Karlovy Vary to honor Malkovich

Actor-director to attend Czech film festival

By WILL TIZARD

The Czech Republic’s Karlovy Vary Festival has amped up its glitz with the confirmation that John Malkovich will take the stage to receive a Crystal Globe for contribution to world cinema.

The July 3-11 event in the West Bohemian spa town, will screen two Malkovich films never before seen in the country -- his helming debut, “The Dancer Upstairs,” and docu “Which Way Home,” which he produced.

Selections are in keeping with the indie spirit of Karlovy Vary, which has also announced it is sponsoring the Mental Power Prague Film Festival, which promotes pics by and about people with disabilities, three of which will unspool at Karlovy Vary.

Fest will launch the 20 Years of Freedom sidebar with pics commemorating the Velvet Revolution of 1989, featuring “Zuzana and Stanislav,” part of a docu series by Helena Trestikova chronicling the life of a working-class Czech family.

Other work by Istvan Szabo and Juliusz Machulski will have auds contemplating the results of the fall of communism.