The 59th International Karlovy Vary Film Festival concluded recently with a lineup of notable, yet largely uncontroversial, guests compared to previous years. Among the prominent attendees were Festival President’s Award winners Vicky Krieps, Dakota Johnson, and Peter Sarsgaard, along with a special appearance by Michael Douglas. The standout moment came from Stellan Skarsgård, recipient of the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution, who stirred headlines by calling Swedish auteur Ingmar Bergman “manipulative” and “the only person I know who cried when Hitler died.”
The festival’s Crystal Globe Competition featured a strong selection of films, with many well-received titles sharing awards. Despite a female-led film dominance (Broken Voices, Don’t Call Me Mama), the top prize surprised many.
From Slovakian director Miro Remo, the winner, Better Go Mad in the Wild, tells the story of František and Ondřej Klišík, eccentric twin brothers living a unique, off-grid life. The jury praised it as “a funny valentine to the fading art of being true to yourself,” and called it “a delightfully inventive documentary” portraying “two brothers who may live a weird life on their dilapidated farm but might be the sanest people on earth.”
Crystal Globe Competition Winners:
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Grand Prix – Crystal Globe (25,000 USD):
Better Go Mad in the Wild
Directed by Miro Remo (Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2025) -
Special Jury Prize (15,000 USD):
Bidad
Directed by Soheil Beiraghi (Iran, 2025) -
Best Director Award (ex-aequo):
Vytautas Katkus for The Visitor (Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, 2025)
Nathan Ambrosioni for Out of Love (France, 2025) -
Best Actress Award:
Pia Tjelta for Don’t Call Me Mama (Norway, 2025) -
Best Actor Award:
Àlex Brendemühl for When a River Becomes the Sea (Spain, 2025) -
Special Jury Mention:
Kateřina Falbrová for Broken Voices (Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2025) -
Právo Audience Award:
We’ve Got to Frame It!
Directed by Milan Kuchynka, Jakub Jurásek (Czech Republic, 2025)
Proxima Competition Winners:
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Proxima Grand Prix (15,000 USD):
Sand City
Directed by Mahde Hasan (Bangladesh, 2025) -
Proxima Special Jury Prize (10,000 USD):
Forensics
Directed by Federico Atehortúa Arteaga (Colombia, 2025) -
Proxima Special Mention:
Before/After
Directed by Manoël Dupont (Belgium, 2025)See More ...
Non-Statutory Awards Highlights:
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Ecumenical Jury Grand Prize:
Rebuilding (USA, 2025) -
Europa Cinemas Label Award:
Broken Voices (Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2025) -
FIPRESCI Award for Best Film in Crystal Globe Competition:
Out of Love (France, 2025) -
FIPRESCI Award for Best Film in Proxima Competition:
Before/After (Belgium, 2025)
Additional Awards and Development Grants:
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KVIFF & Midpoint Development Award: History of Illness (Croatia)
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Eurimages Co-Production Development Awards: Battalion Records (Romania), In Vacuo (Ukraine, Germany)
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Connecting Cottbus Award: RadioAmateur (Poland)
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Rotterdam Lab Award: Ondřej Lukeš, producer of Restless (Czech Republic)
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Marché du Film Producers Network Award: Michelle Brøndum Hauerbach (Soyboy), Genovéva Petrovits (Democracy: Work In Progress)
The festival also highlighted several works in development with funding awarded to promising projects from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and beyond.
