Future Frames 2022: Generation NEXT! of European Cinema

Future Frames is a next generation showcase comprised of short works by students and recent graduates of European film schools, curated by the Karlovy Vary Fest in cooperation with European Film Promotion. The selected directors and their films will be introduced on-site to Karlovy Vary audiences. American indie director Tim Sutton (whose new film “Taurus” screens in the festival program) will mentor the group and teach a masterclass.

Angelika Abramovitch
“Catcave Hysteria”
Stockholm University of the Arts
Sweden
Before entering film school, Abramovitch directed music videos, commercials and art films in London. “Catcave Hysteria,” her graduation work, is an audacious drama set over the course of one night in a nightclub’s ladies’ toilet.

Alica Bednáriková
“Liquid Bread”
Academy of Performing Arts Bratislava
Slovak Republic
A poet and short story writer as well as a director, Bednáriková’s humorous but bittersweet, multi-layered and perfectly modulated story of a dysfunctional family was also a selection of the 2022 Cannes La Cinef.

Magdalena Chmielewska
“Lullaby”
Filmakademie Wien
Austria
Chmielewska is a prize-winning Polish-born film director based in Vienna, with years of experience in contemporary dance that complement her methods of working with actors. She won the Marcel Ophuls prize with “Lullaby” and is currently developing her first feature.

Maciej Jankowski
“Fruits and Vegetables”
Polish National School of Film, Television and Theater, Lodz
Poland
Jankowski’s tragi-comic drama “Fruits and Vegetables” was the only Polish production shortlisted for the Yugo BAFTA Student Film Award. His earlier shorts include “We Get Along Beautiful” (2016) and “Broken Head” (2020).

Nicolai G. H. Johansen
“If You Knew”
Super8
Denmark
A graduate of the Danish independent film school Super8, Johansen is interested in character-driven narratives, usually centering on lonely people struggling to connect to the world. He is a firm believer in mood and atmosphere as the driving force of cinema.

Lukas Kacinauskas
“I Was Max”
Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater
Lithuania
An actor turned writer-director, Kacinauskas impresses with his sensitively-made queer drama about self-acceptance, “I Was Max.” The short is making the rounds of festivals and is opening for the feature “Firebird” at some U.S. venues.

Martin Kuba
“Vinland”
FAMU
Czech Republic
Along with his studies, Kuba nurtures an interest in genre film. “Vinland” deals with modern-day slave labor and the Russian Mafia, a dark force that will also play a role in his first feature “Three Weeks Under the Sea,” now in pre-production.

Brenda Lien
“First Work, Then Play”
University of Art and Design, Offenbach
Germany
Also a composer and music producer, Lien’s playful, provocative work underscores her feminist principles. For “First Work, Then Play,” she used only FLINTA (women, lesbian, inter, nonbinary, trans and agender) people for her cast and crew. She also composed the music. She’s currently preparing the script for her first feature.

Max Ovaska
“Carrier”
University of Art and Design, Helsinki
Finland
Like Lukas Kacinauskas, Ovaska is also an actor turned writer-director. His graduation short “Carrier” was one of seven narrative finalists for the 2021 Student Academy Awards, the first time a Finnish film competed in the 48-year history of the awards.

Carmen Pedrero
“Winds of Springtime”
Escuela de Cinematográfica y Audiovisual de Madrid
Spain
Pedrero’s poetic tale of adolescent self-acceptance recently nabbed the youth jury prize at the Huesca Film Festival. She has also co-directed “In My Craft or My Shadowy Art,” an expanded piece of poetry for International Dylan Day.