gala opening on Thursday 21 March 2019 at Prague’s Municipal House and will run until 29 March. The closing ceremony, at which the winners of the New Europe section, the Amnesty International Febiofest Award and the You’re the Filmmaker competition will be announced, will take place at CineStar Anděl on Thursday 28 March. As every year, screenings will be held at the CineStar Anděl and CineStar Černý Most multiplexes and the National Film Archive Ponrepo and Municipal Library cinemas. Febiofest will take place in the regions from 1 to 18 April 2019.
26th edition to present new Classics and TV Now sections
This year’s edition will present 16 sections, including the New Europe competition, Panorama (the most noteworthy and successful festival films), Central Park (intended for a broad audience) and Masters (new works by famous directors).
Also on offer will be very popular sections focused on particular parts of the world, such as Made in USA (US independent films), Northern Lights (Scandinavian titles) and Balkan Echoes. Queer Now (gay and lesbian films) has been an integral part of the festival since its very inception, while there are two new additions, Classics (time-honoured gems of world cinema) and TV Now (television shows and serials).
La Grande Bouffe on Culinary Cinema menu this year
For the sixth time, the festival is serving up an unconventional experience combining cinema and gastronomy in the form of Culinary Cinema. From Friday March 22 to Sunday March 24 lovers of fine dining can enjoy one of three food-related films (Tazzeka, Constructing Albert, La Grande Bouffe) followed by special dinners linked to the pictures in question. The menus will be conceived and prepared by highly respected Gourmet Academy chefs Filip Sajler (Kluci v akci, Perfect Catering & Perfect Canteen) and Lukáš Čížek (Fusion, Farma Vrchlabí). The controversial La Grande Bouffe, starring Marcello Mastroianni and Philippe Noiret, represents quite a challenge and the chefs have called up reinforcements in the form of Martin Staněk (Perfect Canteen). Culinary Cinema’s partners are Gourmet Academy and Potten & Pannen – Staněk.
Public to serve as New Europe jury
Once again this year viewers can see behind the scenes of the festival and become a member of the jury of the New Europe section, which presents debut or second films by upcoming European filmmakers. For the 11th time, anybody over the age of 15 can become a juror. Under a honorary chairperson (past names include Marta Kubišová, Juraj Herz, Dagmar Havlová, Miroslav Ondříček or Theodor Pištěk), the 33 jury members, selected by festival president Fero Fenič, will attend screenings of competition films before choosing a winner, which will receive the EUR 5,000 Grand Prix. The deadline for submissions to join the jury is 10 February 2019.
You’re the Filmmaker competition taking place for seventh time
Film buffs can become part of Febiofest in a virtually unlimited manner with You’re the Filmmaker. The festival is once again running the short amateur film competition, this time in two categories: individuals and school teams. The theme of the seventh edition is the spreading of internet scaremongering – fake news, hoax. Filmmakers should shoot a short film or video of one to three minutes in duration and enter it in the competition by 20 February 2019. The winner of the individual category will receive CZK 20,000, a mobile phone and a video library voucher, while the winners of the school teams category will get a financial donation of CZK 30,000 and festival tickets. O2 Czech Republic is the competition’s partner.
Tickets and festival passes
Admission to individual screenings is CZK 99.
Festival passes cost CZK 699 for three days, CZK 999 for five days and CZK 1,699 for nine days.
Admission to films and exclusive dinners within Culinary Cinema is CZK 1,190.
Advance sales are already underway at www.febiofest.cz.
