The 22nd Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival (25-30 October) announced its winners last night.

As per tradition, a one-person jury decided on the Best World Documentary Film in the Opus Bonum section, and this year it was up to Krzysztof Zanussi. The great Polish filmmaker chose Belgian director Alexandra Kandy Longuet's Vacancy [+lire aussi :
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interview : Alexandra Kandy Longuet
fiche film] and said, “The film presents a collective portrait of a group of misfits in the middle of nowhere in the American desert. Using very disciplined film language, the rigorously photographed Vacancy reveals the existential tragedy of people living in loneliness and fighting despair."

The Special Mention was, somewhat surprisingly, given to a fiction feature, Talks with TGM, about conversations between former Czechoslovak president Masaryk and Karel Čapek. But if there is any controversy in this decision, it can be fully traced back to the festival for including it in the competition. “As a feature film, this work is so different from all of the documentary and experimental submissions in this section that it cannot compete as an equal. I admire the classical look, the consistent script and, most of all, the marvellous performance by both actors,” stated Zanussi.

In the Between the Seas section for Best Central and Eastern European Documentary, Timebox [+lire aussi :
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interview : Marek Kuboš
fiche film] by Marek Kuboš.

The Argentinian movie Owner's Portrait by Joaquín Maito was crowned Best Debut in the First Lights section, and Boy of War [+lire aussi :
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In the Czech Joy competition, Karel Žalud's Enclosed World won Best Czech Film, and two pictures received Special Mentions: Central Bus Station by Tomáš Elšík, and Solo for the Deputies and Senators by Tereza Bernátková.

The Audience Award went to Vote for Kibera [+lire aussi :
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Earlier in the week, awards were also given out in three specially curated sections first introduced in 2017. The Silence of Others [+lire aussi :
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interview : Almudena Carracedo, Esther…
fiche film] by Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar (Spain/USA) won in A Testimony on Politics, Maxim Pozdorovkin triumphed in A Testimony on Knowledge with The Truth About Killer Robots (USA), and Austrian filmmakers Florian Weigensamer and Christian Krönes picked up the award in A Testimony on Nature for Welcome to Sodom [+lire aussi :
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Here is the full list of award winners:

Opus Bonum

Best World Documentary 
Vacancy [+lire aussi :
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interview : Alexandra Kandy Longuet
fiche film] - Alexandra Kandy Longuet (Belgium)
Special Mention
Talks with TGM - Jakub Červenka (Czech Republic/Slovakia)

Between the Seas 

Best Central and East European Documentary Film 
Timebox [+lire aussi :
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Special Mention
The Last Self-portrait [+lire aussi :
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interview : Marek Kuboš
fiche film] - Marek Kuboš (Slovakia)

Between the Seas Student Film Competition

Winner
A Well-Kept Secret - Mihkel Oksmann (Estonia)
Special Mention
Heavy Metal - Eugene Golovanevsky (Ukraine)

Czech Joy

Best Czech Documentary Film 
Enclosed World - Karel Žalud (Czech Republic)
Special Mention
Central Bus Station - Tomáš Elšík (Czech Republic) 
Solos for Members of Parliament - Tereza Bernátková (Czech Republic)

Student Jury Award
Passengers - Jana Boršková (Czech Republic) 

Fascinations

Best Experimental Documentary Film 
Blending and Blinding - Richard Tuohy (Australia)
Special Mention
Soar - Patrick Bokanowski (France)

Fascinations: EXPRMNTL.CZ

Best Czech Experimental Documentary Film 
Apart - Diana Cam Van Nguyen (Czech Republic)
Special Mention
puddles, I don't know - Anna Petruželová (Czech Republic) 

First Lights

Best Feature-length Documentary Debut Film 
Owner's Portrait - Joaquín Maito (Argentina) 
Special Mention
Boy of War [+lire aussi :
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Student Jury Award
Boy of War - Cyprien Clément-Delmas, Igor Kosenko

Short Joy

Best Short Documentary Film 
The Holiday Inn-Side - Charby Ibrahim (Australia)

Best Testimony on Politics
The Silence of Others [+lire aussi :
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interview : Almudena Carracedo, Esther…
fiche film] - Almudena Carracedo, Robert Bahar (USA/Spain) 
Special Mention
Still Recording [+lire aussi :
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Best Testimony on Knowledge
The Truth about Killer Robots - Maxim Pozdorovkin (USA)

Best Testimony on Nature
Welcome to Sodom [+lire aussi :
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Audience Award 
Vote for Kibera [+lire aussi :
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Contribution to World Cinema Award
Jean-Luc Godard

Silver Eye Awards 

Feature-length category
When the War Comes [+lire aussi :
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Short category
Eight Images from the Life of Nastya Sokolova - Alina Kotova, Vladlena Sandu (Russia)
Special Mention
Lembri Uudu - Eeva Mägi (Estonia)

Best Festival Poster

Festival Identity
Taiwan International Documentary Festival

Audience Award
Academia Film Olomouc