How Ivan Zachariáš Built Karlovy Vary's Iconic Festival Trailers With Hollywood Stars — All for Free
By
Georg Szalai
Summary
Ivan Zachariáš has been creating the iconic, often outrageous pre-show trailers for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) since 2008. These black-and-white short films feature Hollywood legends like Johnny Depp, Helen Mirren, and Javier Bardem in mischievous, sometimes absurd scenarios involving the festival's Crystal Globe statuette. Despite working with A-list talent, Zachariáš operates without a budget — all actors participate for free — and often films under impossible conditions, such as shooting Mel Gibson's segment in a single 20-minute window. The trailers have become a beloved festival institution, blending Czech surrealist humor with genuine star power.
Source
Twitter / XHow Ivan Zachariáš Built Karlovy Vary's Iconic Festival Trailers With Hollywood Stars — All for Freehollywoodreporter.comKey quotes
· 5 pulled"I don't have a budget. I never have. The actors do it for free. They do it because they want to be part of something fun and different."
"The idea is always the same: put the star in an uncomfortable, funny situation with the Crystal Globe. It's a kind of initiation ritual."
"We had 20 minutes with Mel Gibson. Twenty minutes. And we shot the whole thing. It was insane, but it worked."
"These trailers are not commercials. They are short films. They have a beginning, middle, and end. They tell a little story."
"The festival is about cinema, but the trailers have become cinema themselves. That's the joke, and it's also the truth."
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