Launching an ambitious program of compelling global and Czech work, the 27th edition of the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival opened on Tuesday, kicking off six days of more than 350 film screenings by veteran and new filmmakers.
Fest head and founder Marek Hovorka, who launched the event in his hometown in 1997, introduced what is now Central and Eastern Europe’s main event for docs, defining the fest mission as “a celebration of films, image, sound, gestures and diversity.”
The films selected this year are “all very original,” he told the opening gala audience, and show filmmakers “perceive the world very differently.”
The fest, raising its curtain in the location that remains its home, the communist-era Dko “house of culture,” as the pre-1989 regime dubbed such multi-purpose spaces, attracts for its launch hundreds of guests seated at white-decked tables, sipping local wine.
Opening night moderators embraced an ironic take on AI,...
Fest head and founder Marek Hovorka, who launched the event in his hometown in 1997, introduced what is now Central and Eastern Europe’s main event for docs, defining the fest mission as “a celebration of films, image, sound, gestures and diversity.”
The films selected this year are “all very original,” he told the opening gala audience, and show filmmakers “perceive the world very differently.”
The fest, raising its curtain in the location that remains its home, the communist-era Dko “house of culture,” as the pre-1989 regime dubbed such multi-purpose spaces, attracts for its launch hundreds of guests seated at white-decked tables, sipping local wine.
Opening night moderators embraced an ironic take on AI,...
- 10/25/2023
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival has unveiled the program for its 27th edition, which will take place in the Czech city of Jihlava between Oct. 24-29. The festival will showcase 357 films in both competitive and non-competitive sections, with 115 world premieres, 22 international premieres and 17 European premieres.
This year’s program touches on themes of artificial intelligence and new technologies, the changing planetary climate, migration, transformation of the democratic system and society, as well as the search for new paths to freedom and happiness.
Festival director Marek Hovorka says of the concept of this year’s edition: “The world in which we live is rapidly changing, and this year’s Ji.hlava brings images of these transformations. The films in the program are thematically and formally very diverse, allowing us to recognize and contemplate the world’s transformation.”
Works related to the theme of this year’s Ji.hlava include Sophie Compton...
This year’s program touches on themes of artificial intelligence and new technologies, the changing planetary climate, migration, transformation of the democratic system and society, as well as the search for new paths to freedom and happiness.
Festival director Marek Hovorka says of the concept of this year’s edition: “The world in which we live is rapidly changing, and this year’s Ji.hlava brings images of these transformations. The films in the program are thematically and formally very diverse, allowing us to recognize and contemplate the world’s transformation.”
Works related to the theme of this year’s Ji.hlava include Sophie Compton...
- 10/13/2023
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
The jury for the Docu Talents From the East Award, presented Sunday as part of CineLink Industry Days at the Sarajevo Film Festival, split the award between two projects: “A Picture to Remember” by Ukrainian director Olga Chernykh and producer Regina Maryanovska-Davidzon, and the Czech-Slovak co-production “Chronicle” by Martin Kollar. The award comes with a cash prize of $5,000.
Eight documentaries from Central and Eastern Europe, planned for theatrical release during the next 12 months, were presented in the program, which is curated by the Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival.
The DAFilms.com Distribution Award went to “An Almost Perfect Family” by Romanian director Tudor Platon, produced by Carla Fotea and Ada Solomon. The award includes an international VOD release on DAFilms.com for two years.
The jury said: “The personal and intimate ‘A Picture to Remember’ presents a unique vision of life during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Through the...
Eight documentaries from Central and Eastern Europe, planned for theatrical release during the next 12 months, were presented in the program, which is curated by the Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival.
The DAFilms.com Distribution Award went to “An Almost Perfect Family” by Romanian director Tudor Platon, produced by Carla Fotea and Ada Solomon. The award includes an international VOD release on DAFilms.com for two years.
The jury said: “The personal and intimate ‘A Picture to Remember’ presents a unique vision of life during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Through the...
- 8/14/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The lineup for Docu Talents From the East – a showcase of standout documentary films from Central and Eastern Europe that are in post-production – has been unveiled.
Eight documentary projects will be presented on Aug. 13 at Sarajevo Film Festival. The event is part of CineLink Industry Day, the festival’s program for film and TV professionals.
The most promising project will receive the Docu Talent Award in cooperation with Current Time TV. The award is accompanied by a cash prize of $5,000. The DAFilms.com Distribution Award will cover services worth €3,000, including an international VOD release on DAFilms.com for two years. The awards ceremony will take place on Aug. 13 at Sarajevo Producers’ Hub.
Marek Hovorka, director of the Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival, which organizes and curates Docu Talents, said: “The protagonists of the presented films are exploring their family roots and cultural background, striving for a fairer and more open world,...
