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The spa town of Karlovy-Vary has swelled with celebrity all-sorts and lowly travelers alike this past week, all with one thing in common: a love of film. It is the 43rd International Film Festival, and with Oscar-award winning Robert de Niro at the top of a list of celebrity guests that includes directors Nick Roeg and Armin Mueller-Stahl and actors Christopher Lee and Danny Glover, it doesn’t get much bigger than this. On the opening night, 4th July, De Niro was awarded the Crystal Globe, the festival’s highest award, for his contribution to the industry, and the movie bedlam opened with Barry Levinson’s What Just Happened, de Niro’s latest film.

Friday night kicked off with a spectacular firework display as crowds filled the streets waiting for a peek of the approaching stars outside the Hotel Thermal, the centre of activity for the week. The scramble for movie tickets was hectic: though cheap (as low as 65Kc a screening, with 200Kc day passes offering 3 films and 50% discounts on further tickets), the process of purchase provides almost as much fun as the films. Even if you beat the sporadically timed ticket-rushes, a few minutes too late to the cinema and your seat could quickly be redistributed. There is always hope, though: even for a sold-out screening, stragglers in the crowds can find a place amongst the audience, as any space that comes available was filled to the last moment of the films’ showing. This is the spirit of the Karlovy-Vary film festival: one where all can take part.

Until the 12^th July, 14 premieres will be battling for a Crystal Globe award given for the Grand Prize. Amongst them are two Czech films, including the artistic Karamazovi , by acclaimed director Petr Zelenka. As a class “A” festival, alongside the USA's Sundance in Utah and France's Cannes, this is not just the largest festival in the Czech Republic, but the largest in Central and Eastern Europe, so those Crystal Globes are a much sought-after award. A jury headed by Czech director, Ivan Passer, who will also be receiving an award for his contributions to cinema, will decide the competition.

It isn’t all about the films, though. Live music is on offer at a number of locations, and Czech pop-act MiG 21 gave a crowd-pleasing performance when they headlined the Vodafone Fair Club on the opening night. Open-air screens offer short films for children, and a number of socially conscious events run throughout the festival, including the opportunity to Pedal for a Good Cause, where stationary cycling is matched with charity giving. The streets are lined with stalls selling a range of local food, where meals can be found for under 80Kc, or if you're feeling afluent the town centre has a range of quality restaurants whose cheapest dishes are still affordable around 150Kc (but can stretch your wallet further if you choose). For further entertainment, a selection of bars are available, dominated by the busy Captain Morgan’s tent alongside Thermal. Though it may seem hard to find a place to stay, a range of accommodation exists for the festival, such as sponsors Vodafone's free hostel, and those without a room can always camp in the AC Start Stadium, made available for 60Kc a night, adding to that popular festival feeling. Of course, the stars will all be in the Hotel Thermal, where the action congregates. All around the Soviet-era hotel, a hive of activity exists for the diverse crowd, complete with movie themes blasting out of the speakers, lest you forget why you’re there. There can be no doubt that this is the movie-lovers’ festival, no matter how you’re involved.

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