Jan Svěrák´s national hit Empties, Robert Sedláček´s surprising art film Rules of Lies and David Ondříček´s Grandhotel are expected to be among audience favorites, while Menzel´s I served the King of England will feature in international competition. Two widely praised Czech documentaries, Marcela and Lost Holiday, will feature in the Eurodoc section.

The focus on Czech cinema is supported by the Czech Center in Madrid (www.centrocheco.cz) and prepared in cooperation with the Czech Film Center (www.filmcenter.cz) in Prague. Its coordinator Markéta Šantrochová told FNE the presentation in Seville "demonstrates the continued vibrancy of Czech cinema today."

Six Czech films will also feature during a three-month run in Britain starting Nov. 23 in London and visiting other 12 British cities. The showcase is organized by the Czech Film Centere in cooperation with Czech Centre in London (www.czechcentre.org.uk) and with City Screen Picture Houses (www.picturehouses.co.uk).

The British run will present fresh and successful Czech films such as Jan Hřebejk´s Beauty in Trouble and It´s Gonna Get Worse by Petr Nikolaev, a bold portrait of youth adrift in ‘70s Czechoslovakia which surprised viewers at the Berlinale.

"Our aim is to promote Czech films also at smaller festivals as well as among the ordinary cinemagoers," Jana Černík, head of film promotion at the Czech Film Center, told FNE. "We want to support distribution in European countries where Czech films are normally launched only seldom" in order to lay the groundwork for more Czech films to travel abroad.