For a young Martina Navratilova, Voice of America was a beacon
You can measure the value of Voice of America by its worldwide audience of 361 million and how totalitarians hate it, or you could simply measure it by the impact it had on a skinny-as-a-wight kid named Martina Navratilova, listening to it on a red plastic radio in a small Czech country village, under the tank treads of a communist regime that would have stamped out her thin existence. The noise from the radio wavered, depending on how intent Soviet authorities were on jamming it, but through the hissing and popping, an inspiration of revolt made its way into the mind of the young Navratilova, woven of forbidden words and tunes.
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Karlovy Vary Fest Sets Lineup, Competition Film From Iran to Be Unveiled Later for 'Safety of its Makers'
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) on Tuesday unveiled the lineup of the main competition and other sections for its 59th edition, including a competition movie from Iran whose title and creators will only be shared closer to the fest 'for the safety of its makers.' The fest in the Czech spa town, whose 2025 edition will be running July 4-12, also unveiled its competition jury, including Mexican producer Nicolás Celis (Alfonso Cuarón's Oscar-winning Roma) and Czech actor and director Jiří Mádl (Waves). More from The Hollywood Reporter 'The Real Housewives of London' Cast: Who's Starring in Glitzy Brit-Bound Installment? Pierce Brosnan Talks 'MobLand' Finale, James Bond and Who Sophie's Real Dad Is in 'Mamma Mia!' The Crawleys Are Off to the Races in First Trailer for 'Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale' The Crystal Globe competition this year includes Turkish filmmaker Gözde Kural's Cinema Jazireh, her second feature, about a woman who 'radically changes her identity' in 'Afghanistan under the brutal rule of the Taliban,' documentary Divia, which reminds us that nature suffers with war, through the lens of Russia's war against Ukraine, and Norwegian writer-director Nina Knag's Don't Call Me Mama, a drama about forbidden love. 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The competition further features the international premiere of Max Walker-Silverman's Rebuilding, which is set in his native Colorado and tells the story of the reticent Dusty (Josh O'Connor), whose ranch has burned down in a devastating wildfire, and Catalan director Pere Vilà Barceló's When a River Becomes the Sea, 'an uncompromising, introspective probe into the soul of a girl who is sexually abused.' KVIFF's Proxima competition program, which aims to put the spotlight on bold works by young filmmakers and renowned auteurs alike, features the likes of Davi Pretto's Future Future, set in a near future where the development of artificial intelligence has brought with it increasing neurological problems, and Daniel Vidal Toche's The Anatomy of the Horses, whose plot summary says: 'Defeated in combat, Ángel returns home to his village in a remote part of the Peruvian Andes. When he arrives, however, he finds the place has completely changed. What was the 18th century is now the present day. What has become of the ideals of the revolution he fought for?' The Proxima lineup also includes Paula Ďurinová's Action Item, an 'activist anatomy of burnout, set in Berlin,' and the Armenian crime drama Thus Spoke the Wind by director Maria Rigel, described as a 'cryptic, visually and aurally mesmerizing film, viewed through the eyes of a child forced to grow up too soon.' Ammar al-Beik's TrepaNation, filmed in a Syrian refugee camp that opened on the outskirts of Berlin in 2014. 'Visual artist and filmmaker Ammar al-Beik has a cubicle assigned to him for seven months and, in order to survive here, he has to film, document, and rebel against the conditions of life in exile, and also against the established rules of documentaries and features,' its synopsis reads. In its special screenings lineup, KVIFF will present the likes of the European premiere of Paul Andrew Williams' Dragonfly and the world premiere of The Czech Film Project, directed by Marek Novák and Mikuláš Novotný. 'At the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, Wim Wenders invited several of his esteemed colleagues to a hotel room, where he filmed their reflections on the future of film,' reads a synopsis for the movie. 'This exclusive documentary survey, Room 666, inspired two Czech producers to engage in a similar undertaking in collaboration with the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. During last year's festival, they thus invited around 30 Czech or Czech-based filmmakers from all generations and asked them 'what makes Czech film Czech?'' Also part of the special screenings section are the world premiere of Peter Bebjak's Duchoň, a portrait of singer Karol Duchoň who became a household name more than four decades ago and created the legacy of the 'Czechoslovak Tom Jones,' as well as the European premiere of Cherien Dabis' Palestinian displacement drama All That's Left of You, which debuted at Sundance and is about a Palestinian mother recounting the events that led her teenage son to confront Israeli soldiers at a protest. The official selection 'offers an exciting display of the diversity of contemporary arthouse cinema,' said KVIFF artistic director Karel Och. 