Eight documentary projects will be presented on Aug. 13 at Sarajevo Film Festival. The event is part of CineLink Industry Day, the festival’s program for film and TV professionals.
The most promising project will receive the Docu Talent Award in cooperation with Current Time TV. The award is accompanied by a cash prize of $5,000. The DAFilms.com Distribution Award will cover services worth €3,000, including an international VOD release on DAFilms.com for two years. The awards ceremony will take place on Aug. 13 at Sarajevo Producers’ Hub.
Marek Hovorka, director of the Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival, which organizes and curates Docu Talents, said: “The protagonists of the presented films are exploring their family roots and cultural background, striving for a fairer and more open world,...
- 8/7/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
A host of thorny issues face film festivals that want to retain their independence and integrity in a world where many would happily coopt them, said a group of professionals in the field during the 26th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival.
The recent controversy over whether fests should ban films from Russia, as a group of Ukrainian filmmaker has publicly urged, is just one example of the dilemma, say international fest programmers.
But this debate alone has led to splits among those who select fest films for a living: Should they reject just those films backed by Russian state funds? Or co-productions in which the Russian state is a partner? Or just those backed by Russian funds after the country invaded Ukraine in February? Should they also ban those made by Russian dissidents?
Viktoria Leshchenko, program director of the Docudays UA human rights film fest in Ukraine and a...
The recent controversy over whether fests should ban films from Russia, as a group of Ukrainian filmmaker has publicly urged, is just one example of the dilemma, say international fest programmers.
But this debate alone has led to splits among those who select fest films for a living: Should they reject just those films backed by Russian state funds? Or co-productions in which the Russian state is a partner? Or just those backed by Russian funds after the country invaded Ukraine in February? Should they also ban those made by Russian dissidents?
Viktoria Leshchenko, program director of the Docudays UA human rights film fest in Ukraine and a...
- 11/2/2022
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
Canadian documentary filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal was “excited and happy” to pick up an award at Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival for “Into the Weeds: Dewayne ‘Lee’ Johnson vs. Monsanto Company.”
Johnson, who developed a deadly form of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, took Monsanto to trial, alleging it failed to warn about cancer risks with its Roundup herbicide.
“I love this festival and I have never been able to come in person, because I have children. Now, they have grown up and they don’t care what I do,” she said on Saturday, praising other nominees in the Testimonies section.
Earlier during the week, Montréal-born Baichwal discussed her decades-spanning career during a masterclass moderated by Ji.hlava’s chief Marek Hovorka. She started with her 1999 doc “The Holier It Gets,” about her father’s wishes to have his ashes scattered at the source of the Ganges.
“If you want to know anything about my family,...
Johnson, who developed a deadly form of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, took Monsanto to trial, alleging it failed to warn about cancer risks with its Roundup herbicide.
“I love this festival and I have never been able to come in person, because I have children. Now, they have grown up and they don’t care what I do,” she said on Saturday, praising other nominees in the Testimonies section.
Earlier during the week, Montréal-born Baichwal discussed her decades-spanning career during a masterclass moderated by Ji.hlava’s chief Marek Hovorka. She started with her 1999 doc “The Holier It Gets,” about her father’s wishes to have his ashes scattered at the source of the Ganges.
“If you want to know anything about my family,...
- 11/1/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
The 26th edition of the Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival is back at full strength – and not shying away from controversy this year, says its director, Marek Hovorka.
“It’s really a full festival edition,” he says. “Last year it was maybe still in the shadow of the pandemic. Even so, people really enjoyed that it is the meeting point for audiences and filmmakers and professionals.”
But this time around, things have bounded back to new levels, he observes. “It’s really a full edition. We feel it’s really a very, very strong program. We’re very happy with all the competitions, all the sections – we have 376 films and also many shorts. It really shows that documentary film is strong: It survived.”
Part of the bounty is the first fest appearance of many films that were postponed during the Covid shutdowns, Hovorka says. “They are released now. Also...
“It’s really a full festival edition,” he says. “Last year it was maybe still in the shadow of the pandemic. Even so, people really enjoyed that it is the meeting point for audiences and filmmakers and professionals.”
But this time around, things have bounded back to new levels, he observes. “It’s really a full edition. We feel it’s really a very, very strong program. We’re very happy with all the competitions, all the sections – we have 376 films and also many shorts. It really shows that documentary film is strong: It survived.”
Part of the bounty is the first fest appearance of many films that were postponed during the Covid shutdowns, Hovorka says. “They are released now. Also...
- 10/25/2022
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
The 26th edition of the Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival will screen 300 films, including a retrospective on American Oscar-winning innovator Shirley Clarke, and what fest organizers describe as the largest-ever retrospective of Filipino cinema outside Asia.
