Events kick off on 25 October with a discussion with Austrian producer Gabriele Kranzelbinder, the first recipient of the new Czech Audiovisual Producers’ Association World Excellence Award for outstanding documentary film production. Kranzelbinder will be joined by APA chairman Vratislav Slajer, president of Slovakia’s Association of Independent Producers Zuzana Mistrikova, Czech producer Radim Prochazka and Czech Film Fund board member Richard Nemec for a discussion on coproducing with Austria.

The issue of underrepresentation of CEE documentary films at international festivals gets a special discussion, with a new commitment by the Ji.hlava IDFF to monitor the situation. On the other side of the distribution spectrum, the Czech audiences for podcasts have blossomed in the past year, and a panel of Czech experts will offer information on how to take advantage of the new platform. Producers considering crowdfunding will hear from Marek Loskot, a marketing expert specialising in crowdfunding.

Ji.hlava's first major foray as a destination for industry was with the Ex Oriente Film programme. Ex Oriente has moved its pitching sessions, but still hosts a workshop for its participants during the festival. The programme will offer a series of presentations open to accredited festival attendees, with five days of masterclasses and lectures covering a range of topics including legal issues, PR campaigns and budgeting.

A highlight for industry attendees is the Emerging Producers public presentations, with 18 documentary producers sharing information on their projects, after several days of intensive networking. Equally large crowds are expected at the presentation of the Silver Eye Awards ceremony for films selected for the East Silver Market. It will be accompanied by presentations from representatives of nine festivals.

More information on each of the sections within the festivals industry programme is available at https://www.ji-hlava.com/ji-hlava-industry.