Swearing, drugs and booze? Experience the glamor and misery of the opening ceremony of the festival in Vary.
This month, one of the most significant cultural events of the year began - the International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary. Its festive opening, swarming with well-known personalities not only from the world of film, is a harvest time for journalists. Everyone is there - television, radio, podcasters and magazines. And of course, we were there too. Come and experience with me what it is like to start a festival through the eyes of a journalist.
I am boarding the train. I am nervously marching through individual carriages full of people looking for the number that I have listed on my ticket.
After a few minutes, I finally find my seat. And I will not be sitting at the table alone. I am introducing myself to a colleague who will be my cameraman.
He is from Russia. And obviously a little younger than me. I was struck by his politeness - he keeps addressing me formally. Even after I told him several times to feel free to use the informal "you".
It's about an hour to Vary. During the journey, we discuss the process, I give him the instructions that I received from the management. I am excited and at the same time I feel a slight nervousness. In this work, you never know how the evening will turn out and what actually awaits you.
My cameraman is a traitor
We're about half an hour from the station. Because the filming goes on until the evening, we can't go without some security. We have a hotel in the center.
During the trip, I find out my navigation has betrayed me - We're going the wrong way. And we entered a different hotel. It's hot, I'm drenched in sweat and my nervousness is escalating. Therefore, the cameraman, who's hauling necessary equipment, takes over the navigation.
On the way, we get to know each other more. And it's a bit of a sad conversation. He reveals to me that he's from Moscow. He tells me about how he doesn't talk to his father, who considers him a traitor - because he didn't go to war. He explains, what the censorship is like in Russia, about life in the Czech Republic and about his plan to start a new life in Germany. He says there's more work there.
Suddenly he pulls out his phone from his pocket. Some woman appears on his screen. He just started a video call with his mother. After a while, he teaches me how to greet in Russian, and with a smile invites me to greet his mom - and so I did.
Luxurious accommodation fit for a president
We finally arrive at the hotel. There is a group of about seven Czech visitors ahead of us. We wait almost half an hour to get our turn. Phew. However, the lady at the reception quickly cheered me up afterwards.
"So the sauna and swimming pool are included in the accommodation price?" I ask her surprisingly, when she mentions the opening hours of the sauna and swimming pool.
She nods in agreement. I'm thinking about how to manage to go swimming and go to the sauna.
Lost Wallet
We arrive in the room. And the view is wonderful - a three-room room with two televisions and a living room. Here I really have to praise the magazine management, because they of course paid for the housing costs - and I haven't slept in a nicer hotel room yet, really thanks! I felt like a president.
"Now I'll have a coffee, then we can go for food, and then we'll go filming," I say to the cameraman.
Then I see a slight concern on his face. He discovers that he doesn't have his wallet. He had a thousand crowns in it and most importantly - proof of permanent residence. He says that he is going to fly to Paris in a few days and that he won't fly anywhere without it.
He calls the local police and reports the loss. And then he sets out onto the streets of Var in the direction we went in, hoping that it's not gone.
I receive a message that the ceremony starts earlier - already at 4 pm. It means we can't even eat on time, and we have to go immediately. I text the cameraman to see how he's doing because I need him.
Let's get into action!
We meet again at the hotel, from where we finally set out to work. First, straight to the streets of Karlovy Vary, to shoot interviews with locals and visitors. You could have seen them on our Instagram. Unexpectedly, we met Lukáš Hejlík with his family, who very willingly gave us a short interview.
And now for the most important part - we're heading to the red carpet, where some of the biggest stars of our show business will be arriving soon. We're walking fast because we're running a bit late.
And another minor fuck up is on the way. At the press entrance, I find out that my accreditation is not sufficient. It's necessary to obtain some kind of extension. I'm nervous again.
I ask where this can be arranged.
"You have to go back there, then there... and then to the second floor," one of the festival production workers explains to me.
I run at a trot through a crowd of people and arrive at some counter.
"Do you issue accreditation extensions here?"
"No, you have to go there..."
Great. So I run again a house further. I run up the stairs and nervously through more crowds of journalists, visitors, and part-timers. Because I don't know where to go again, I ask some lady for directions. She points the way and I finally succeed in reaching my destination.
With an extended accreditation, I run all the way back. It's stuffy inside and I'm "enjoying to the fullest" the rare hot days of this summer.
The price of accreditation, which costs several thousand crowns, also includes three free entries to any films.
The red carpet is already fully covered with journalists. We're looking for a spot where we could stand. There's not much left, but in the end we secured our spot.
And then it all kicks off... one celebrity after another arrives. The instructions from the management were clear - do as many interviews as possible.
And so we did a few:
1. Interview with Palo Habera and Daniela Peštová
2. Interview with Jan Černý
3. Interview with Martin Bartkovský
4. Interview with Jana Plodkova
5. Interview with Filip Vanek
6. Interview with Jakub Kotka
7. Interview with Hana Vagnerova
8. Interview with Marek Eben
In fact, we recorded even more, but we used some only for editing.
They answered questions about politics... somewhat awkwardly. They were just as surprised when the topic of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies came up.
My favorite part is coming
Following is the entry into the projection room, where the ceremony will start. Only celebrities, people from the film industry, and journalists are allowed to this event. So, it's hard to resist a certain sense of prestige.
However, I would have a small gripe. While last year I humbly sat on the stairs, this year I have gained a little more confidence to ask if the seats can also be used by the press. They can't.
So all journalists routinely hang around or sit on stairs or the ground. However, the reason is not the superiority of celebrities, as it might appear at first glance. It is simply a matter of capacity - there are not enough seats for everyone to sit.
Well, after the start, a feast arrives. Having been hungry all day, I was looking forward to it like a little boy to Christmas. Small tables are full of various delicacies - cakes, salads, grilled pig, and so on. For drinks, you can have mattonka and other non-alcoholic drinks, or beer and wine. You can eat and drink as much as you like. Nice staff is constantly replenishing the food.
The overcrowded space spoils it a bit when you often don't have a proper place to stand. Yes, stand, there are no chairs or couches in the space. The plates of food are being left everywhere, even on a piano standing nearby in the corner. I also used it as a dining table.
Concerts are taking place outside. I no longer have time for the sauna or the swimming pool. I plan to last at least until 01:00, when PSH will perform.
But I recently turned thirty. So I start yawning wildly before midnight. And because I need to write and publish at least three articles by tomorrow morning, my alarm will go off at five in the morning.
So if you were expecting a wild party, drugs and alcohol, I have to disappoint you. In my case, it was a purely work trip. Sorry.
And if you have never experienced the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, you should definitely make up for it - and maybe we will see you there next year!
Source: original text, editorial staff
