Jihlava Welcomes the International Documentary Film Festival

Ji.hlava Festival is an exciting event focusing on original documentaries and is the biggest celebration of its type in Central and Eastern Europe. It serves as a platform for finding new filmmakers and hidden gems in the film world, where the lines between documentary, fiction, and experimental film are often blurred. Over the years, the Jihlava festival has made a mark in both the Czech and international documentary landscape. This year, the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival will feature fresh documentaries from the Czech Republic and around the world, including retrospectives, experimental films, programming for children and teens, as well as theatre performances, concerts, and literary readings. This year, a special Award for contribution to world cinema will be given to a Bolivian film group called Grupo Ukamau, which has been active in using film as a means for social change.

The jingle for this year’s 29th edition of the Ji.hlava IDFF has been crafted by the acclaimed Ukrainian director Serhiy Loznitsa. He mentioned that the piece reflects moments from current events in Ukraine. The ongoing war adds daily suffering and destruction for the nation and its inhabitants. It’s crucial for Russia to be halted, as this affects the future of all of Europe. This year’s South Head will also introduce a unique showcase of film collectives and a varied Inspiration Forum, with notable guests, including former Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov.

Tsai Ming-liang will return to the South to make a film

The renowned Taiwanese filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang will be coming back to Jihlava after his appearance last year, where he received the Award for Contribution to Cinematography. During this year’s festival, he intends to produce a film as part of his famous “walking films” series and will debut it here. Tsai Ming-liang is among Asia’s most celebrated directors and frequently showcases his work at prestigious festivals like Cannes, Venice, and Berlin. His visit to last year’s festival sparked ideas for making a film that has won numerous awards. It’s a significant honor for South Head and the Czech Republic, which joins nations like Hong Kong, Malaysia, France, and the USA, where Tsai has previously worked. Tsai Ming-liang elegantly bridges the gap between cinema and fine arts. He has created many installations for contemporary galleries and museums, but his true origins are in filmmaking. He values the support from the Czech Republic toward Taiwan.

The filming will be conducted during the festival. Students from FAMU will take on important roles within the Faculty’s mentorship initiative. Editing will be done at the FAMU Studio, with the final film projected at the festival on Saturday, November 1. The film’s production has been financially backed by the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture.

What will be the Czech joy in Jihlava?

This year’s popular Czech Joy section will showcase 18 films from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. One of these is By the Earth directed by Tomáš Elšík. Straddling the line between a lyrical essay and an environmental mystery, this film captures the quiet changes in the Czech landscape with remarkable sensitivity. Klára and her dogs search for toxins harming endangered birds, while Pavel manually caretakes spring meadows and rehabilitates wetlands suffering from drought and deforestation.

The second premiere at South Head this year is the feature-length documentary titled What about Petya? by Martin Trabalík. This film chronicles three years in the life of a widowed father, Petr Jocek, who becomes the sole caregiver for his teenage children, daughter Vanessa and son Peter, who faces serious autism spectrum disorder. Through observational storytelling, it illustrates the family’s everyday battle for a normal life, sheds light on the often invisible work caregivers do, addresses limitations of social support, and highlights the strength of family connections.

A comedy film titled Is It Worth It!? by Jan Strejcovsky will take viewers behind the scenes of the art market. The film features well-known figures such as EPOS 257, Zdeněk Sklenář, Jiří David, René Rohan, Olga Trčková, and Dante Daniel Hartl—artists, gallery owners, and collectors—exploring the tension between genuine art and its market value. It captures their daily interactions, intense creative expressions, and the sometimes absurd situations that illustrate how delicate the balance is between artistic freedom and monetary influence.

