FilmFestivals . com - KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Sean Connery was not present in person at the closing ceremony to receive his achievement award, but rather a filmed acceptance of the Crystal Globe was transmitted. Looking a bit under the weather, he proclaimed that he would come to Karlovy Vary next year if the Festival would have him. Sparklers and can-can dancers, streamers and balloons, the ceremony honored the winners of this 37th edition.

Festival president Jirí Bartoška, artistic director Eva Zaoralová, and executive producer Markéta Cerná - who gave birth to a child mid-way into the 10-day event - were all smiles as the Grand Prix was awarded in the Grand Hall this Saturday night. It was their own Czech favorite, the opening film Year of the Devil that took the Grand Prix, the Crystal Globe with a monetary award of 20,000 dollars. Siding with the FIPRESCI nod given earlier in the day, the Special Jury Prize went to the German entry from director Caroline Link, Nowhere in Africa. The Audience Award went to the crowd pleaser Euro Pudding from French director Cedric Klapich.

The jury was democratic in its choices; each film awarded a prize came from a different country: Best Director to Asghar Massombagi for the Canadian entry Khaled, Best Actor to William Macy for his role in US director Neal Slavin's Focus, Best Actress to Ugla Egilsdóttir for her role in the film The Seagull´s Laughter from Icelandic director Ágúst Gudmundsson. Special Mentions went out to the Korean entry Let's Not Cry and the Spanish entry Smoking Room. The jury was headed by Jean-Marc Barr (France) and included Bibiana Beglau (Germany), Roger Ebert (USA), Ibolya Fekete (Hungary), Jan Malír (Czech Republic), Kaynam Myung (Korea) and Assumpta Serna (India).

Feature Competition Winners

Grand Prix - Crystal Globe (20 000 USD)
Rok dábla (Year of The Devil), Czech Republic 2002, dir. Petr Zelenka

Special Jury Prize
Nirgendwo in Afrika (Nowhere in Africa), Germany 2001, dir. Caroline Link

Best Director Award
Asghar Massombagi for the film Khaled, Canada 2001

Best Actress Award
Ugla Egilsdóttir for her role in the film Mávahlátur (The Seagull´s Laughter), Island 2001, dir. Ágúst Gudmundsson

Best Actor Award
William H. Macy for his role in the film Focus, USA 2001, dir. Neal Slavin

Special Jury Mentions
* Gwenchana uljima (Let´s Not Cry), Korea 2001, dir. Min Boung-hun
* Smoking Room, Spain 2002, dir. Julio Wallovits, Roger Gual

MF DNES Audience Award (all the films presented at the Festival)
Euro Pudding (L'auberge espagnole), France 2002, dir. Cedric Klapich

Documentary Film Competition

Best Documentary Film 30 Minutes or More
En´anno musume (Dauhter from Yan´an), Japan 2001, dir. Kaoru Ikeya

Best Documentary Film Lasting 30 Minutes Or Less
Obec B. (Village B.),Czech Republic 2002, dir. Filip Remunda

Special Mentions
* Devil´s Playground,USA 2001, dir. Lucy Walker
* Ochota na angela ili Cetyreljubvi poeta i poricatelja (Hunting Down an Angel or Four Passions of The Soothsayer Poet), Russia 2002, dir. Andrei Osipov

The Documentary Jury was composed of Andrei Plakhov - chairman (Russia), Andrei Khalpakhchi (Ukraine), Pavel Koutecký (Czech Republic), Noshka van der Lely (Netherlands), and David Franca Mendes (Brasil).

Other Prizes Awarded At The Festival

Award For Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema
John Boorman, Great Britain
Vlastimil Brodský, Czech Republic (In Memoriam)
Sean Connery, Great Britain

Prize of The Mayor of Karlovy Vary
Michael York, Great Britain

Year Of The Devil
Nowhere In Africa
Khaled
The Seagull´s Laughter
Focus
Let´s Not Cry
Smoking Room
Village B.
Devil´s Playground
Daughter From Yan´an
Euro Pudding