Karlovy Vary fest off to jumpy start

Event unspools Kim's 'Time,' Skala's 'Ritual'

By WILL TIZARD

PRAGUE -- Karlovy Vary, the Czech Republic's main film event, got off to a typically off-beat start Friday night: acrobats in tailcoats bounding from trampolines entertained the crowd before the world preem of South Korean helmer Kim Ki-duk's grisly love story "Time."

The 41st edition of the festival -- which is actually 60 but missed a few years because the pre-1989 regime was fond of moving it to Moscow -- also unspooled a trailer of Czech surrealist Frantisek Skala's "Ritual."

Auds responded warmly to the films and high-wire high-jinx, as well as guest Andy Garcia, who was honored with a Crystal Globe for artistic contribution.

The Cuban-born thesp, here to unspool the international preem of his helming debut, "The Lost City," on Saturday, said his family's experience of fleeing to the U.S. when he was 5 made him feel a kinship with the formerly communist Czech Republic.

One slogan of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's regime he had no argument with applies well to Karlovy Vary, he added: "Never take a step backward, even to gain momentum."

The struggle of former East Bloc filmmakers is keenly felt this year as fest prexy Jiri Bartoska, who gave the statuette to Garcia, has announced plans to meet national leaders mid-fest to help resolve the Czech film funding crisis.

Local bizzers, angry over a failed tax break that would have more than tripled the meager state funds available for filmmaking, have threatened to close the industry-sponsored Czech Film Center and launched a high-profile protest at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Meanwhile, the Karlovy Vary fest has proven its success again at attracting cinephiles from around the globe, with more than 200 screenings of independent work, to which auds enjoy rare access for tickets priced as low as $3 per film.

The 15 films in competition examine personal struggles, often over family discord, as seen in the sole U.S. entrant, Laurie Collyer's "Sherrybaby."

Fest also features strong new content from Bulgaria, including "Christmas Tree Upside Down" and three films from Romania, representing an eastern edge of Europe rapidly proving itself a new source of exportable work.