Karlovy Vary's 'Variations' to screen 'Elsinore' and Eisenberg's 'The Debut'
The festival and the Czech Philharmonic will host concerts and preview screenings Nov. 27–28, including a concert film by Paul Thomas Anderson.
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Video: YouTube · Focus Features · youtube.com
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) and the Czech Philharmonic will hold the sixth edition of their film-and-music project "Variace" (Variations) in Karlovy Vary on Nov. 27–28, 2026. The festival said Oct. 20 that three films will screen as previews in the cinema of the Imperial Spa (Císařské lázně): Jesse Eisenberg's satirical comedy 'The Debut,' starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti; Paul Thomas Anderson's 'Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall,' shot on 35mm film, about a piano recital by the Brooklyn musician; and the drama 'Elsinore.'
Directed by Simon Stone, 'Elsinore' tells the story of actor Ian Charleson, played by Andrew Scott, alongside Olivia Colman. The film won the International People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and opens in select theaters Nov. 20, according to distributor Focus Features.
The musical highlight is the Philharmonic's Nov. 27 concert at the Karlovy Vary Municipal Theatre, featuring Dvořák's Symphony No. 5 and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, conducted by Petr Altrichter with soloist Jan Mráček; three chamber concerts, including one at the Thermal Spring Colonnade, are free. KVIFF said the event marks several anniversaries: the festival's 60th edition, 80 years since its founding and 130 years since the Philharmonic's first concert under Antonín Dvořák.