Ji.hlava IDFF unveiled October 14 further details of its programme for 2024, in addition top the previously announced Opus Bonum & First Lights International Competitions.
A TRIBUTE TO TSAI MING-LIANG
The award-winning director and a leading representative of the Taiwanese New Wave, Tsai Ming-liang will present seven of his films, a VR installation and a Masterclass. The programme includes the classic Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003), a cinephile farewell letter to Taipei cinema (Critics’ Award at the Venice Film Festival), as well as the later Where (2022), which belongs to the director’s famous “Walker” series of films, the hero of which is a Buddhist monk walking very slowly. His work is “between slow cinema, conceptual art and performance, his films deal with themes of loneliness, time and memory,” the festival writes.
MASTERCLASSES BY KIRSTEN JOHNSON, ROBERTO MINERVINI, ANDREI UJICĂ
The American documentary filmmaker and cinematographer Kirsten Johnson, author of this year’s official Ji.hlava trailer, will present her thoughts on the transformation of film from the celluloid to the digital era. The celebrated Italian director based in the USA, Roberto Minervini will also share his working methods and present his films The Damned and Stop the Pounding Heart. Romanian director Andrei Ujică, one of the most original filmmakers working with archival and found-footage material returns to Ji.hlava after 14 years with a Masterclass and his most recent film TWSD: Things We Said Today premiered in Venice a month ago.
FIFTEEN DARING TITLES IN TESTIMONIES
The Testimonies competition features a selection of films that depict the current state of the world from various angles “and which should not be overlooked for many different reasons,” the festival writes. Films from Australia, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Togo, United Kingdom, and United States deal with important societal, political, and environmental issues.
CZECH JOY FEATURES BEST NEW CZECH DOCUMENTARIES
Among the twenty-one films showcased in the Czech Joy section will be World Between Us by Marie Dvořáková which captures the “American dream” of Czech photographer Marie Tomanová, the Polish-Czech co-production Forest by Lidia Duda, which follows events near the Białowieża Forest in eastern Poland, War Correspondent by David Čálek and Benjamin Tuček presenting the work of Czech journalist Martin Dorazín, who reports from war-affected areas in Ukraine, Filip Remunda’s Happiness to All situated in contemporary Russia, and an interactive work Fragile Home by Ondřej Moravec and Victoria Lopukhina. Industry professionals are invited to meet the authors at the Czech Joy in the Spotlight presentation, which will take place on October 29 from 5PM.
BEST OF FESTS – TWENTY SIX FILMS IN CONSTELLATIONS
The Constellations section that traditionally presents a selection of the cream of the world’s film festivals will feature Afternoons of Solitude by Albert Serra, the Cannes hit The Falling Sky by Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha and Eryk Rocha, Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat by Johan Grimonprez which was awarded at Sundance, Intercepted by Oksana Karpovych and Dahomey by Mati Diop, both nominated for the LUX Award 2025.
TRANSLUCENT BEING: ANNE-MARIE MIÉVILLE
The festival will present a “revelatory “retrospective of Anne-Marie Miéville, presented for the first time in a wider international context. The programme comprises 10 films by the Swiss filmmaker who was the life and creative partner of Jean-Luc Godard. “In the past, the work of many women artists has been reflected in a very marginal way, not least because they often lived with men who were in the same artistic field. Explore the great work of the filmmaker, editor, writer and photographer Anne-Marie Miéville whose multimedia work goes beyond documentary and expands the perception of fictional film.”
SHORT JOY: AUDIENCE CHOOSES THE WINNER AT DAFILMS.COM
Before the start of the festival, viewers are treated to a traditional preview of festival films from the Short Joy competition section. All 21 nominated short docs shown in their world, international or European premiere are now available for free at DAFilms.com. This year again, the best film will be selected online by audiences worldwide and will be announced during the festival’s Opening Ceremony. Voting is open until October 24, and the films will be available online until November 3.
The 28th Ji.hlava IDFF runs October 25 to November 3.
