Dear friends of documentary cinema,
We are thrilled to share with you the list of films selected for the 23rd Ji.hlava IDFF! You can nowbrowse through 277 films selected from 3700 submissions. The programme this year includes 91 world, 47 international and 17 European premieres. The screening schedule day by day is now online as well.
Cristi Puiu will select from nine Opus Bonum premieres
The Opus Bonum is the Ji.hlava's competition section, which presents the most noteworthy documentaries representing diverse trends from around the world. All nine films are significant and so the festival traditionally invites one juror - this year the renowned Romanian filmmaker Cristi Puiu - to pick one glowing work. Films from Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Madagascar, Palestine, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom have been selected. Read all about the films in competition here.
Six world and ten international premieres in Between the Seas
The Between the Seas section – the only competition focusing on the region of Central and Eastern Europe – will feature sixteen remarkable films from Belarus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. Apart from this main section, the Between the Seas student competition will again present mainly debuts by authors studying at the region’s film schools.
First Lights will introduce best documentary debuts
The First Lights section presents first feature-length documentaries by international filmmakers, with the aim of highlighting the search for new forms and the changing nature of subjects and styles. We focus on the works of emerging filmmakers, convinced that they will become a strong voice in documentary cinema. The section comprises debuts directed by five women and four men coming from very diverse film environments. Read all about the films in the competition here.
Ji.hlava’s official spot: After Godard, Dvortsevoy
We are proud that our official festival spots are keeping track record of being made by remarkable film directors. After Jóhann Jóhannsson, Godfrey Reggio or Jean-Luc Godard in 2018 we are honoured that the author of this year's festival spot is Kazakhstani director Sergey Dvortsevoy. The trailer consists of a single take: a look on the face of actress Samal Yeslam who won the best actress award in Cannes for her role in the latest Dvortsevoy’s feature film, Ayka. However, the scene in the spot is captured just by chance; the scene was not scripted, here Yeslam is being ‘just herself‘. The festival will present also a comprehensive retrospective of Dvortsevoy’s films.
Short Joy: Vote for the Best Short Film now!
Short Joy is a traditional competition section of Ji.hlava IDFF presenting the best short documentaries. This year again, we invite the public to become the jurors. Voting is possible viaDoc Alliance portal, where you can watch all the films in the competition online and for free until October 22 midnight (CEE time). The winner, which will be announced at the Ji.hlava's opening ceremony on October 24, is automatically eligible for the pre-selection in the Documentary Short Subject category of the Academy Awards®.
Virtual Reality at 23rd Ji.hlava, online reservations open
This year, Ji.hlava will again present the largest collection of virtual reality works in the Czech Republic, which reflects the dizzying pace of change in their design, as well as technological and visual qualities. You can look forward to linear 360° films which we present in a VR cinema in four curated programme blocks, and six interactive experiences that will be presented as installations. You can now make online reservations for the VR cinema. More information here.
Matchmaking Accelerator will help your networking
Over 1,100 film professionals are expected to arrive to the festival this year to the Ji.hlava’s richIndustry programme. From October 16 you can start planning your meetings in Ji.hlava via our matchmaking service. Simply turn to our matchmaking coordinator and we will advise you and suggest who you can meet. You can also visit our online Industry guide to see who and when is attending the festival.
Silver Eye Awards at Ji.hlava IDFF
Ji.hlava will see the eleventh Silver Eye Awards given by the Institute of Documentary Film to the best films from Central and Eastern Europe submitted to the East Silver Market. International juries will select winners in two categories: short- and feature-length. This year, 21 films (10 shorts and 11 features) were nominated from 1027 submitted films. Film professionals at Ji.hlava will be able to use the services of the East Silver video library consisting of almost 300 film titles.