'Answering exclusively to their artistic integrity, the filmmakers who have accepted the invitation to premiere their brand new works in Karlovy Vary fearlessly protect the right to challenge expectations, to disrupt stereotypes, and to win over hearts and minds with equal intensity. Disregarding budgetary constraints, these filmmakers from countries, such as Bangladesh, Lithuania, Norway, and Colombia, push the boundaries while keeping in mind the necessary connection between a film and its audience.' And he emphasized: 'The Karlovy Vary IFF has always addressed political issues through powerful individual stories, fully supporting artists and their freedom of expression. Today, we are announcing 11 titles from the usual dozen films in the Crystal Globe Competition. The remaining one comes from Iran; for the safety of its makers, it has been decided to postpone its announcement until closer to the festival.' Check out the full lineup for the 59th KVIFF, as well as its jury members below. CRYSTAL GLOBE COMPETITION Cinema Jazireh Director: Gözde Kural Turkey, Iran, Bulgaria, Romania, 2025, 124 min, world premiere Divia Director: Dmytro Hreshko Poland, Ukraine, Netherlands, USA, 2025, 79 min, world premiere Les Enfants vont bien / Out of Love Director: Nathan Ambrosioni France, 2025, 111 min, world premiere Jimmy Jaguar Director: Bence Fliegauf Hungary, 2025, 112 min, world premiere Quan un riu esdevé el mar / When a River Becomes the Sea Director: Pere Vilà Barceló Spain, 2025, 180 min, world premiere Raději zešílet v divočině / Better Go Mad in the Wild Director: Miro Remo Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2025, 77 min, world premiere Rebuilding Director: Max Walker-Silverman USA, 2025, 95 min, international premiere Sbormistr / Broken Voices Director: Ondřej Provazník Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2025, 104 min, world premiere Se meg / Don't Call Me Mama Director: Nina Knag Norway, 2025, 108 min, world premiere Svečias / The Visitor Director: Vytautas Katkus Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, 2025, 111 min, world premiere A Vida Luminosa / The Luminous Life Director: João Rosas Portugal, France, 2025, 99 min, international premiere PROXIMA COMPETITION La anatomía de los caballos / The Anatomy of the Horses Director: Daniel Vidal Toche Spain, Peru, Colombia, France, 2025, 106 min, world premiere Avant / Après / Before / After Director: Manoël Dupont Belgium, 2025, 80 min, world premiere Ayspes asatc qamin / Thus Spoke the Wind Director: Maria Rigel Armenia, 2025, 92 min, world premiere Balur Nogorite / Sand City Director: Mahde Hasan Bangladesh, 2024, 99 min, world premiere Forenses / Forensics Director: Federico Atehortúa Arteaga Colombia, 2024, 91 min, international premiere Futuro Futuro / Future Future Director: Davi Pretto Brazil, 2025, 86 min, world premiere Kako je ovde tako zeleno? / How Come It's All Green Out Here? Director: Nikola Ležaić Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria, 2025, 114 min, world premiere Na druhé straně léta / The Other Side of Summer Director: Vojtěch Strakatý Czech Republic, Croatia, 2025, 85 min, world premiere Neplatené voľno / Action Item Director: Paula ĎurinováSlovak Republic, Czech Republic, Germany, 2025, 69 min, world premiere Regen fiel auf nichts Neues / Rain Fell On the Nothing New Director: Steffen Goldkamp Germany, 2025, 85 min, world premiere Renovacija / Renovation Director: Gabrielė Urbonaitė Lithuania, Latvia, Belgium, 2025, 90 min, world premiere TrepaNation Director: Ammar al-Beik Syria, Germany, France, 2025, 222 min, world premiere Vgainoun mesa ap ti Margo / They Come Out of Margo Director: Alexandros Voulgaris Greece, 2025, 91 min, world premiere SPECIAL SCREENINGS Dragonfly Director: Paul Andrew Williams United Kingdom, 2025, 98 min, European premiere Duchoň Director: Peter Bebjak Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, 2025, 99 min, world premiere Hore je nebo, v doline som ja / Promise, I'll Be Fine Director: Katarína Gramatová Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, 2024, 93 min, European premiere Illi baqi minnak / All That's Left of You Director: Cherien Dabis Germany, Cyprus, Palestine, Jordan, Greece, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, 2025, 145 min, European premiere Karavan / Caravan Director: Zuzana Kirchnerová Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Italy, 2025, 102 min Letní škola, 2001 / Summer School, 2001 Director: Dužan Duong Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2025, 102 min, world premiere Projekt český film / The Czech Film Project Director: Marek Novák, Mikuláš Novotný Czech Republic, 2025, 83 min, world premiere A Second Life Director: Laurent Slama France, 2024, 74 min, European premiere Tehran, Kenarat / Tehran Another View Director: Ali Behrad Iran, United Kingdom, 2025, 92 min, European premiere CRYSTAL GLOBE JURY Nicolás Celis Mexican producer, his films include the Oscar-winning Roma (Alfonso