Febiofest

The festival was founded in December 1993 in Prague by movie and television company Febiofest. The main personalities of the foundation were Fero Fenič and Pavel Melounek. Originally taking place in one city (Prague) in two small theaters, the event gradually grew (in just ten years) into more than 140,000 viewers in two countries, 12 cities and nearly 43 theaters. In 2005 the festival presented 336 films from 65 countries.{{cite web|title=History of Febiofest Festival|url=http://www.praha.eu/jnp/en/past_future/history_of_prague/history_of_febiofest_festival.html|publisher=praha.eu|accessdate=20 March 2014|archive-date=12 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312200454/http://www.praha.eu/jnp/en/past_future/history_of_prague/history_of_febiofest_festival.html|url-status=dead}} The main part of festival was still held in Prague in 2017, but when the festival in Prague ended, some films were shown in other cities.{{cite web|title=Mezinárodní filmový festival FEBIOFEST 2017 v Plzni|url=http://www.kdykde.cz/calendar/kdykde/1621432-mezinarodni-filmovy-festival-febiofest-2017-v-plzni|website=kdykde.cz|accessdate=16 October 2017|language=cs}} It was announced on 10 March 2020 that the 2020 edition would be cancelled because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite web

| url=https://variety.com/2020/biz/festivals/prague-international-film-festival-febiofest-canceled-coronavirus-1203528645/

| title=Prague Film Festival Called Off Amid Coronavirus Fears

| date=2020-03-10

| publisher=Variety

| accessdate=2020-04-28}} Fero Fenič announced in 2022 that he was looking for a new owner, and that the festival would not be held in 2023.{{cite news |title=Fero Fenič oznámil konec současného Febiofestu, hledá nového vlastníka |url=https://www.idnes.cz/kultura/film-televize/febiofest-fenic-konec.A221010_092119_filmvideo_spm |access-date=19 May 2025 |work=idnes.cz |date=10 October 2022 |language=cs}} In November 2023, Fenič filed for bankruptcy.{{cite news |title=Febiofest jde do konkurzu, žádost podal jeho zakladatel |url=https://www.novinky.cz/clanek/kultura-febiofest-v-insolvenci-40451252 |access-date=19 May 2025 |work=novinky.cz |publisher=Borgis |date=19 November 2023 |language=cs}}

In 20 years, Febiofest has hosted directors and actors such as Nanni Moretti, Claude Lelouch, Geraldine Chaplin, Gaspar Noé, Peter Weir, Olivier Assayas, Roman Polanski, Volker Schloendorff, Isztvan Szabo, Tsai Ming-Liang, Tom Tykwer, Hal Hartley, Andrey Konchalovski, Armin Mueller Stahl, Nikita Mikhalkov, Carlos Saura or Claudia Cardinale.

Grand Prix of the festival is dedicated to debuting European filmmakers in New Europe section. Award started in 2008. The 33-member jury awarding the Grand Prix consists of applicants from 15 to 100 years old, to people of all education, social background, professions, and interests plus honorary chairman such as D.O.P. Miroslav Ondricek, Neo-Futurist architect Jan Kaplický, artist David Cerny, conductor Libor Pesek, and former First Lady Dagmar Havlova.{{cite web|title=Prague Febiofest film festival awards Andrzej Wajda|url=http://praguemonitor.com/2014/03/18/prague-febiofest-film-festival-awards-andrzej-wajda|publisher=praguemonitor.com|accessdate=20 March 2014|archive-date=20 March 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140320165401/http://praguemonitor.com/2014/03/18/prague-febiofest-film-festival-awards-andrzej-wajda|url-status=dead}}

Awarded Films:

Kristián Award for Contribution to the World Cinema was formerly given to personalities such as Roman Polanski, Helmut Berger, Richard Lester, Claudia Cardinale, Charles Aznavour, Carlos Saura, Daniel Olbrychski, Otar Ioseliani, Wim Wenders and Mike Leigh.

The annual award 1995-2011 was the Kristián (Czech critic's prizes). It focused attention not only on Czech feature films, but on animated and documentary works. The prize was made by famous sculptor Olbram Zoubek.

• Czech Republic
• Prague
• Ostrava
• Brno
• Liberec
• Pardubice
• Slovakia
• Bratislava
• Košice
• Nitra
• Žilina
• Prešov
• Martin
• Banská Bystrica

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Febiofest}}

• [http://www.febiofest.cz/ Official site]
• [http://www.radio.cz/en/article/64234 Febiofest in New Style]
• [http://www.radio.cz/en/article/65304 Febiofest 2005]

{{Authority control}}

Category:Film festivals in Prague

Category:Film festivals established in 1993

Category:1993 establishments in the Czech Republic