Viggo Mortensen to get prize at Czech film fest
PRAGUE—Viggo Mortensen, perhaps best-known for playing Aragorn in “The Lord of the Rings” films, received an award at the Czech film festival in Karlovy Vary, organizers said on Wednesday.
The 65-year-old US actor and director was set to be presented with the Festival President’s Award at the festival’s June 28 opening ceremony, festival president Jiri Bartoska told reporters.
Mortensen “will present ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’ at the festival, a film which he directed and in which he played one of the main roles,” added Bartoska, who is a popular Czech actor.
Stars
Other guests at Karlovy Vary will include “Closer” and “Sin City” star Clive Owen, as well as “Erin Brockovich” and “Traffic” director Steven Soderbergh.
Soderbergh will present his films and “Kafka” (1991) and a reedited version “Mr. Kneff,” set in the Czech capital and dedicated to Prague-born writer Franz Kafka.
Both Owen and Soderbergh will receive the Festival President’s Award, as will German actor and director Daniel Bruhl, known for roles in “Inglourious Basterds” and “Rush.”
Oscar-winning British actor Geoffrey Rush, known for “Shine,” “The King’s Speech” and “Pirates of the Caribbean,” will be a member of the festival jury.
The 58th edition of the festival in the western Czech spa city of Karlovy Vary will run from June 28 to July 6.
Last year, the festival registered more than 123,000 cinemagoers.