Cuarón). One of Latin America's film industry key figures, he has also produced films by Tatiana Huezo, Amat Escalante and Jacques Audiard. Babak Jalali Filmmaker, screenwriter and producer whose second feature Radio Dreams won the Tiger Award at Rotterdam IFF in 2016. With Fremont he won Best Director at KVIFF 2023 and the John Cassavetes Award at the Independent Spirit Awards. Jessica Kiang Film critic, essayist and programmer with bylines in Variety, Sight & Sound, Criterion, Mubi, The New York Times, The LA Times, The Washington Post, Film Comment and Rolling Stone, among other outlets. She is now a member of the selection committee of the Berlinale. Jiří Mádl One of the Czech Republic's most popular actors, now also established as a writer and director. His third directorial effort Waves won the Audience Award at KVIFF 2024 and was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Tuva Novotny One of the most prominent and successful actresses in the Nordics today. She has worked with such filmmakers as Lars von Trier, Bent Hamer, Alex Garland and Tobias Lindholm. Her writing/directing debut premiered in San Sebastian IFF's Official Selection. PROXIMA JURY Yulia Evina Bhara Indonesian producer. Her films regularly appear on the programme of important festivals such as Cannes (Tiger Stripes or Renoir), Venice (Autobiography) and San Sebastian (Last Shadow at First Light). Noaz Deshe Romanian filmmaker living in Mexico. His first feature film White Shadow won Best Debut at Venice IFF in 2013. Last year KVIFF screened his Xoftex in the Crystal Globe Competition, where the film earned him a Special Jury Mention. Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias Dominican filmmaker. His debut Cocote won the Golden Leopard in the Signs of Life program at the Locarno IFF, while his latest film, Pepe, was selected for last year's Berlinale Competition, where it won a Silver Bear for best director. Jakub Felcman Czech screenwriter, festival organiser, film journalist, creative producer, director, trained plumber. He worked as a script editor on films by Jan Němec, Petr Václav, Radu Jude and Corneliu Porumboiu. Marissa Frobes An agent in the Media Finance department at leading entertainment and sports agency CAA, specializing in packaging and sales of independently financed films. She supported packaging or sales of projects including The Brutalist and Rebuilding (Crystal Globe Competition at this year's KVIFF), among many others. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
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a day ago
- New York Times
Swiatek, Sabalenka and the Big Three: The best tennis rivalries elevate the players and the sport
ROLAND GARROS, PARIS — If Thursday's French Open semifinal between Iga Świątek and Aryna Sabalenka feels like a rare women's tennis heavyweight battle at a Grand Slam, that's because it is. Świątek and Sabalenka have been the two most dominant WTA players of this decade, winning eight slams between them. But this is only their second meeting at a major, the first coming three years ago at the U.S. Open, before Sabalenka had won her first Grand Slam title. Since then, they have won 23 titles between them, including the U.S. Open that Świątek won in 2022, after beating Sabalenka in the semifinals. Advertisement It's not just Świątek and Sabalenka who have met relatively rarely at the slams. Add Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina, the other two most successful players over the past few years, and there have been just 10 Grand Slam matches between the four since the start of 2022. Compare that with the three and a half seasons when the men's Big Four — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray — were at their peak, between Wimbledon 2009 and the end of 2012, in which time they met 24 times, plus two at the Olympic Games. This matters not because Świątek, Sabalenka, Gauff and Rybakina should be asked to match the ridiculous standards of that famed quartet. It matters because the greatest tennis rivalries, played out at the Grand Slams, define and elevate the sport around the world. 'It's massive,' 19-time Grand Slam singles champion Martina Navratilova said of the impact of rivalries in a recent phone interview. 'It just takes the sport to a different level when people get emotionally involved and identify with the player or the rivalry. You just get more into it. It makes it more personal.' Navratilova, together with Chris Evert, formed the greatest rivalry in the history of women's tennis. It encompassed a record 80 matches and 14 major finals, defining tennis through large swaths of the 1970s and 1980s. 'Rivalries are everything,' said seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander in an interview at Roland Garros this week. 