Febiofest

April 28^th | May 5^th 2022

29^th Edition

THE PRAGUE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL – FEBIOFEST

Festival was founded in 1993 by FEBIO, an independent film and TV company. Starting as an enthusiastically organized, basically no-budget event for a couple of friends and film buffs, Febiofest has grown during the past years into one of the largest film festivals in the Czech Republic.
Prague IFF – Febiofest guarantees excellent screening conditions for all formats, not to mention supreme comfort for festival-goers.

In recent years, the Prague International Film Festival – Febiofest has hosted renowned directors and actors such as Catherine Deneuve, Bille August, Arnaud Desplechin, Leos Carax, Louis Garrel, Mark Gatiss, Nanni Moretti, Claude Lelouch, Peter Weir, Olivier Assayas, Roman Polanski, Volker Schloendorff, Istvan Szabo, Tsai Ming-Liang, Tom Tykwer, Hal Hartley, Andrey Konchalovski, Armin Mueller Stahl, Carlos Saura and Claudia Cardinale.

Basically the festival is oriented towards full length films, bringing to Czech audiences the best films of the last year, as well as distribution premieres, retrospectives and tributes.

Thanks to its broad overview of the latest and best cinematography from around the world, high quality screenings and famous guests, every year the festival’s exceptional programme draws large, curious and appreciative audiences of all ages and receives much critical acclaim in the press.

After the festival has completed its run in Prague, selected films (mostly distribution pre-premieres) travel to other Czech cities to give movie lovers beyond the capital an opportunity to see high quality films.

PRAGUE IFF – FEBIOFEST 2022 MAIN COMPETITION

The Main Competition focuses on the most impressive and most daring films from all over the world. The competition chiefly focuses on young and up-and-coming directors and presents the debuts and second films of talented film-makers. Many of the films have already successfully featured at major international festivals.

PRAGUE IFF – FEBIOFEST 2022 COMEDY COMPETITION

An international competition that features exceptional comedy from all over the world. The comedies differ widely in their style and are linked by a desire to reflect on the real world with humour and change the world for the better through laughter and not weapons.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL FEBIOFEST AWARD 2022

The Amnesty International Febiofest Award is granted in cooperation with the Czech branch of Amnesty International. This competition includes films from all sections that address the themes of freedom, human rights, freedom of speech and the fight for a dignified life.

Programme

The film programme features more than 130 films, presenting the most interesting and stimulating works from world cinematography. The Festival’s primary focus is on feature films. With the exception of themed and retrospective sections, the majority of films are being shown in the Czech Republic for the first time.
Competition Section
The programme of the Festival consists of various programme sections, including films shot in digital and 35 mm format.
The film programme includes four competition sections:
Main Competition
The Main Competition focuses on the most impressive and most daring films from all over the world. The competition chiefly focuses on talented young and up-and-coming directors and presents the debuts and second films of talented film-makers. Many of the films have already successfully featured at major international festivals.
International competition for feature-length, films in their Czech or international premiere. Featured films are exclusively the debuts or second films of the directors in question.
Comedy Competition
An international competition that features exceptional comedy from all over the world. The comedies differ widely in their style and are linked by a desire to reflect on the real world with humour and change the world for the better through laughter and not weapons.

International competition for feature-length comedy films in their Czech or international premiere.

Amnesty International Febiofest Award
The Amnesty International Febiofest Award is granted in cooperation with the Czech branch of Amnesty International. This competition includes films from all sections that address the themes of freedom, human rights, freedom of speech and the fight for a dignified life.
You are the filmmaker!
The Festival includes a competition for amateur short films, You are the filmmaker!, on specific themes. For further information on the conditions and theme of the competition, see the website of the Festival at: https://www.febiofest.cz/en/you-are-the-filmmaker.

JURIES AND AWARDS

MAIN COMPETITION – THE JURY

The main competition focuses chiefly on young creators, presenting either the debut or second films of talented filmmakers, many of which were already successfully introduced at important international festivals. The winner of the main competition is selected by a three-member panel of professionals. For instance, last year, at the 28th edition of Febiofest, the jury comprised Slovakian filmmaker Ivan Ostrochovský, well-known Czech actor, director and scriptwriter Jiří Mádl, and Iranian director and women’s rights activist Mahnaz Mohammadi.

The winning film will receive a financial award of EUR 5,000.

COMEDY COMPETITION – AUDIENCE JURY

The international comedy competition presents exceptional films from around the world that are stylistically different. The one aspect they all share is the desire to reflect reality with humour and to change the world for the better through laughter. The winner is selected by a jury comprising 33 film lovers who are selected from all applicants by Fero Fenič, the festival’s honorary president. Any film fan aged 15 or older may apply.

The chair of the audience jury is always a well-known individual, and this year it is Michal Suchánek. In previous years, this honorary function was held by, amongst others, Michael Kocáb, Dana Morávková, Jan Saudek, Marta Kubišová, Jan Kaplický, Věra Čáslavská, Dagmar Havlová, Juraj Herz, David Černý, Miroslav Ondříček, and Theodor Pištěk. The winning film will receive a financial award of EUR 3,000.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL FEBIOFEST AWARD – THE JURY

This is the eight year that the festival, acting in collaboration with the Czech branch of Amnesty International, will bestow the Amnesty International Febiofest Award. The films competing for this highly-valued trophy have been selected from across the festival’s sections, and all of them explore topics of freedom, human rights, freedom of expression, and the battle for a dignified life. In 2021, when Amnesty International celebrated the 60th anniversary of its establishment and 30 years of activity in the Czech Republic, the winning film was selected by cello player Terezie Vodička Kovalová, film director Vít Klusák, and Jiří Bejček, who is the head of Amnesty Czech Republic’s human rights division.