The 25th anniversary edition of the Ji.hlava IDFF presented its awards October 30. The live edition ends October 31 will continue online through to November 14 with more than 100 films. The festival announced that in 2022 it will present an extensive showcase of Filipino documentary cinema.
OPUS BONUM COMPETITION
Opus Bonum, a section representing contemporary international documentary production, showed a selection of sixteen films. The six-member jury awarded Best Doc to Lines by Barbora Sliepková. “For the exceptional way in which concepts such as beauty, intimacy and space are intertwined through a specific cinematic framework that unanimously pushed us to reflect on the visual representation of social and economic contradictions and connections within an urbanised society,” said the jury. Sliepková also won the Best Debut award. “For achieving a complex and perfectly well crafted work,” added the jury. The authors of the winning film also receive a financial prize of 10,000 USD.
The section’s Special Mention went to When You Are Close to Me by Italian director Laura Viezzoli.
The jury also awarded the Best Film from the region of Central and Eastern Europe to Romanian director Sebastian Mihăilescu for his film You Are Ceaușescu to Me. “For playfully reconstructing Romanian history by making use of reenactment to analyze those staging it in a self reflective narrative,” said the jury statement. The authors of the winning film also receive a financial prize of 3,000 EUR in cooperation with the festival’s partner – Current Time TV.
A Special Mention in this category was obtained by Belarusian director Andrei Kutsila for his film When Flowers Are Not Silent.
The Best Edition Award in the Opus Bonum section went to Dark Light Voyage by Mexican director Tin Dirdamal. “For taking us through this cinematographic trip in which time and space merge to challenge the traditional documentary form,” said the jury.
The Best Cinematography Award was taken home by Barbu Bălăşoiu for You Are Ceausescu To Me. “For creating a simple lively relationship between the space and the characters which was able to frame very difficult historical and political story,” appreciated the jury.
The award for Original Approach went to Chinese director Rikun Zhu for his film No Desire to Hide. “This film that took us with a raw and uncompromising approach to knowing the debts of the intimacy of the young Chinese generation,” said the jury in their statement.
The winner of the Best Sound Design is Michal Horváth for the film Lines. “For the way in which the sound and music are combined, revealing this urban symphony,” said the jury.
The Student Jury Award in the Opus Bonum section went to Portuguese director Pedro Figueiredo Neto for his film YOON. “The student jury selected a film that shows several journeys, both geographical and mental, that the protagonist undergoes. The film takes us on a journey using subtle, almost invisible, camerawork, the atmosphere enhanced with incessant voice messages. This is a film that has a journey in its title,” concluded the student jury.
EAST SILVER MARKET
The Silver Eye Award 2021 for the Best Feature film of the East Silver Market, granted annually by the Institute of Documentary Film at the Ji.hlava IDFF went to director Sasha Kulak for her film Mara. “The jury has unanimously decided to award a film that elaborates mythology to confront an urgent political context with bravery unifying the fight for freedom and the constitution of beauty,” said the jury composed of Rebecca De Pas (Visions du Réel), Maarten Stoltz (Movies That Matter) and Cintia Gil (Film Curator).
Special Mention went to Orpheus by Vadim Kostrov. “For seeing the risk of experiencing with life and filmmaking in modern Russia, the Jury has decided to give the Special mention to Orpheus by Vadim Kostrov,“ concluded the jury.
Sounds of Weariness by Taymour Boulos is the winner of the Short Film category. “We’re awarding the film that reminds us of the importance of having public spaces, which serve as a meeting hub for human interaction where you can share your own experiences and ideas with others. An intimate and personal reflection is told in a subtle way, adding to the contemporary discussion about migration and mental health issues. The winning film’s aesthetic of using a floating camera helps to create an overall outstanding audiovisual piece,” stated the jury.
CZECH JOY SECTION
Czech Joy showcased nineteen Czech documentary films. The Best Czech Documentary is Brotherhood by Italian director Francesco Montagner. “The microcosm of a Bosnian pastoral family surprisingly opens up topics that impact all of us. Without being literal or making the slightest compromises in audiovisual expression,” said the six-member jury including the winner of last year’s Czech Joy section, Jindřich Andrš, and journalist Marie Sýkorová. The authors of the winning film also receive a financial prize of CZK 200,000.