'You don't have to meet 60 times like Novak (Djokovic) and Rafa (Nadal), but rivalry is what our sport is about.' The prospect of Swiatek vs. Sabalenka developing into the epochal rivalry that it has been threatening to become over the past few years is tantalizing, with the makings of a long-running battle for supremacy. Świątek, the cerebral and at times whimsical juggernaut capable of 30-plus win streaks and over 120 weeks at world No. 1, against Sabalenka, the light-hearted but ferociously powerful hard-court champion who has for now assumed top spot in the world rankings. Advertisement Świątek has five Grand Slams, including four French Opens, while Sabalenka has three major titles to her name. Of active players, only Naomi Osaka, with four, has won this kind of number — and she's struggled to get anywhere near that level since returning to the sport last year after giving birth to her first child. The WTA launched a full rebrand earlier this year, in a bid to add to the profile of its players. But for all the money, sponsorships and eyeballs marketing can bring, the biggest boon it could get would be the blossoming of a proper rivalry at the top of the sport. While the Big Four and then Big Three era provided an accessible, lucrative gateway into men's tennis for more than 15 years, women's tennis has been missing a proper rivalry for decades. 'I first played pro tennis in 1991, when I was 15, and it was all about the rivalries,' former world No. 1 and three-time major winner Lindsay Davenport said during an interview at Roland Garros. 'We'd just lost Chrissy (Evert) about two years earlier and so there was this rivalry developing between Monica (Seles) and Steffi (Graf). And that was amazing until it wasn't.' Graf won six matches in a four-year, 10-match rivalry that ebbed and flowed until 1993, when an obsessed fan of Graf stabbed Seles in the back at an event in Hamburg, Germany. Seles missed two years of tennis, and when she returned, Graf won four of the five matches they played. 'Women's tennis had been used to that, with Chris and Martina for all those years and then it became Monica and Steffi,' said Davenport, who's covering his year's French Open for TNT Sports. 'Then there was nobody who could really challenge Steffi when Monica was out. They tried to with Arantxa (Sanchez Vicario) and then the rest of the decade never really took off — it felt like there were too many different players winning. Advertisement 'Then all of a sudden the Williams sisters came, but that was a tricky rivalry because no one had ever really seen sisters have to battle it out. And then there were (Justine) Henin and (Kim) Clijsters for a little bit, but it doesn't feel like we've had that real huge rivalry like the men have had with the Big Three. So establishing that again would be important for the sport.' Because of how dominant Serena Williams was, she had very few proper rivals. 'Women's tennis hasn't had a Grand Slam rivalry really since Steffi Graf and Monica Seles 30 years ago and hasn't had a proper on-court rivalry since Serena Williams vs. Justin Henin. That's a long time between drinks,' said one former WTA executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships. 'The lack of rivalries is affecting the visibility of the sport,' they added. The same executive added during the French Open: 'It's great that this match is happening but it needs to be a final … Women's tennis needs multiple Slam winners ranked No. 1 and No. 2, playing each other for the biggest prizes, with the outcome totally in doubt and fans speculating who will win.' Tim Crow, the former head of international sports marketing agency Synergy, called rivalries 'critical' to marketability in a phone interview in January, and cited the examples of Federer and Nadal, Evert and Navratilova, and rivalries in football like Barcelona and Real Madrid. 'In individual sports, classic rivalries are like gold dust,' said sports marketing consultant Nigel Currie. 'Great rivalries tend to attract a wider audience as it's an entry point for those who are perhaps interested but not passionate about a particular sport. It gives them knowledge about a sport that otherwise they wouldn't have.' Rivalries are so compelling because in pushing players to their sporting limits, they also reveal elements of players' personalities. Kim Clijsters, a former world No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion, had a couple of significant rivalries during her playing career. One was with her compatriot Henin, in which the narrative centered on how different and distant the two were. Clijsters, the outgoing one from the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium; Henin, the more clinical Francophone. Clijsters also had many seismic matches with Serena Williams, including one at the 2009 U.S. Open in which Williams was defaulted for verbally abusing a line judge. Advertisement 'Rivalries are super important — for the fans, for the tournaments. There was a rivalry between Justine and me, but there was also a rivalry between the Belgians and the Williams sisters,' Clijsters said during an interview this week. 'I love seeing that. I love the emotions that come out. Seeing a player who's having that experience of being really nervous — it wasn't fun when I was playing Justine, but when I see players going through it now, that's what it's all about. That's the beauty of tennis.' Rivalries also have the effect of lifting players' level, raising the overall standard of the sport. One of the reasons the Big Three were so dominant for so long was that they created an ouroboros of tennis supremacy. The more they played one another, the more they separated themselves from the pack. 