23/10/2017 - The industry section of the 21st edition of the documentary festival offers a wide selection of workshops, lectures and networking opportunities

Visited by more than 1,000 members of the film industry every year, the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival (24-29 October 2017) industry programme is well-known for its wide range of industry activities. At the 21^st edition of the festival, as in previous years, a series of presentations, meetings, screenings, talks and other activities will be organised, aimed at film professionals working in all stages of filmmaking. This years focus will be on financing documentaries, the influence of Netflix on European art cinema, and industry and VR trends to name but a few.

The second session of the 15^th edition of the Ex-Oriente Film Workshop will feature 12 documentary projects in development and production. Established in 2003 as an international training programme for supporting the development and funding of documentary films from Central and Eastern Europe, participants of the three week-long residential workshops, over the course of the year, are tutored by a wide range of film experts, each focusing on a different section of development. Further details can be found here, and information about Ex-Oriente 2018 can be found here.

Completed films are screened at East Silver market, the first documentary market of its kind aimed at producers and distributors from Central and Eastern Europe. Organised by the Institute of Documentary Film, the market will screen 280 films from more than 29 countries from 24 to 29 October. An online database of the most recent Eastern European documentary productions can be found here. The market also includes East Silver Caravan, a support tool for the promotion and screening of its documentary selection, reaching over 130 prestigious international film festivals and markets. More information can be found here. 

Bringing together talented European documentary film producers, promotional and educational project Emerging Producers is becoming more and more acclaimed and well-known each year. The aim of connecting the 17 European producers and a producer from a guest country, along with providing them with educational, networking and promotional support is to help them establish contacts with producers from other countries. The complete list of this year’s participants can be found here. A public presentation of all 18 participants will be held on Thursday, 26 October.

A platform for emerging film professionals from Visegrad countries, the 5^th edition of Visegrad Accelerator will offer a series of discussions and other events about the state of filmmaking, the film industry, VR and the gaming industry in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. With the aim of discovering and supporting new talents and accelerating their creative growth, it creates an environment in which filmmakers can get support for their documentary projects, present their producer’s vision, develop European co-productions, share experiences and discuss their needs in a relaxed, creative and non-competitive environment. Further info and links to previous editions can be found here. 

Lastly, the festival’s industry section will also feature the Ji.hlava Academy (26 to 29 October, read more here), the Inspiration Forum (26 to 28 October, read more here), the Conference Fascinations (25 to 26 October, read more here) and networking platform Festival Identity (from 26 to 27 October, read more here).