Myanmar film wins top prize at Czech festival

Pallade Veneta - Myanmar film wins top prize at Czech festival

CULTURE 11.07.2026

Myanmar film wins top prize at Czech festival / Photo: Michal Cizek - AFP

"Fruit Gathering" by Myanmar director Aung Phyoe won the Crystal Globe award at the Karlovy Vary film festival in the Czech Republic on Saturday, the organisers said.

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Co-produced by Myanmar, the Czech Republic and France, the film tells the story of a love affair between two young women working at a textile factory in Yangon.

"In a captivating rhythm that oscillates between tenderness and harshness, the film explores how women's desires survive in a country where intimacy and love between women remain socially unacceptable," said the festival guide.

US actor Dustin Hoffman, the 88-year-old winner of two Oscars for "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Rain Man", received a Crystal Globe for "outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema".

Juliette Binoche, an Oscar-winning French actress known for "The English Patient" and "Chocolat", received the same award at the 60th edition of the festival.

So did US cinematographer Robert Richardson, an Academy Award winner for "JFK", "The Aviator" and "Hugo".

The festival held in the spa city of Karlovy Vary on July 3-11 offered 472 screenings of 179 films, selling 132,553 tickets, the organisers said.

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Pallade Veneta - Myanmar film wins top prize at Czech festival