SPLIT FILM FESTIVAL Croatia's Bronx goes avant garde 4th Festival of New Film Despite a history of heroin abuse, football violence and right-wing extremism on the one hand and classical culture on the other, Split hosts an important festival of new and experimental film and video, as Jurica Pavičić reports.

A time and a place Three reviews of three films shown at Karlovy Vary that evoke the spirit of a group of people at a certain place at a certain time. KARLOVY VARY Bystré is paradise Roman Vávra, Miroslav Janek and Vít Janeček's Bitva o život (Battle for Life, 2000) Starring the inhabitants of a Czech village in severe economic decline, Bitva o život presents a series of stories that blend reality and carnival, as Peter Hames explains. KARLOVY VARY Going back to Brno George Agathonikiadis's Podzimní návrat (Returning in Autumn, 2001) Podzimní návrat tries to breathe new life into the Czech interest in the past with an unusual historical focus—Greek refugees in 1950s Czechoslovakia—and non-linear narrative. Mark Preskett was at the world premiere. KARLOVY VARY The wounds that never show Ferenc Moldoványi's Деца-Fëmijët (Kosovo 2000) / Children (Kosovo 2000) [2001] Moldoványi targets the tenderest points of our emotions to reveal the iniquity of war and the pain of readjusting to life beyond it. Andrew James Horton examines his approach. Previous coverage of Karlovy Vary Concern for the devil Polish films at Karlovy Vary Seeking truth between the bombs and bullets Balkan war films at Karlovy Vary Rich rewards in simpler forms Russian films at Karlovy Vary

Everything for sale BOOK REVIEW The fright of real theory Slavoj Žižek's The Fright of Real Tears: Krzysztof Kieślowski Between Theory and Post-Theory Žižek's book doesn't mention a Kieślowski film until page 38 and uses phrases such as "the zero level story of an intrusion of the meaningless and contingent Real." Alexei Monroe still considers it the best work on the director yet. OUT ON VIDEO The unacceptable cost of being moral Krzysztof Zanussi's Opowieści weekendowe (Weekend Stories, 1996-97) Opowieści weekendowe is, perhaps, Zanussi's response to Kieślowski's famous Dekalog series in its exploration of moral dilemmas. Josephine Woll reviews its video release.

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