Ji.hlava 26

The 30th edition of Ji.hlava IDFF kicks off October 23, featuring more than 350 films from around the world. The festival will open with the European premiere of Return to a Strange Land, directed by Olga Malířová Špátová, about internationally acclaimed choreographer Jiří Kylián. This year's festival trailer was created by Naomi Kawase as an appeal against war. Czech documentary filmmaker Helena Třeštíková and Vietnamese-American filmmaker Trinh T. Minh-ha will receive the Award for Contribution to World Cinema.

The festival’s 30th edition will showcase 350 films across its competitive and non-competitive sections, including 106 world premieres, 28 international premieres and 8 European premieres. Alongside the latest films from the Czech Republic and abroad, the programme includes the Films That Changed the World section and a retrospective of Vietnamese-American filmmaker and theorist Trinh T. Minh-ha. Selections for the Ji.hlava’s Short Joy competition is now available free of charge on DAFilms.com, where audiences can also vote for the winner.

The anniversary edition will present outstanding new films from the Czech Republic and around the world, an extensive section entitled Films That Changed the World, and a retrospective of renowned Vietnamese-American filmmaker and film theorist Trinh T. Minh-ha. The Inspiration Forum will welcome British archaeologist David Wengrow as well as Iranian-Australian architect and Forensic Architecture member Samaneh Moafi. The 30th Ji.hlava IDFF will take place from October 23 to November 1, 2026.

The Ji.hlava New Visions Forum, a core industry event of the Ji.hlava International Documentary FF, will showcase a new selection of documentary projects from emerging and established filmmakers. A total of 29 projects from 15 countries will be presented during the Forum, taking place October 28–30, offering their teams the opportunity to connect with potential co-production, financing, sales, and distribution partners.

Seven highly promising docs from CEE, scheduled for theatrical release over the next 12 months were presented on Sunday August 16 as part of CineLink Industry Days at Sarajevo FF. The Docu Talent Award went to the Luxembourg–Slovak co–production Ora et Labora (pictured) by Dzhovani Gospodinov, while the DAFilms.com VoD distribution Award went to the Slovak project Retuning directed by Sára Prokopová. Ji.hlava IDFF further revealed the professionals for the Emerging Producers programme 2027, and the Guest Country of Ji.hlava IDFF 2026 as Montenegro.

Seven new major projects from Central and Eastern Europe will be presented August 16 during the 22nd edition of Docu Talents from the East at Sarajevo FF's CineLink Industry Days. All the selected projects are currently in post-production, with premieres expected between September 2026 and August 2027. The most promising projects will be awarded by an international jury and announced during a prize ceremony on August 17.