Established in 1946, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has come to be “the largest film festival in the Czech Republic and the most prestigious such festival in Central and Eastern Europe. It is one of the oldest A-list film festivals (i.e., non-specialized festivals with a competition for feature-length fiction films), a category it shares with the festivals in Cannes, Berlin, Venice, San Sebastian, Moscow, Montreal, Shanghai, and Tokyo. Among filmmakers, buyers, distributors, sales agents, and journalists, KVIFF is considered the most important event in all of Central and Eastern Europe. The Karlovy Vary festival is intended for both film professionals and the general public, and offers visitors a carefully designed programme, excellent facilities and a broad range of other services” (KVIFF).

“Although first conceived as a bridge between East and West )presenting entries both from the domestic industry and the US, France, the UK, and Sweden), was remodeled following the consolidation of communist power in 1948 as a showcase for a socialist film production from the Eastern Bloc, awarding a variety of prizes to movies from communist countries” (Deshpande and Mazaj).

Karlovy Vary commissions festival trailers featuring prominent filmmakers and actors. The following YouTube playlist contains 34 videos of such trailers from the 29th annual film festival to the 52th.