Two Special Mentions were granted in this section: Zuzana Piussi for her film Ordeal and
Milan Klepikov for his film Preparations for Film T.
The Best Editing award went to Jana Vlčková for the film Out in Force directed by Martin Mareček. “A careful composition of contradictory meanings forms a debate that cannot be ignored. May the Force be with documentary editors,” concluded the section’s jury.
The Best Sound Award was given to Viera Marinová for her Love, Dad directed by Diana Can Van Nguyen. “An animated documentary calls for spectacular sound rendering. In a concept by Viera Marinová, fragility, sobriety, and creativity reign supreme.”
The Best Cinematography award in the Czech Joy section went to cinematographer Prokop Souček for Brotherhood. “Images created by Prokop Souček are proof he’s one of the best cinematographers of his generation. Using a visual intensity not commonly seen in documentary films, he allows us to immerse ourselves in the world of the film’s characters,” said the jury.
The Student Award went to Leaving Beginnings Behind by Linda Kallistová Jablonská. “Out of all the films we had the opportunity to see, the documentary Leaving Beginnings Behind appealed to us the most. It’s a film that managed to tell with incredible ease an otherwise highly fascinating story of hope and the future. Through the camera lens, we had the chance to witness the world of those who wish to live their dream freely, which we’re often separated from by an extremely difficult journey,” agreed the student jury members.
FASCINATIONS SECTION
The most remarkable documentary film in the Fascinations section is the Australian film In and Out a Window by Richard Tuohy and Dianna Barrie. “Intense light impulses have an immediate effect, inducing an incredible physiological experience. The intoxicating vibrations of the image attack and trigger feelings of anxiety, claustrophobia, vertigo… Even a beautiful view from a window becomes unbearable. Locked in our homes we each wished for it to be over. It’s good to know that the film has an end… Let this pandemic time also have an end,” said the jury composed of filmmaker Daria Kashcheeva and script editor and film editor Alexander Kashcheev.
EXPRMNTL.CZ SECTION
The Best Czech Experimental title in the Fascinations: Exprmntl.cz is the title Beautiful Solution by director and composer Elišká Cílková. “The director poses a burning environmental question: can we achieve climate balance without aggressive practices? Through the composition of gentle terrain sound atmospheres and the poetic visual structure of the work, she offers the possibility of a harmonious return to natural processes,” claimed the jury.
TESTIMONIES SECTION
The Testimonies section showed nineteen films. The jury granted the title of best testimony on nature to How to Kill a Cloud by Finnish director Tuija Halttunen. “The film wisely connects all the thematic lines drawn by this year’s Testimonies section: nature, politics, and knowledge. Through the story of Finnish meteorologist Hannele Korhonen, we follow efforts to influence natural events as well as the contradictory ethical dimension of political and scientific dilemmas, which often transcend the limits of our own imagination. However, the answers to foreboding questions remain written in the clouds,” says the jury statement.
Special Mentions went to From the Wild Sea by Danish director Robin Petré; The Dark Red Forest by Chinese directorJin Huaqing and Gorbachev.Heaven directed by Vitaly Mansky.
The Contribution to World Cinema Award this year goes to director Jana Ševčíková who is currently finishing her eighth film. “Jana Ševčíková has been ahead of her time. She always clung to her own independence and made films exclusively in her own production, even at a time when this was far from common. Her deep empathy, dedication to the film form, liveliness and authentic humanism run through her entire film work and are an adornment not only of Czech and not only of ethnographic film,” said Ji.hlava fest director Marek Hovorka.
This year’s Audience Award went to Heaven directed by Adéla Špaljová and Tomáš Etzler.
The Award for the Best Short doc in the Short Joy section went to director Maria Rojas Arias for her film Open Mountain.
The Best Documentary Book Award went to The Taste of Mulberries / Travel Message of the Wizard’s Apprentice byMiloslav Nevrlý.
The Festival Identity Award was this year won by One World Film Festival. The award for the Best Festival Poster went to Istanbul Film Festival.
