Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will present its President’s Award to director, screenwriter, and actress Maggie Gyllenhaal and director, screenwriter, and author Jesse Eisenberg at the opening ceremony of the upcoming 60th edition.
“We at the festival are glad to be able to welcome two creative individuals whose work as actors, screenwriters, and directors is representative of contemporary trends in cinema and whose films are an intense experience for audiences,” says KVIFF’s Executive Director Kryštof Mucha.
“Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jesse Eisenberg are distinguished by a certain ‘trans-Atlantic’ sensitivity. Their work as actors and directors has the ability to connect the New World and Europe while drawing on the most essential elements of both traditions. The humor of New York intellectuals is combined with wisdom, talent, and an original way of seeing the world,” adds Artistic Director Karel Och.
At the festival, Maggie Gyllenhaal will present her film The Bride! (2026), which she wrote, directed, and produced. The film is an imaginative continuation of the classic Frankenstein story, influenced by both the 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein and Mary Shelley’s original masterpiece. With Warner Brothers at the helm, the film stars Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Annette Bening, Penélope Cruz, Peter Sarsgaard, and Jake Gyllenhaal.
In honor of Jesse Eisenberg, the festival will screen The Double, directed by Richard Ayoade, in which Eisenberg plays the lead role. His upcoming film as a writer/director, ‘The Debut’, stars Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti. Eisenberg co-stars and wrote the music and lyrics for the film’s musical-within-the-movie. It will be released in Fall 2026 by A24.
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