KVIFF kicks off July 4 with director Mike Cahill and actors Michael Pitt and Astrid Bergès-Frisbey in attendance.

Director Mike Cahill and stars Michael Pitt and Astrid Berges-Frisbey will be in Karlovy Vary to open the festival with their film I Origins.

The film, a Sundance hit and Alfred P Sloan award-winner, will have its international premiere at KVIFF. Fox Searchlight holds worldwide distribution rights.

The story is about a young scientist who discovers links between human physiognomy and psyche.

Screen International critic Tim Grierson wrote, “Telling the story of an ambitious molecular biologist whose faith in science will be challenged in unexpected ways, this sci-fi romantic drama is consistently engaging and unpredictable, growing in emotional impact as its mysteries start to slowly assert themselves.”

Pitt was last in KVIFF with Gus Van Sant’s Last Days in 2005.