PRAGUE (AP) 鈥� An international film festival in the western Czech resort city of Karlovy Vary is kicking off with an honor for U.S. actor and director Viggo Mortensen.
Mortensen, a three-time nominee for the Academy Award for best actor, is slated to receive the Festival President鈥檚 Award at Friday鈥檚 opening ceremony and present the second movie he directed, "The Dead Don鈥檛 Hurt.鈥�
A special guest of the fest, Oscar-winning director and producer Steve Soderbergh, will present two movies, 鈥淜afka鈥� and 鈥淢r Kneff,鈥� in a retrospective called 鈥淭he Wish to Be a Red Indian: Kafka and Cinema.鈥�
The retrospective will feature movie adaptations of books by Franz Kafka to mark the 100th anniversary since the author鈥檚 death.
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival runs through July 6. The grand jury, which includes Australian Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush, will consider 12 movies for the top prize, the Crystal Globe.
The Associated Press
