The programme of 24th Ji.hlava IDFF features over 220 films, from the latest of Czech and international documentaries to a South Korean film retrospective and a comprehensive showcase of Afro-American docs. In addition there are new documentaries focusing on topical issues such as the coronavirus pandemic, China and Hong Kong, climate change, and films that ask the fundamental question – where is our home?
The 24th Ji.hlava IDFF will take place between October 27 and November 8, 2020.
“We are sorry that we can’t screen the films in cinemas but we want to see the current situation as an opportunity. One positive aspect is that everyone will be able to get to see the films,” says Marek Hovorka, the Festival Director. “Fifteen years ago, the same year when YouTube was launched, Ji.hlava IDFF founded the first VOD portal dedicated to documentaries. Today, DAFilms.com is one of the leading European VOD platforms.” DAFilms will be the festival’s streaming platform in 2020.
“The uniqueness of this programme is in the fact that apart from over 220 films available to the Czech viewers, we will offer more than 80 films from Ji.hlava’s competitions to audiences worldwide, released in their world, international or European premieres,” adds Diana Tabakov, the Executive Director at DAFilms.
This year’s Ji.hlava will not only focus on films. “In order to bring the unique atmosphere of Ji.hlava to online audiences, we have prepared several simultaneous live streams, all-day live service from the festival’s Lighthouse studio at the Ji.hlava’s central Masaryk square as well as an interactive environment interconnecting the audience with the filmmakers,” states Marek Hovorka.
Competition sections: (click on link for selections)
Opus Bonum is a competition section for the documentary films from all around the world, with the prize awarded for the Best World Documentary Film.
First Lights focuses on the first great works of beginning documentary filmmakers. Thee selected films offer a different view, allowing us to answer questions related to the history of documentary film, its changing topics and styles.
Between the Seas is a competition section for the countries and nations of Central and Eastern Europe, including their historical, political, and cultural interrelationships.The winners will receive an award of 10,000 EUR
Between the Seas: Student Film Competition is for the most significant student films from the Eastern and Central Europe. The winners will receive an award of 2,000 USD (in cooperation with Current Time TV)
Czech Joy is not only a prestigious competition for the best Czech documentary, but also a celebration of the diverse range of new topics and the adventurous spirit of cinematic epxression. The winners will receive an award of 10,000 EUR.
Fascinations is a large factory for experimental filmmaking that takes films based on reality and strips them of all that weighs them down, thus significantly expanding the possibilities of filmic expression.
Fascinations: Exprmntl.cz is a competition survey of the latest Czech experimental films that touch upon reality and never cease in their search for new ways of expressing reality through classical and digital film.
Short Joy is a selection of documentary shorts, with the price for the Best Short Documentary Film.
Testimonies is a selection of films that capture the current state of the world from various angles: as much as it may seem that there is no common thread running through them, within the context of Czech and international documentary filmmaking these are works that, for many diff erent reasons, cannot be overlooked.
Viewers from outside of the Czech Republic will have a possibility to watch over 80 selected festival titles from the festival’s competition sections via DAFilms.com between October 27 and November 8, for a fee 2–4 EUR per stream.
Other highlights include a focus on 100 years of South Korean documentary. The comprehensive showcase will start with films from 1920s that capture the boom of Korean cities and industries up to the films from recent decades
The Black Cinema Matters section will comprise exclusively of works by Afro-American filmmakers attesting to their direct experience with racism and violence. As a paradox, this authentic testimony has been marginalized or presented predominantly by other than Afro-American filmmakers. American curator Greg de Cuir Jr. was a consultant of the section.
“This year’s topical section Black Cinema Matters is not intended as a superficial response to the Black Lives Matter movement, on the contrary – the current social turmoil prompted us to draw attention to the rich and inspiring tradition,” says David Čeněk, the section’s programme selector.
“The section introduces a radical change in the perspective of the Afro-American narrative, which has long been dividing not only American public but is also bogged down with a lot of prejudice, ignorance and lack of empathy,” says Marek Hovorka.
The rich Industry programme will take place online and will include a number of projects focused on film professionals, such as the Emerging Producers workshop focused on up-and coming European producers and the Fascinations conference on the distribution of experimental works.
IDF to present the Silver Eye awards
During the 24th Ji.hlava IDFF, the Institute of Documentary Film (IDF) will organize an online version of the traditional East Silver Market with Central and Eastern European films for film professionals. Two international juries will decide on the best films in the market and the winners of the Silver Eye Awards.
Eight films have been nominated in the short film category and eleven films in the feature film category. The Ex Oriente Film workshop will present the second part of this year’s workshop October 19 – 24.
