Chilean and Colombian dramas to compete for Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary

Chilean director Valeria Sarmiento's drama 'Detrás de la lluvia' and the Colombian documentary 'Cinco años, cuatro meses' by Esteban Hoyos and Juan Miguel Gelacio are set to compete for the prestigious Crystal Globe award at the 60th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The festival, scheduled to take place from July 3 to July 11 in the Czech spa town, announced the lineup of films vying for its top prize. 'Detrás de la lluvia' is a dramatic fiction film that explores themes of memory, the unconscious, and family secrets across three generations of women. The narrative is set against the backdrop of a young girl's murder, which triggers a wave of recollections for the protagonist, Sofía, a young psychologist returning to her hometown of Valdivia. Her investigation into the tragic event uncovers unsettling parallels in the lives of her mother and grandmother. Similarly, 'Cinco años, cuatro meses' focuses on female characters, giving a voice to Colombian women who are actively searching for the children they lost during the country's armed conflicts. Hoyos and Gelacio previously presented a work-in-progress version of this film, then titled 'A la hora de poner la mesa ya no éramos cinco,' at the San Sebastián Film Festival's WIP Latam section last year. The duo also co-directed the 2025 fiction film 'Selva,' which addresses generational weariness and the alienation of urban youth in Colombia. These two Spanish-language films are among ten feature films competing for the Crystal Globe. The festival will also feature Swiss cinema's debut in the main section with Jan-Eric Mack's 'A Happy Family.' Local Czech productions, including Ivan Ostrochovsky's 'Only Beautiful Things to Look At' and Simon Holy's 'Chica checa,' are also strong contenders. Danish cinema is represented by Mads Mengel's 'The Guest,' starring Trine Dyrholm. The Crystal Globe itself is crafted by the Moser glass factory in Karlovy Vary.