The world premiere of the documentary Amoosed: an elk odyssey will take place in Ji.hlava. Director and ethnozoologist Hana Nováková embarks on a journey tracking elks and the “elk people” across various regions—from the mysterious moose in the former Czechoslovakia to Russia, where efforts to domesticate them are ongoing, including the Swedish safaris showing elks living among humans, and Nova Scotia in Canada, where the indigenous Mi’kmaq people revere the moose as a sacred totem animal. Initially, the director viewed the transformative potential of moose and the people connected to them as a story she alone controlled. Ultimately, she realized that it’s really the moose—and the journey itself—that lead and transform her;

The Reverse Face of America, Gaza and Artificial Intelligence at Ji.hlava IDFF

Every year, Ji.hlava features thought-provoking international films. One notable film, Hostel America, directed by Norwegian director Monica Strømdahl, follows the life of a 12-year-old boy living in a motel room with his parents who struggle with alcohol addiction. This film provides a heartfelt insight into childhood and growing up in an environment where poverty and alcoholism shape one’s daily life, showing that even love cannot change their situation for the better. This compelling film about America’s hidden struggles was showcased at the esteemed CPH:DOX festival in Denmark and will be presented in Ji.hlava within the non-competitive section called Constellations.

Another film titled Libraries, directed by American filmmaker Kim A. Snyder, highlights the brave librarians in states such as Texas and Florida who actively oppose censorship and book bans that focus on LGBTQ+ issues and race. Despite threats and the possibility of losing their jobs, these librarians are committed to promoting the freedom to read. This film received multiple nominations at the Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. and will be screened in the competition section called Testimonies. The documentary titled Bigger than the Sky by Italian director Valerio Jalongo, known for blending science, art, and philosophy, delves into the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence. It explores the implications of technology on human identity and questions whether collective intelligence can be developed to positively contribute to humanity. Featuring scenes in labs where 3D models of the human brain are created, the film examines interactions between people and humanoid robots learning to express emotions and interact with humans. This film will also be featured in the Testimonies section.

Addressing the ongoing issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the film What the hell kind of coexistence! by director Amber Fares features Israeli stand-up comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassi. Growing up in Wahat al-Salam-Neve Shalom, a village where Jews and Palestinians cohabit, her experiences drove her to engage in peace diplomacy, including working with the UN. However, she gradually recognized that traditional paths to peace are often ineffective and one-sided. Consequently, she chose to use humor as a means for change. In her shows, she addresses the absurdities of political situations in Israel, the normalization of ongoing occupation, and the inaction of the international community. This award-winning film from Sundance will be shown at Ji.hlava in the Testimonies section.

What about experiments? The Ji.hlava Festival will not disappoint you

This year, the International Competition Fascination includes 24 films and offers a rich variety of contemporary experimental cinema from around the globe. As usual, emerging talents will share the stage with established names in the world of experimental film, presenting current audiovisual innovation and exploration. This section features both personal and political films from countries including the USA, Canada, Japan, Italy, Finland, South Korea, Spain, Hungary, India, Germany, Austria, Croatia, Portugal, Tunisia, and Slovakia, showcasing a range of artistic styles. Highlights include the poetic piece Solstice (dir. Masha Vlasova), a South Korean film titled 11:22 (dir. Yi Myun), which depicts the events surrounding the local president’s impeachment on April 4, 2025, Italy’s Transparency (dir. Mario Blaconà), which engages with themes related to concentration camp walls, and I think I said “yes” (dir. Pere Ginard), which merges found footage with animation into an abstract storyline.

Czech experimental cinema will take center stage in the competition section Fascination: exprmntl.cz, featuring 13 films. This year’s selection stands out as a journey through time: integrating contemporary techniques, like AI, with classic 16mm film experimentation. The section offers a glimpse into current independent Czech filmmaking with a range of works, from introspective reflections to provocative social commentary. Noteworthy entries include The Totalitarian Society of the Image by Zbyněk Baladrán, as the third part of his trilogy focused on representation, art, and politics. Another significant work is How Not to Remember Our Bodies, by Lucie Rosenfeld, which dives into the historical archives of reproductive and abortion politics during socialist Czechoslovakia, juxtaposing these with better-known aspects of global “pro-choice movements.” This section also introduces several female artists making their debut from film and art schools.