About us

FEBIOFEST was founded in 1993 by FEBIO, an independent film and TV company. During the hard transition period from communism to democracy and market economy, FEBIO provided a working opportunity to almost all important Czech filmmakers including Vera Chytilova, Juraj Jakubisko, Jiri Menzel, Jan Jires, Jan Hrebejk and many others.

Starting as an enthusiastically organized, basically no-budget event for a couple of friends and film buffs, FEBIOFEST has grown during the past years into one of the largest film festivals in the Czech Republic, which nevertheless still maintains its original profile as an audience-friendly festival.

Situated in the modern 12-screen multiplex, Cinestar Andel, FEBIOFEST guarantees excellent screening conditions for all formats, not to mention supreme comfort for festival-goers. The festival also uses two other unique venues: PONREPO Cinema (118 seats) for Czech Archive prints, and a special Video Auditorium (approx. 100 seats) whose location varies from year to year to bring selected films to a public space such as a train station or a church – for free.

When evening rolls around, FEBIOFEST transforms itself into the widely attended and increasingly popular FEBIOFEST MUSIC FESTIVAL, showcasing world music, jazz, blues, avant-garde and alternative rock concerts in the multiplex cinema garages.

To filmmakers and celebrities, FEBIOFEST offers a pleasant stay in Prague – the city of Kafka, beer and film buffs, at hotels conveniently located next to the festival cinema and close to the Czech capital’s magical Old Town.

In recent years, FEBIOFEST has hosted renowned directors and actors such as Claude Lelouch, Peter Weir, Olivier Assayas  Roman Polanski, Volker Schloendorff, Isztvan Szabo, Tsai Ming-Liang, Tom Tykwer, Hal Hartley, Andrey Konchalovski, Armin Mueller Stahl, Nikita Michalkov, Carlos Saura or Claudia Cardinale.

Basically the festival is oriented to full length films, bringing to Czech audiences the best of the last year, distribution premieres, retrospectives and tributes. It also discovers new territories and unknown filmmakers, and features special sections dedicated to gay and lesbian cinema, children’s films (FEBIO JUNIOR FESTIVAL), and even experimental films.

Thanks to its broad overview of the latest and best cinematography from around the world, high quality screenings and famous guests, every year the festival’s exceptional program draws large, curious and appreciative audiences of all ages and receives much critical acclaim in the press, not to mention the keen interest of local distributors.

After the festival has completed its run in Prague, selected films (mostly distribution pre-premieres) travel to 8 other Czech cities to give movie lovers beyond the capital an opportunity to see high quality films. The spirit of FEBIOFEST even makes its way to neighboring Slovakia, where the Slovak FEBIOFEST is organized independently.