This was my first introduction to the documentary Film Spa, directed by Miroslav Janek and released in 2015 – I found that I quite enjoyed it. The film delves into the rich, and sometimes volatile, history of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival (KVFF), the film created as a means to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the festival, a celebration that would’ve occurred many years prior if it weren’t for the Soviet regime and the rotation of KVFF and the Moscow Film Festival as a result of Communist law (there was only allowed to be one “A-List” film festival per year). 

The Communist government had a say in what sorts of films were allowed in the festival, restricting many Czechoslovak films from being showcased, instead, supporting films that held more of a political soviet focus (essentially a form of propaganda). Loss of interest stemmed from this, until the fall of the regime in 1990 which then allowed many films that may have been previously restricted or banned to be shown to audiences, thus bringing audiences back to their seats. The documentary gave a great in-depth perspective on the often turbulent history of Karlovy Vary over 50 or so years, depicting its uniqueness as well as how the politics of Czechoslovakia have been able to shape and mold the festival into what it is today.

I could really appreciate the way in which archival footage of the festival and historical points of importance were used in conjunction with interviews from the present day. I admired the way in which these interviews were integrated into the film overall and how they were shown in a conversational manner – significant figures from over the years were interviewed about their experience with the festival and the way in which they helped create the KVFF. The combination of these colloquial interviews and the archival footage (that was often overlaid over the voices) brought the stories, and by extension, the festival itself, to life, making me not only want to go to the festival but also kind of making me feel like I was there. Amongst the archival footage, there was footage from previous festivals with guests and stars alike featuring, that really brought the documentary to life, and this inspired me to think about the possibility of using archival footage within the media artefacts that we’re going to create for Melbourne International Film Festival’s 70th anniversary.

References:

Film Spa, 2015, Evolution Films, Česká televize, directed by Miroslav Janek