Ji.hlava 24

Running October 29 to November 1, Industry Days highlights include the New Visions Forum and Market, the Emerging Producers presentation of 18 up-and-coming European film producers, the Festival Identity workshop and creative hub for film festival representatives, and the Matchmaking Accelerator during which 500+ one-on-one meetings will take place. And more…

BDE takes a closer look at Dmytro Hreshko’s documentary Divia, pitched at this year’s New Visions Forum, hosted by Jihlava 2024. The film, fully financed and currently in post-production, examines the environmental impact of Russia’s invasion on Ukraine. “It’s hard to put some emotions into words because most of them are inside this project,” said Hreshko. “It’s really personal, and it’s hard to realise how many natural resources have been destroyed, mined, or occupied by Russian military forces.”

The programme offers more than three hundred films and includes a revealing retrospective of Swiss filmmaker Anne Marie Miéville and a showcase of award-winning Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang. The festival will be attended by director Kirsten Johnson, the author of this year's Ji.hlava festival trailer, and directors Roberto Minervini, Albert Serra and Andrei Ujică. The 28th IDFF Ji.hlava will take place on October 25 – Nov 3.

Nardelli and La Rosa’s feature doc project is set in an isolated neighbourhood of Palermo, where three kids turn an abandoned building into a secret shelter. Together, they try to escape the violence of the outside world and share their dreams. “Here growing up means becoming part of a community wherein girls get pregnant at the age of 15, and boys drop out of school to get odd jobs or join the ranks of organised crime,” La Rosa told the Ji.hlava audience.

In addition to the already announced Opus Bonum & First Lights International Competitions, the Testimonies will offer “the most daring documentaries from the fields of politics, nature and knowledge.” Czech Joy features the national competition and Fascinations and exprmntl.cz focus on experimental films. Meanwhile, Constellations will present the best docs form leading world festivals this year. The Czech film fest runs October 25 to November 3.

Oscar-winning Czech director Marie Dvořáková felt a natural sense of identification with photographer Marie Tomanová, the subject of her exuberant new doc World Between Us (a world premiere this week in Ji.hlava’s Czech Joy section). Like Tomanová, she too had left the Czech Republic behind to pursue her artistic career in the bohemian melting pot of New York. “I think her story mirrors the stories of thousands of people, artists who came to New York to fulfil their dreams - and I am actually one of them!” Dvořáková tells BDE.

15 new European documentary projects will be presented at the 4th edition of New Visions Forum on October 30-31, held as part of the 28th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival. The Forum will feature projects in development as well as in production and post-production, and will include documentary features, series, hybrid, experimental, and shorts. Ji.hlava IDFF runs October 25 to November 3.

At Ji.hlava 2024, writer-producer-director Maté Konkol and producer Balász Zachar pitched their timely new doc project, titled Books Are Our Weapons. Set in Hungary, the feature delves into life within a socially committed student commune. “Today, we all feel that young adults are aware of living in a society ruled by patriarchy and capitalism. They want to change things and their ways of life,” says Konkol of the project that is nearing completion.

For five years, Slovak director Marek Šulík followed Zuzana Čaputová after she was elected President of her country in 2019. The politician initially took a little time to agree to the documentary, but her advisors and civil servants were all supportive from the word go. “I didn’t meet anybody who was angry or felt bad about my camera. Somehow, they understood this was a unique situation, that in Slovakia we had a woman in this post. It was special, valuable and needed to be recorded.”

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.