Jiří Bartoška, Karlovy Vary Film Festival President, Dies at 78

Jiří Bartoška, Czech actor and Karlovy Vary Film Festival president, died Thursday at age 78.

Bartoška was born in the Czech Republic on March 24, 1947. After attending Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno, he started working at the Divadlo Husa na provázku Theatre in Brno. Bartoška’s theater career spanned through the early 1970s to the ’90s, and during that time he started a residency at the Theatre on the Balustrade and made his film debut in the 1975 Czech drama “The Playground.”

He became notable for his work in several films including “Sekal Has to Die,” “All My Loved Ones” and “Tiger Theory.” He took home a Czech Lion Award for Best Supporting Actor for his “All My Loved Ones” performance and then earned a nomination in the same category a year later for “Sekal Has to Die.” He garnered even more acclaim as an actor with his role as Sokol in Jan Schmidt’s “Settlement of Crows.”

Bartoška had served as the president of Karlovy Vary International Film Festival since 1994, for which he worked alongside the festival’s late, former artistic director and film critic Eva Zaoralová. Bartoška has been credited for helping revitalize Europe’s second oldest film festival into a reputable international exhibition. The president of the Czech Republic even awarded Bartoška with the First-Class Medal of Merit for his efforts in the arts and culture sectors.

Altogether, Bartoška boasts at least 175 acting credits and two credits as a producer.

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