Jiri Bartoska, celebrated Czech actor and president of Karlovy Vary Film Festival since 1994, has died aged 78.
Bartoska’s death was confirmed by a festival spokesperson; he had been suffering from cancer for the last 11 years.
The festival has blacked out its social media profile on X, and posted a photo of Bartoska with a black heart.
— Karlovy Vary IFF (@KVIFF) May 8, 2025
With over 70 screen credits in his career including in leading Czech productions, Bartoska was a natural choice to take on the president’s role at the relaunched Karlovy Vary in 1994, when the festival returned to a yearly event having previously alternated with Moscow Film Festival.
Alongside artistic director Eva Zaoralova from 1994-2010 then current director Karel Och from 2010 onwards, Bartoska established Karlovy Vary’s status as a crucial stop on the international festival circuit.
With its central European base, Karlovy Vary was able to entice films from both western and eastern Europe, and further afield; and, due to the efforts of Bartoska, welcomed a rollcall of international guests including Michael Douglas, Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro and Russell Crowe.
Born in Decin, Czecoslovakia (now Czech Republic) in 1947, Bartkoska worked at a local theatre in Brno, before moving to Prague in 1978 for a theatre residency.
He made his first film appearance aged 28 in Stepan Skalsky’s 1976 drama Hriste, before breaking out with the role of hunter Sokol in Jan Schmidt’s prehistoric trilogy Settlement of Crows, On the Big River and Call of the Tribe.
With a key role in Vladimir Michalek’s Sekal Has to Die, Bartoska achieved the rare feat of being a festival president to star in one of his festival’s own selections. The film debuted at Karlovy Vary in 1998, securing him a nomination for best supporting actor at the Czech Lion awards, alongside 11 wins for the title.
The following year he produced and starred in Matej Minac’s All My Loved Ones alongside Rupert Graves as Nicholas Winton, telling the story of a man reflecting on his childhood in Prague in the early years of the Second World War. Bartoska won the best supporting actor Czech Lion this time, for playing violinist Samuel.
Bartoska also had extensive television roles, from 1984 medical series The Ambulance to 1994 German series A Perfect Scoundrel.
He remained a popular part of the Karlovy Vary festival throughout his tenure, through his opening night speech and amiable presence around the town; and even featured on festival merchandise including socks and mugs.
Bartoska received an honorary Czech Lion in 2017 for his contribution to Czech filmmaking, alongside Zaoralova (who died in 2022). He then received the Czech first class Medal of Merit in 2023 from president Petr Pavel, for services to culture and art.
He is survived by his wife, Andrea Bartoskova, and their children Katerina and Janek.
The 59th edition of Karlovy Vary Film Festival will take place from July 4-12 this summer.
No comments yet