'Anybody that you play that has different tennis characteristics that are better than yours is great,' Clijsters said. 'I played Serena the first time in 1999. I realized: 'Holy moly, she hits the ball hard.' Against Venus, OK, I can't teach my wingspan to be better, but the way that she was able to move side to side, I'd never experienced that. 'Playing against Justine, especially here, the chip that she had with the return. Those things didn't come naturally to me. I wanted to work on that, and comparing to another athlete can sometimes be bad, but it can also be really good, because it can push you to show your weaknesses and where you want to improve. 'Everybody teaches you different things, especially the losses.' Clijsters believes Świątek's and Sabalenka's level will go up significantly from playing one another. Former world No. 5 Daniela Hantuchová agrees, and said in an interview that players often spend time in pre-season specifically working on elements of their game to counter a rival. She said that she would often think about how she could improve to live with Serena Williams. Sabalenka and Świątek both spoke Tuesday about how they know they need to be at their best to beat each other. 'Every time I face her, I get better, and she forces me to get better,' Sabalenka said in a news conference at the Australian Open in January, where they could have met in the final. 'She also motivates me to work really hard and to get better.' Advertisement Clijsters believes Świątek has already made small adjustments for Sabalenka, like playing with a less extreme forehand grip to give herself a bit more time. And perhaps against the world No. 1 Thursday, Świątek will step back a bit to return serve — as she was forced to do against another elite opponent in Rybakina a few days ago, illustrating the point about how playing the best forces you to evolve and improve. 'They elevate you because you have to play better,' said Navratilova. 'You have to be close to your best to beat the other one. Because they're not going to give it to you. In tennis you can only play great if the other player forces you to play great, because you can only hit great shots if they force you to hit great shots.' So what makes a great tennis rivalry? Navratilova believes in a relatively even head to head, with fairly frequent matches. A contrast in personalities and game styles helps too: Evert vs. Navratilova, Borg vs. McEnroe, Federer vs. Nadal and Andre Agassi vs. Pete Sampras were all characterized in this way. A bit of needle is generally an easy sell. Agassi and Sampras didn't get on, nor in the early days did Federer have much time for Djokovic, while McEnroe and Jimmy Connors largely loathed one another. There was no love lost in the non-rivalry between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, whom Williams beat in 20 of their 22 meetings. But Federer and Nadal's relationship was defined by mutual respect, ditto Borg and McEnroe. Evert and Navratilova got on so well that in the early 1980s, Nancy Lieberman, the groundbreaking women's basketball star, told Navratilova that to be successful, she had to feel hostility towards her rival. The advice worked, as Navratilova went on a run of 13 wins a row against Evert. Having gotten so close emotionally, Evert realised that the friendship was a problem when Navratilova started winning more often. 'I had to tell her, I can't play doubles with you. It's affecting my singles,' Evert said in an interview at Wimbledon last year. Advertisement Then there's the Williams sisters, which never really worked as a rivalry because of how close they were and the awkwardness that seemed to throw up when they faced one another. Świątek and Sabalenka sit somewhere in the middle. They have become closer after hitting together at the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia last year, before performing a dance that Sabalenka shared on TikTok. The pair hit together ahead of the French Open, and Sabalenka said Tuesday: 'I think everything started when I just came to her and asked to do the TikTok in Riyadh. Since that, we were, like, 'OK, maybe we can communicate, we can be good to each other, we can practice sometimes.' Irrespective of how well they get on, many are hoping that this can be another great rivalry in the sport. Navratilova believes their nationalities could be a stumbling block, pointing to the fact that as a Belarusian, Sabalenka can't even have a flag next to her name. 'They're not from the quote-unquote, right countries,' Navratilova said. Sabalenka's nationality has been acknowledged as an obstacle in her achieving her full commercial potential, with her brand deals not yet commensurate with her status in the sport alongside Świątek. Otherwise, 'It's got all the ingredients,' Navratilova said. 'I think frequency is what's lacking, particularly at the majors.' Thursday's meeting is long overdue. (Top photos: Li Jing / Xinhua, Antonio Borga / Eurasia Sport via Getty Images; design: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic)
