Docs on the Spot

“We are very happy that, even in the pandemic times, the Ji.hlava IDFF attracted our audiences back to cinemas and showed how important culture and social gatherings for each of us are. We are glad to report that our safety measures have been efficient and generally complied with. The subsequent online part of the festival has confirmed that Ji.hlava can reach its audience both live and digitally. Thanks to the online part, the individual documentaries had several times more viewers. This is also a long-term effort of the festival team – to make the films available to the broadest possible audience,” said Festival Director Marek Hovorka.

This year’s Ji.hlava IDFF hosted 5,698 visitors and guests. Over 1,200 viewers and professionals attended the online part. Attendance of the live festival exceeded 30,000, and the Ji.hlava Online registered 32,000 film views. When converted by a factor of 1.7 (used by streaming services to determine the number of viewers), we arrive at nearly 55,000 online viewers. 

Out of 338 screened films, 100 were shown in their world, international and European premiere. This year, films competed in 6 sections. Films were shown in 8 screening halls in Jihlava and in Třešť. The programme offered over 100 Q&As after screenings and over 25 discussions as part of the Inspiration Forum. The online part of the festival included 13 streamed evening screenings accompanied by an introduction and Q&As with the filmmakers.

Greatest attention at the online Ji.hlava was dedicated to Out in Force made by Czech director Martin Mareček, a portrait of film critic Kamil Fila that reflects on the current conception of masculinity. Close behind came Brotherhood directed by Francesco Montagner. The film that tells a story about three boys growing up in an orthodox Muslim family also won the main prize in the Czech Joy section. Other award-winning films, such as the unconventional portrait of the last Soviet statesman, Mikhail Gorbachev, called Gorbachev. Heaven by Vitaly Mansky and the winner of the Opus Bonum section, Lines directed by Barbora Sliepková were also greatly popular. One of the five most viewed films was also the short Love, Dad by director Diana Cam Van Nguyen.

This year’s Inspiration Forum was also a success with the audience. Over the course of five days, 25 programmes and discussions held live in Jihlava or online brought nearly 80 guests from all over the world, including gender studies legend Judith Butler and Afghan filmmaker Sahraa Karimi. Among the guest speakers was one of the most notable contemporary ecological thinkers, David Abram, Canadian philosopher and writer Nick Srnicek or famous US psychiatrist Bruce D. Perry. The live Inspiration Forum discussions were attended by 2,500 visitors, and the online discussion space was visited by over 25,000 viewers.

Over 420 children could become a part of the Ji.hlava for Kids programme. The six-day platform for kids offered 15 workshops, 6 performances, 5 concerts and other off-screen events.

This year’s Ji.hlava festival spot was created by Filipino director Khavn De La Cruz, and the festival prizes were designed by visual artist Federico Díaz.

Dozens of activities also took place as part of the Industry Programme, intended for film professionals. This year it reached more than 1,200 film professionals from around the world, 200 of whom joined the programme online. The festival hosted for example the educational workshop Emerging Producers, Festival Identity and Conference Fascinations focusing on experimental film distribution. “Over 40 upcoming documentary films from Europe and the USA were presented as part of the industry programme at the first annual Ji.hlava New Visions Forum. Another novelty was the relocation of the industry programme to a new auditorium of the College of Polytechnics in Jihlava,” said Head of the Industry Programme Jarmila Outratová.

The 26^th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival will take place on October 25 – 30, 2022. More information at www.ji-hlava.com and on the festival’s Facebook and Instagram profiles.

TOP 20 / Ji.hlava Online (November 1–14, 2021)

See the list of all awarded films of the 25^th Ji.hlava IDFF here.