The Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival continues its tradition of championing new documentary talent through the Emerging Producers training programme. The initiative is a launchpad for budding producers, offering them networking opportunities with industry professionals. The class of 2025 showcases a compelling mix of voices engaging with global and personal themes, many exploring historical, social, and cultural issues.

A number of the selected producers delve into intricate narratives of political and social upheaval. Audrey-Ann Dupuis-Pierre (Portage Films) from this year's guest country Canada showed excerpts from her project in development Duty of Care (2027), about a grieving mother, following the 2020 wave of Black Lives Matter protests, while Miguel Eek (Mosaic Producciones) brought Amilcar, a poetic documentary 12 years in the making shedding light on the legacy of revolutionary Amílcar Cabral, which he directs. Vahagn Khachatryan (Oolik Productions) explores the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict’s impact in Flying Cows, which he co-directs with Aren Malakyan, telling the story of a calf born amidst geopolitical turmoil. Producers like Mariia Ponomarova take a hybrid approach to storytelling, with Fragile Memory [+lire aussi :
critique
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interview : Igor Ivanko
fiche film] (2022), co-produced with Slovakia. Meanwhile, Slovak producer Monika Lošťáková (Super Film) showed Tskaltubo (2025), a documentary in post-production about displacement in Georgia.

This year’s cohort embraces the creative possibilities within documentary filmmaking. Daniel Pereira, whose production company The Stone and the Plot also acts as a distribution company and a publishing house, presented a showreel of his previous projects, in both documentary and animation, while Ashley J. Smith (Sisyfos Film) introduced Elevated (2025), a documentary following autistic individuals fascinated by elevators. Furthering these explorations, Elise Hug (Alter Ego Production) showed excerpts from the time-lapse documentary Gabin, A Youth in the Backland (2026), which follows the protagonist from 8 to 18 years in a coming-of-age family saga. 

Danai Anagnostou (Kenno Filmi) presented Crocodile Seeds (2025), a collective project intersecting research, art, and cinema, now in financing. Slovenian producer Zoran Dževerdanovič (Blade Production) highlighted his project Quixotte’s Camera – 10 Letters from Beyond Light (2026), a documentary examining alternate ways of seeing. Loránd Balázs Imre (filmDOUGH Productions) introduced two projects in development: A Bee in My Mouth (2025), which he directs, and another, The Forest Glade (2026), both focused on themes of loss and mental health. German producer Michael Kalb (Michael Kalb Filmproduktion) shared details on Tracing Mother Lines (2025), a documentary on arranged marriages between European men and Asian women, seeking international distribution. Zofia Kujawska (Telemark) presented the documentary-road movie project in early production Inner Landscapes (2026). Danilo Lazovic (DOK33 Production) showed his film In the Capsule (2026), a work blending history, politics, and art centred on elusive film director Vlatko Gilic. Elena Martin (Manifest Film) is working on an action documentary about wood thieves titled Tooth and Nail (2025). Swiss producer Irene Muñoz Martin (Autre Terre) showed Subterranea (2027), a documentary exploring identity and eco-anxiety. Lastly, Czech producer Michal Sikora (Lonely Production) introduced Child of Dust (2025), about an unwanted child from the Vietnam War who finally meets his newly found father in the U.S, and nothing goes as expected.

Here is the full list of 2025 Emerging Producers, and their projects can be found here:

Vahagn Khachatryan (Armenia)
Production company: Oolik Productions

Michal Sikora (Czech Republic)
Production company: Lonely Production

Danai Anagnostou (Finland)
Production company: Kenno Filmi

Elise Hug (France)
Production company: Alter Ego Production

Michael Kalb (Germany)
Production company: Michael Kalb Filmproduktion

Loránd Balázs Imre (Hungary)
Production company: filmDOUGH Productions

Zofia Kujawska (Poland)
Production company: Telemark sp. z o.o.

Daniel Pereira (Portugal)
Production company: The Stone and the Plot

Elena Martín (Romania)
Production company: Manifest Film

Danilo Lazovic (Serbia)
Production company: DOK33 Production

Monika Lošťáková (Slovakia)
Production company: Super Film

Zoran Dževerdanović (Slovenia)
Production company: Blade Production

Miguel Eek Quesada (Spain)
Production company: Mosaic Producciones

Ashley Smith (Sweden)
Production company: Sisyfos Film

Irene Muñoz Martin (Switzerland)
Production company: Autre Terre

Luiza Paiva (UK)
Production company: Mairare LTD

Mariia Ponomarova (Ukraine/Netherlands)

Audrey-Ann Dupuis-Pierre (Canada – guest country)
Production company: Portage Films