For the twelfth time, the International Film International on the Environment and Natural and Cultural Heritage will be held in Southern Bohemia. This year again it will offer a rich programme full of screenings – not only of competition films, but also others – as well as discussions, lectures, talks, and workshops, focused on the environment and natural and cultural heritage. This year’s motto is “The Year of the Planet Earth”, which is focused primarily on geology.
Two press conferences are planned for journalists, at which this year’s festival will be presented in greater detail. The first press conference will be held on 18 September at 10 a.m. at the MAT Theatre in Charles Square (Karlovo náměstí) in Prague 2, and will include a screening; the second will be held a week later, on 25 September at 11 a.m. in the Kotva Cinema, Lidická 2110, in České Budějovice.
A bit of introductory information, to show that there will be plenty to discuss and choose from:
The film marathon, supplemented with a number of side events, will be launched on the evening of 6 October in České Budějovice’s Kotva Cinema, with the European premiere of the French Canadian film ‘Changing Climates, Changing Times’. This documentary drama takes place in 2075 and shows the direct consequences of climate change in the lives of three characters living in Europe, Africa, and a polar region. The film ‘Changing Climates, Changing Times’ is based on the latest scientific knowledge. The first day will end at a leisurely pace in the cinema café with a musical gathering, with the performers of Jasná páka, connected with clips from a film about the band.
This year’s festival will be officially launched on 6 October at 5:00 p.m. at the Cinema Train at the Třeboň Train Station. The opening ceremony will be attended by the “station master” and “conductor” of the entire Ekofilm, Jaroslav Dušek, and distinguished “passengers”, the representatives of participating South Bohemian towns, the festival, and its partners. At 6:30 p.m., the film “I Still Live with a Hook, Signal Paddle, and Hat”, starring Jaroslav Dušek, will then be screened in the Světozor Cinema in Třeboň Square.
The Cinema Train will be a part of the festival for the second time, as a major independent part of the programme. The train will stay in Třeboň until Tuesday 7 October; on 8 and 9 October, it will be in Veselí nad Lužnicí; and on 10 and 11 October, it will be parked at its last station, Boršov. The train will feature morning and afternoon screenings for schools, and early evening and nights are reserved for the general public. There will be interesting films to see, and discussions with their authors. And watch out: Jaroslav Dušek will come and check on viewer participation himself! But when, precisely, remains a secret.
The programme will also run at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of South Bohemia, from Tuesday 7 October to Thursday 9 October.
On Friday 10 October, Ekofilm will move to Český Krumlov, where it will be based in the Municipal Theatre, and certain events will be held in the J&K Cinema and in the halls of the Prelate House. A traditional feature for visitors will be the individual screenings of the competition films at screening points in the Municipal Theatre. The ceremony to announce the winners of the competitive section of Ekofilm will take place on Saturday night in the Municipal Theatre, where all of the winning films will be screened on Sunday morning.
Another part of the festival will be two theatrical performances featuring Jaroslav Dušek, and four accompanying exhibitions: one of them is an exhibition of the photographs of Jiří Kučera, from the shooting of the film ‘Báječní muži s klikou’ (Wonderful Men with a Handle), which will be screened on Saturday afternoon in the J&K Cinema, to be followed by a meeting with its authors, thirty years after its filming. Throughout all of October, an exhibition of the photographer and sociologist Rudolf Šmíd, “Home Made”, will be on display in České Budějovice’s Kotva Cinema, featuring home-made tractors. The grand opening will be on 7 October.
We look forward to seeing you! For more information, see www.ekofilm.cz