The 60th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic concluded on July 11 with the awards ceremony. The Crystal Globe for Best Film was awarded to Fruit Gathering by Burmese director Aung Phyoe. A co-production between Myanmar, the Czech Republic, and France, the film tells the love story of two young women working in a textile factory in Yangon, who face exhaustion, economic uncertainty, and a society where their relationship remains socially unacceptable. The Special Jury Prize and the Best Director Award went to The Guest by Danish director Mads Mengel, a family drama about the unexpected arrival of a matriarch suffering from mental illness at a ceremony where no one is expecting her. The festival attracted over 132,000 spectators to 472 screenings of 179 films.
Juliette Binoche, Dustin Hoffman and a double anniversary: 80 years of history, only 60 editions
Honorary Crystal Globes for "outstanding artistic contribution" were awarded to French actress Juliette Binoche, American actor Dustin Hoffman, and cinematographer Robert Richardson. The 2026 edition was also marked by an unusual double anniversary: founded in August 1946, Karlovy Vary is one of the oldest film festivals in the world, but this was only its 60th edition. "Few people know that between 1959 and 1990, we were forced to alternate with the Moscow Film Festival," explained artistic director Karel Och in April during the festival's presentation. For decades, Karlovy Vary was indeed the only A-list festival reserved for the Eastern Bloc. The second oldest film festival in the world after Venice, it also stands out for a rare feature: tickets are accessible to everyone, at less than 3 euros, without professional accreditation required, making it one of the few major festivals open to the general public.
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