Karel Och Appointed Artistic Director of Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

Karel Och became artistic director of the International Film Festival Karlovy Vary in 2010, taking leadership of this major European film event held annually in the Czech spa town. The festival, which occurs each July, has gained worldwide recognition over the past fifteen years as an A-festival. Notable programming sections include East of the West, featuring films from former Soviet bloc countries, and annual overviews of Czech and Slovak cinema. Och studied law before completing film theory and history at Charles University in Prague. Since 2001, he has worked for the festival as programmer and selection committee member, programming the documentary competition and curating retrospectives of filmmakers including Sam Peckinpah, John Huston, Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, and Sam Fuller. The 46th edition took place in July 2011, where an interview with Och was conducted by Natascha Drubek for ARTMargins Online. Born in 1974 in the Czech Republic, Och brings extensive festival experience to his directorial role.