Luhovaný Vincent unveiled his programme this year

The bulk of the programme will be placed in public space this year due to the current epidemic situation. Visitors will have access to undiscovered or normally inaccessible places and open-air spaces, which fits perfectly with the long-term concept of the festival, which aims to attract the citizens of Luhačovice and people from out of town to places where they do not usually go. "This year's programme will be more than ever before primarily aimed at local residents or visitors from the region, thus enriching the existing cultural offer. At the same time, the festival is not closing itself off to visitors from all over the country and abroad," said festival director Magdaléna Petráková about this year's edition.

What can festival visitors look forward to?

The theatre section this year takes on a primarily intimate form, for example through the repeated multisensory performance Spoon Under the Nose, designed for three participants each time. The POCKETART ensemble will also perform over the Aloiska spring with their performance Treatment of Remembering, set in an imaginary world where nature no longer exists, and the performers reflect on it in dance images. The curated block of the Dance Film Festival - Without Deposition in Dance and Life - will also provide an extraordinary experience. And there will be a children's audience too, who, along with their adult companions, can look forward to a puppet production by Prague's Studio Damúza: The River, set in the Japanese Garden.

As part of the unforgettable atmosphere of summer cinema on the roof of the town's swimming pool, this year's films include British director Peter Strickland's film between comedy and horror, Such Beautiful Dresses, and Ondřej Vavrečka's philosophical essay The Personal Life of a Hole. Audiences can also look forward to a selection of short animated films from last year's Brno Sixteen Film Festival.

In the accompanying programme, this year's Audiovisual Sauna will be presented in cooperation with the Young Film Fest platform. It is a project that combines public lectures and discussions with closed workshops for students and young filmmakers. The public will see, for example, a lecture by Ondřej Pavlík entitled "The Courage in Czech Film Criticism" or a debate between professional critics and fan critics on the topic of "How to Know a Good Film".

A large part of the musicalprogramme will take place directly on the spa colonnade and at the nearby springs. For example, a concert by musician Marie Ladrová in the hall of Vincentka, who will play the theremin and offer the audience the opportunity to try this unusual instrument. The music section will also feature the Slovak composer inspired by nature - Patrik Korinok performing under the name I AM PLANET, the melancholic and distinctive bard Oldřich Janota, the experimentally creative husband and wife team Irena and Vojtěch Havel, the surprisingly congenial duo of the classically educated violinist Daniel Meier and the melancholic drone lover Václav Dobiáš aka Sweeps04, and the ambient project of Miloš Dolinský - Černý tesák. On the border of music, sound expression and healing method stands the work of Stanislav Abraham. The artist and sound designer of the Czech Radio will offer a combination of music therapy gong with an electronic drone made of a modular synthesizer.

Zvukova section is present at the festival for the first time. The name of Stanislav Abraham will be complemented by, for example, a sound workshop with Michal Kindernay and contact microphones or a unique lecture by a trio of music publicists - Karel Veselý, Miloš Hroch, Pavel Turek on the spa theme of musical wellness. The culmination of this section is a Sunday meadow feast in the vicinity of the Alois spring, prepared by the artistic group Hadaikum (Nela Britaňáková and Adéla Chorá). The audience will relax while listening to the works created during the literary residencies of writers Klára Vlasáková and Tereza Semotamová and author Petr Borkovec.

The central theme of the festival "Without a layer" is also reflected in the exhibition programme. The artists were commissioned to respond to artworks, monuments and other sites that create a permanent historical and ideological overlay in the urban space. Artists Tomáš Moravec, Vladimír Turner, Martin Zet and William Costa will present their site-specific art installations and performances in the space of the spa. Traditionally, there will also be a screening of a selection of contemporary videos from the production of the Film Animation and Contemporary Art Showcase - PAF Olomouc, this year with an introduction by curators Tina Poliačková and Lumír Nykl.

You can take a look at this year's visual, which refers to the phenomenon of remote communication, in the photo gallery.

Categories: Tourism, Culture, What to do in Luhačovice, Why to Luhačovice, Luhačovice, Festival, Vincent the Lion Festival, Art