A Czech film fest opens with an honor for US actor and director Viggo Mortensen

PRAGUE (AP) — An international film festival in the western Czech resort city of Karlovy Vary is kicking off with an honor for U.S. actor and director Viggo Mortensen. Mortensen, a three-time nominee for the Academy Award for best actor, is slated to receive the Festival President’s Award at Friday’s opening ceremony and present the second movie he directed, “The Dead Don’t Hurt.” A special guest of the fest, Oscar-winning director and producer Steve Soderbergh, will present two movies, “Kafka” and “Mr Kneff,” in a retrospective called “The Wish to Be a Red Indian: Kafka and Cinema.” The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival runs through July 6.