10/10/2024 - The largest Czech documentary gathering will showcase over 340 films and is bracing to welcome renowned filmmakers like Kirsten Johnson, Tsai Ming-liang and Roberto Minervini

The 28th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival (25 October-3 November) will be extended to run for a full ten days, for the first time ever. The festival will screen over 340 films, including 129 world, 23 international and 11 European premieres. “The Ji.hlava programme shows the extraordinary power of documentary film. Documentary filmmakers replace the literalness of reality with playfulness and originality of thought. They show us the world as we could hardly see it ourselves – unless, like them, we would like to spend long years with a camera in those places,” says Marek Hovorka, the festival’s director.

The competition sections continue to showcase a broad spectrum of contemporary themes and styles. The Opus Bonum strand, known for highlighting global trends in documentary filmmaking, features 13 films, among them Tomasz Wolski’s A Year in the Life of a Country [+see also:
interview: Tomasz Wolski
film profile] (Poland), which explores Poland's 1981 state of emergency through archival footage; I'm Not With You [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Olivier Dury and Marie-Violaine Brincard, a French movie set in a psychiatric hospital, offering intimate glimpses into the lives of its patients; the Slovak documentary Ms. President [+see also:
film review
interview: Marek Šulík
film profile] by Marek Šulík, mapping the presidency of the first female Slovak president; and Filip Remunda’s Happiness to All [+see also:
film review
interview: Filip Remunda
film profile] (Czech Republic/Netherlands/France), following an avowed patriot from Novosibirsk who gradually changes his mind about Putin's Russia. More movies will be vying for the main prize, including Tudor Platon’s An Almost Perfect Family [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Romania), Softly Brutal by Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine (France), Ceylan Özgün Özçelik’s Strange Abandoned Deranged (UK/Turkey), and Laila Pakalnina’s Termini [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laila Pakalnina
film profile] (Latvia).

The First Lights section, celebrating first and second features, provides a platform for emerging filmmakers, and will introduce Me + You by Romy Mana and Zohra Benhammou, a Belgian story of two sisters navigating profound change; Sophia Gera’s film diary Cognition Trilogy: Separation [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Ukraine), which emerges not only as a record of creative development and searching, but also as a depiction of the painful journey to get to know one's inner self; and Marie Dvořáková’s portrait of an American Dream achieved by a Czech photographer, World Between Us [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Czech Republic/Slovakia). Other titles in First Lights are Grey Zone by Daniela Meressa Rusnoková (Slovakia), Miriam Bajtala’s Becoming Outline (Austria) and Comrades by Joanna Janikowska (Italy/Poland).

The Czech Joy competition, dedicated to the latest in Czech documentary cinema, includes Jan Gebert’s Confrontation, about restorative justice; Tomáš Merta’s portrait of his father Jan Merta, one of the most important living painters, Echt – The Art of Jan Merta; and Pit Stop Reporter by Zora Čápová, which follows an investigative journalist’s struggles dealing with disinformation and the people who create it. Other domestic titles premiering at the festival are Alice Růžičková’s Jungle/Placht, Scent Evidence by Zuzana Piussi (Czech Republic/Slovakia), and War Correspondent by Benjamin Tuček and David Čálek (Czech Republic/Slovakia/Ukraine), among others.

In addition to the screenings, the upcoming edition of the Ji.hlava IDFF will offer master classes with renowned filmmakers. Kirsten Johnson, who directed this year’s festival trailer, will share her thoughts on the evolution of film in the digital era. Tsai Ming-liang, a key figure in the Taiwanese New Wave, will discuss his approach to slow cinema, while Italian director Roberto Minervini will explore his blending of documentary and fiction techniques. Romanian director Andrei Ujică returns to Ji.hlava to present his latest work, TWSD: Things We Said Today [+see also:
film review
film profile], and to share his expertise in working with archival materials. The festival will present in-depth retrospectives, including a tribute to Swiss filmmaker Anne-Marie Miéville. Featuring ten of her works, this retrospective aims to bring her pioneering contributions to international audiences, highlighting her collaborations with Jean-Luc Godard as well as her own unique vision. Among the retrospectives is also a major showcase of the works of Vít Klusák and Filip Remunda, who spearheaded “provocumentaries” or “documockumentaries”. Finally, Ji.hlava’s Inspiration Forum will host discussions on topics such as digital technology’s impact on relationships, environmental activism and the effects of conflict.

The festival’s full line-up is available to peruse here.