by Richard Mowe
Blood and gore was the theme of the opening night of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, devised by brothers Michael and Simon Caban. The aim was to evoke gothic films from the silent era - accompanied by the ranks of the Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra. On stage, left, is Festival President Jiří Bartoška.
Spin-off alchemy Claude Schmitz on bringing back cop pairing for Conrad & Crab – Idiotic Gems
Past crime Christoffer Boe on creating a world for his period mystery Special Unit - The First Murder
The hidden river Helen MacDonald and Philippa Lowthorpe on adapting H Is For Hawk
This wild channel David Shadrack Smith and Jake Fogelnest on the content creation revolution and Public Access
The long and the short of it Meagan Coyle on the proper pacing of stories, and Prime
Sundance announces winners Josephine, Nuisance Bear, Shame And Money and To Hold A Mountain take top prizes
We're looking forward to Sundance, the Berlinale and the Glasgow Film Festival.
We've recently brought you coverage of Palm Springs, the French Film Festival UK, Thessaloniki Film Festival, DOC NYC, Leeds International Film Festival, Tallinn Black Nights, Abertoir, Halloween Frightfest, the Cheltenham Film Festival and the London Film Festival.
Read our full archive for more.
Visit our festivals section.
As we move into 2026, don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon and Bluesky.
With awards season in full flow, you can keep track of the latest news on that here:
César nominations Nouvelle Vague leads the race for France's biggest awards
BAFTA nominations One Battle After Another and Sinners almost neck and neck
Golden Eddies Nominations for editing brilliance announced
OFCS Awards One Battle After Another triumphs; Sinners dominates
