Daily news summary

Hungarian film It's Not the Time of My Life picks up main prize at Karlovy Vary film festival

The 50th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival closed with an awards ceremony on Saturday night. The Crystal Globe for best film went to the Hungarian film It's Not the Time of My Life, shot by the director Szabolcs Hajdu in his own home with the members of his own family and his friends. Hajdu also received the Best Actor Award. Zuzana Mauréry received the Best Actress Award for the film The Teacher by Jan Hřebejk. The audience's prize went to the American movie Captain Fantastic.

The prize for the best film of the East of the West Competition was awarded to a quasi-autobiographical debut by a Georgian director Rusudan Glurjidze House of Others and the Grand Prix for Best Documentary Film went to LoveTrue by an Israeli director Alma Har'el.

Czech actress Jiřina Bohdalová and American screenwriter and director Charlie Kaufman received The Festival President’s Award.

Seven injured in train collision near Rotava, West Bohemia

Seven people suffered light injuries on Sunday morning when two passenger trains collided near Rotava in the Sokolov region in West Bohemia. Train services between Kraslice and Sokolov have been disrupted. Czech Railways arranged a replacement bus service for passengers. The material damage has been estimated at around one million crowns. The cause of the incident, which was most likely caused by a human error, is being investigated.

Over 135,000 viewers attended screenings at Karlovy Vary Film Festival

Over 135,000 viewers attended screenings at this year's Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The festival offered 200 films, including 21 world premieres, and more than 500 screenings took place. The festival in the West Bohemian spa town also welcomed over one thousand film producers, distributors and other film professionals. The budget of the 51st edition of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival amounted to 135 million crowns, which is approximately the same as last year. The tickets and festival passes sales revenue amounted to some 5 million crowns.

Fifteen people died on Czech roads during first week of summer holidays

Fifteen people died on Czech roads during the first week of summer holidays, which is five less than in the same period last year. The first holiday weekend also saw less road deaths than in 2015, according to preliminary police statistics. According to experts, milder weather conditions might be one of the reasons behind the improvement. Last year's bigger death toll was affected by the exceptionally hot weather, which prevailed throughout most of the summer.

Number of international productions to film in Czech Republic in second half of 2016

A number of major international film productions will be using studios and outdoor locations in the Czech Republic in the second half of the year. The filming of two historical TV series, Sky Channel's Brittania and History Channel's Knightfall, got underway at the end of June. The production is expected to spend over two billion Czech crowns, Ludmila Klausová of the Czech Film Commission told the Czech News Agency on Sunday. Another series, National Geographic's Genius produced by Fox 21, is currently under preparation. In 2010, the Czech government introduced incentives for film productions to attract foreign film crews to the country. A new legislation that would make the conditions for foreign filmmakers even more favourable is currently debated.

Jan Kuf takes gold in pentathlon at European Championship in Sofia

Czech athlete Jan Kuf won the gold medal in men’s modern pentathlon at the European Championship in Sofia on Sunday. The 25-year-old Czech finished with 1451 points, just one point ahead of Robert Kasza of Hungary. It is the second gold medal for Kuf, who also won a gold medal in mixed relay with Natálie Dianová on Wednesday.

Temperatures to drop after hot weekend

Temperatures in the Czech Republic should be average or below-average for the time of year in the next four weeks, according to a regular monthly weather forecast issued by the Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute. After a hot weekend, temperatures will drop considerably on Tuesday, as low as 17 degrees Celsius. Average temperatures are expected to hover around 24 degrees Celsius. The end of the month should be the warmest of the four-week period. Rainfall levels over the next four weeks should be below the average for the time of year.