Nick Cunningham

'La Jetée, the Fifth Shot' by Dominique Cabrera was awarded the Golden Dove in International Competition Documentary. The Golden Dove Short Film went to celebrated British experimental filmmaker John Smith for 'Being John Smith,' while The Silver Dove Long Film, given to the best feature-length documentary film by an up-and-coming director, was won by Pierre Michel Jean for 'Twice Into Oblivion.' All awards…

The awards of the the 28th Ji.hlava IDFF, extended to 10 days in 2024, were handed out November 2. The Main Award in the Opus Bonum Competiton went to Ms President by Slovak director Marek Šulík, which chronicles Zuzana Čaputová’s five years as the Slovak Head of State. Ms President opened the festival on October 25. The Main Award in the Czech Joy section went to Tomáš Hlaváček for The Impossibility. All winners…

This year's Docs for Sale catalogue showcases a fresh slate of 331 films from more than 81 countries. Several distinct themes and approaches emerge in the line-up, “including the complicated relationship between man and nature, the fragility of ecosystems, and the effects of climate change,” write organisers. During the festival, Docs for Sale will once again take place at Felix Meritis from November 16 to 20.

Top German archive producer Monika Preischl filled in Business Doc Europe on the significant benefits to the wider industry now that international producers (doc and fiction) can access materials from the Film department of the German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv) for little more than a small admin fee. This includes all its 2WW and Nazi footage and the likes of Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will. (Preischl was archive producer on Andres Veiel’s Riefenstahl, which world-premiered at Venice 2024.)

Eight industry awards were presented 31 October to the most promising projects participating in the Ji.hlava New Visions Forum 2024. In total, thirty projects from Europe, United States and East & Southeast Asia in development, production and post-production were presented. The winners received cash and in-kind awards in accordance with the partners of Ji.hlava IDFF.

The Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival and Czech entrepreneur Jan Barta have joined forces to support outstanding auteur filmmaking from Central and Eastern Europe with the launch of the Ji.hlava/JB Films support scheme. Three recipients of support totalling €110,000 were announced October 30 during the Industry Days of the 28th Ji.hlava IDFF.

In Natalia Pietsch and Grzegorz Piekarski’s feature project, a Kurdish shepherdess and an Arab barber face the consequences of a decision to flood their historic town of Hasankeyf (Kurdistan) after the construction of a massive dam. “This project is vital because it reveals the hidden impact of geopolitical control on human lives and culture,” Polish producer Katarzyna Kostecka tells BDE. “International audiences will connect with its universal themes of cultural loss, human resilience, and the consequences of state-driven displacement.”

In Ketevan Vashagashvili’s debut feature doc project, set for delivery in early 2025, a homeless Georgian woman becomes a surrogate mother in a desperate attempt to secure a brighter future for her daughter. What starts as a quick way to earn money transforms into an emotional and physical sacrifice, testing the limits of a mother’s love. “The impact campaign will aim to bring attention to the urgent need for stronger regulations in the surrogacy industry, both in Georgia and in the countries where intended parents come from,” producer Sylvia Nagel tells BDE.

Estonian director and German co-producer Dirk Manthey pitched their feature doc work-in-progress about the child of an eco-activist who, ten years after director Lillak first encountered her, is now struggling to cope with the intensity of her upbringing. “I think it is a timely project because it gives voice to the generation that is dealing with an enormous baggage. Baggage of climate anxiety, guilt and rage,” she tells BDE.

Anja Reiss and Jann Anderegg’s Traces of Responsibility offers a multi-perspective exploration of the origins and aftermath of the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda. In the interactive film, the audience is taken on a journey through modern-day Rwanda but can, at strategic points, choose from the film’s numerous editorial lines, whether they be first-hand testimony, modern-day analyses of events, the trial of a war criminal, or expressions of hope for the future by Rwandan youth.