The 60th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival concluded Saturday with Myanmar-Czech-French co-production Fruit Gathering (pictured above) receiving the Crystal Globe, the festival’s top award. The debut feature from Myanmar filmmaker Aung Phyoe was recognized for its portrayal of female desire and intimacy in a society where relationships between women remain socially restricted.
The closing ceremony also saw the announcement of winners across Karlovy Vary’s main Crystal Globe Competition and the Proxima Competition, while several international guests received festival honors, including Oscar-winning French actor Juliette Binoche, who accepted the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema.
Myanmar-Czech co-production takes top KVIFF prize
Fruit Gathering won the Crystal Globe from a field of 12 world premieres in the main competition at the 60th edition of KVIFF. The film, which explores queer identity and the resilience of women’s desires in contemporary Myanmar, marks the feature debut of director Aung Phyoe.
The filmmaker accepted the award from Binoche shortly after she received her own honorary Crystal Globe. “Just being invited here was amazing,” Aung Phyoe said at the ceremony. “It’s my first film, my first major festival, and my first award.”
The film was produced as a Myanmar-Czech-French co-production, continuing Karlovy Vary’s tradition of highlighting international collaborations involving Czech filmmakers and producers. Czech co-producer Vít Janeček used the occasion to emphasize the importance of long-term cultural partnerships and international cooperation.
The Crystal Globe comes with a $25,000 prize, shared equally between the film’s director and producer. Fruit Gathering is scheduled to open in Czech cinemas on July 23.
The festival’s main competition jury also recognized several other titles. Danish family drama The Guest received both the Best Director Award for debut filmmaker Mads Mengel and the Special Jury Prize. The Best Actor Award went to Lebanese actor Ghassan Saad for Pipes, while Swiss drama A Happy Family earned the Best Actress Award for Anna Schinz.
The Proxima Competition, dedicated to formally innovative films and emerging filmmakers, was won by Slovak-Czech co-production Lover, Not a Fighter, directed by Martina Buchelová. The playful romantic drama follows a young man navigating love, uncertainty and relationships with those closest to him.
KVIFF celebrates international cinema and closes 60th edition
The final day of Karlovy Vary’s 60th edition also featured tributes to several prominent figures in international cinema. Juliette Binoche received the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema, with the festival presenting screenings of three films from her career, including Certified Copy, Three Colors: Blue and Let the Sunshine In.
Binoche, an Academy Award and César Award winner, joined a group of major guests honored during this year’s festival. Earlier in the event, Crystal Globes were presented to American actor Dustin Hoffman and cinematographer Robert Richardson. President’s Awards were also given to filmmakers and performers including Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeffrey Wright and Slovak actress and diplomat Magda Vášáryová.
Vášáryová received her award during the closing ceremony and presented Juraj Jakubisko’s 1969 film Birds, Orphans and Fools, in which she starred. The former actress later became a diplomat following the Velvet Revolution, serving as ambassador for Czechoslovakia and Slovakia.
The 60th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival featured more than 130 feature films, including competition titles, restored classics and special screenings. The anniversary edition welcomed international guests such as Hoffman, Binoche, Gyllenhaal, Eisenberg, Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Harvey Keitel, and others.
The festival also returned to regional programming outside Karlovy Vary, including a special pre-festival screening in Mariánské Lázně of Pedro Almodóvar’s Bitter Christmas.
The 61st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is scheduled to take place from July 2 to 10, 2027.
