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.

An international film festival in the Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary has kicked off amid controversy following a protest by Ukraine against the screening of a Russian movie.

SYDNEY Geoffrey Rush's lawyer has told an Australian appeals court that a judge was "well and truly justified" in concluding Rush was unable to work after he was defamed in newspaper articles in 2017. The actor's lawyer Bret Walker on Tuesday rejected a publisher's submission to the three Federal Court judges hearing an appeal that the defamation trial judge Michael Wigney heard no evidence that Rush had been unable to work and had fewer job offers as a result of the articles. The publisher is appealing Wigney's ruling that Rush had been defamed by newspaper reports that he had been accused of inappropriate behavior by an actress. The publisher is also appealing against the size of Rush's a 2.9 million Australian dollar ($2 million) payout.