With an estimated 40,000 Americans currently resident here, Prague could claim a special relationship with the US. That continues through this year's film festival, with another programme of the best of recent American independent filmmaking, and appearances from some of the leading exponents, including the mighty Harvey Keitel.

Despite heavy competition from other major international festivals, New York-based programmer Stephanie Beroes has managed to included five European premieres among this year's American selection: Brian Cox's Scorpion Spring, a thriller set on the California-Mexico border; The Dinner Party by Michael Hite and Diane Zuckerman, a comedy about table manners; Matt Mahurin's Mugshot, a drama set in Harlem; John Walsh's romantic comedy Ed's Next Move; and RJ Cutler's A Perfect Candidate, a documentary feature about Oliver North's campaign for the US Senate, which opens theatrically in the US this week.

Other films to look for include Todd Solondz's blackly comic Welcome to the Dollhouse, winner fo the Grand Jury Prize at the 1996 Sundance Film festival, and Eve Annenberg's Dogs: the Rise and Fall of an All-Girl Bookie Joint, an audience favourite at the Rotterdam Film Festival this year.

Annenberg will be in town this week, as will fellow filmmakers Ulu Grosbard (Georgia, making its Czech premiere), Michael Hite and Diane Zuckerman, Matt Mahurin, John Walsh, and Mona Davis, associate director of A Perfect Candidate. They will be joined on 25 and 26 June by Keitel, whose films Fingers, Bad Lieutenant and Ulysses' Gaze will be showing.

As last year, the home for the American independents will be the downtown Kveten cinema, with further screenings at the Praha. Beroes is hoping that the American independents positive philosophy of filmmaking - just do it! - can be an inspiration for the new generation of Czech filmmakers.

Nick Thomas

[Home ] [Content ] [The Sponsors ] [The Team ] [Comments ] [Help ]