Ji.hlava IDFF’s Docu Talents from the East has announced its 2025 selection, which will, as is tradition, be presented at the Sarajevo Film Festival’s CineLink Industry Days (16-21 August).

The line-up includes seven projects in post-production, with their premieres expected between September 2025 and August 2026. They will be vying for two prizes: the €3,000 in-kind DAFilms.com Distribution Award, covering an international VoD release on DAFilms.com (including the Americas, Europe and Asia) for two years; and the Avanpost Post-production Award, comprising €25,000 worth of post-production services (colour grading, master file and DCP, plus eight days for grading in Baselight, among other benefits).

The jury comprises Martichka Bozhilova (Agitprop), Ben Dalton (Screen International), Nina Numankadić (DAFilms), Jarmila Outratová (Ji.hlava IDFF) and Steve Rickinson (Modern Times Review). The decision makers attending the festival will have the chance to see the presentations by the project directors and producers on Sunday 17 August, from 16:30-18:00, at the UNITIC building.

As for the projects themselves, Rati Tsiteladze is taking part with A Song without Home, an immersive journey that follows a young trans woman seeking freedom in Europe and her mother facing estrangement in Georgia. They are bound by love, longing and the search for self-liberation across divided worlds. Meanwhile, in Flying Cows by Vahagn Khachatryan and Aren Malakyan, a cow gives birth to a calf amidst the chaos of war. As villagers pack their belongings and flee their homes, the calf is sold to cattle traders and begins a journey from Armenia to Iraqi Kurdistan.

I Am One of Them by Nadim Suleiman follows a Syrian filmmaker and a Polish nationalist as they cross paths, beginning a complex journey of friendship, self-discovery and the struggle to bridge their differences. Nikola Klinger comes bearing Land of Fire: in the wilderness of British Columbia, a grieving father's quest for justice for his murdered daughter interweaves with local rituals of healing and demolition derby races.

Mladen Ivanović brings along Monument of Revolution, which homes in on the Monument of the Uprising of the Peoples of Banija and Kordun, one of the most significant monuments ever built in the region. Capturing both casual and intentional visitors throughout the seasons, this film shows its gradual decay. In Shut the Fuck Up! by Taisiia Kutuzova, when a 16-year-old activist from a village near Kyiv exposes local corruption on Facebook, he triggers a storm of threats and violence. As he runs for office under pressure, he must also confront a deeper personal struggle. Finally, Lala Aliyeva is partaking with Strange Sea: in the depths of the Caspian Sea, the whispers of its dark past intertwine with tales of ordinary life. Through a personal journey, the work paints an impressionistic portrait of Azerbaijan.

The full list of projects is below, and for more detailed descriptions of them, please click here.

Strange Sea - Lala Aliyeva (Azerbaijan/Georgia)
Producer: Aysel Akhundova

Monument of Revolution - Mladen Ivanović (Croatia)
Producer: Tamara Puizina

Flying Cows - Vahagn Khachatryan, Aren Malakyan (Armenia/Switzerland)
Producers: Vahagn Khachatryan, Irene Muñoz Martin

Land of Fire - Nikola Klinger (Czech Republic/Germany/Canada)
Producers: Kristina Husová, Jan Wilde, Taghreed Saadeh

Shut the Fuck Up! - Taisiia Kutuzova (Ukraine)
Producer: Alona Savchuk

I Am One of Them - Nadim Suleiman (Poland/Saudi Arabia)
Producer: Kasia Kuczyńska

A Song without Home - Rati Tsiteladze (Georgia)
Producer: Olga Slusareva