The fest, running Oct. 25-30, will include work on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a conference on ethics in documentary filmmaking.
Some 95 films are world premieres, 33 are international bows and six are European firsts.
Films include what fest director Marek Hovorka calls one of the earliest known feature-length documentaries, shot in the Philippines in 1913. “Native Life in the Philippines” by Dean C. Worcester will screen alongside 40 other Filipino works spanning a wide variety of genres and formats. Some, including “Advance of Kansas Volunteers at Caloocan,” a U.S. war doc produced by the Edison Manufacturing Co., date back to the American invasion of the islands.
At the other end of the historical spectrum,...
The fest, running Oct. 25-30, will include work on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a conference on ethics in documentary filmmaking.
Some 95 films are world premieres, 33 are international bows and six are European firsts.
Films include what fest director Marek Hovorka calls one of the earliest known feature-length documentaries, shot in the Philippines in 1913. “Native Life in the Philippines” by Dean C. Worcester will screen alongside 40 other Filipino works spanning a wide variety of genres and formats. Some, including “Advance of Kansas Volunteers at Caloocan,” a U.S. war doc produced by the Edison Manufacturing Co., date back to the American invasion of the islands.
At the other end of the historical spectrum,...
- 10/25/2022
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
Festival will explore power relationships in doc filmmaking
The world premiere of Andrea Kleine’s The End Is Not What I Thought It Would Be, is among the international films making their debut at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival running from October 25-30 in the Czech Republic,
The film features Kleine performing comedy shows to a closed theatre in New York City during the pandemic.
Held in the town of Jihlava in central Czech Republic, the festival has seven competition sections, including Opus Bonum, for documentary films from around the world.
The section will play 16 films of which 13 are feature-length,...
The world premiere of Andrea Kleine’s The End Is Not What I Thought It Would Be, is among the international films making their debut at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival running from October 25-30 in the Czech Republic,
The film features Kleine performing comedy shows to a closed theatre in New York City during the pandemic.
Held in the town of Jihlava in central Czech Republic, the festival has seven competition sections, including Opus Bonum, for documentary films from around the world.
The section will play 16 films of which 13 are feature-length,...
- 10/12/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Ukrainian documentary “Dad’s Lullaby” and Romania’s “Between Revolutions” won the Docu Talent Awards, chosen from a field of nine documentary features from Central and Eastern Europe, at the Sarajevo Film Festival on Monday.
The Docu Talent Award for the most promising project went to “Dad’s Lullaby”, directed and produced by Lesia Diak. It tells the story of a Ukrainian veteran who returns home burnt out and traumatized from war but hoping to find peace for himself and his family. The jury described it as “a heartfelt depiction of a life under impossible circumstances,” adding: “Such a personal story is a valuable way to understand the scars of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.”
The DAFilms.com Distribution Award, which covers international VOD release for two years on DAFilms.com, went to “Between Revolutions”, which is directed by Vlad Petri and produced by Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan. The archive-constructed film tells...
The Docu Talent Award for the most promising project went to “Dad’s Lullaby”, directed and produced by Lesia Diak. It tells the story of a Ukrainian veteran who returns home burnt out and traumatized from war but hoping to find peace for himself and his family. The jury described it as “a heartfelt depiction of a life under impossible circumstances,” adding: “Such a personal story is a valuable way to understand the scars of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.”
The DAFilms.com Distribution Award, which covers international VOD release for two years on DAFilms.com, went to “Between Revolutions”, which is directed by Vlad Petri and produced by Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan. The archive-constructed film tells...
- 8/16/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Oliver Stone believes we will never really get to the bottom of the many conflicting accounts of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 – but he will never let the issue go, he says.
Speaking via video link to a small but fascinated audience at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, who had just seen his doc “JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass,” Stone also confessed he feels “helpless” in getting at the full story as the slow drip of declassified documents have emerged since that fateful Nov. 22 day in Dallas.
“All we could do was occasionally raise our little voices,” the Oscar-winning former Vietnam soldier recalled of his 30-year quest to get to the bottom of America’s most public crime in modern history.
One major burst of once-secret records, the four-year investigation of some 60,000 documents by the U.S. House of Representatives Assassination Records Board in 1994, has led to scores of revelations,...
Speaking via video link to a small but fascinated audience at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, who had just seen his doc “JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass,” Stone also confessed he feels “helpless” in getting at the full story as the slow drip of declassified documents have emerged since that fateful Nov. 22 day in Dallas.
“All we could do was occasionally raise our little voices,” the Oscar-winning former Vietnam soldier recalled of his 30-year quest to get to the bottom of America’s most public crime in modern history.
One major burst of once-secret records, the four-year investigation of some 60,000 documents by the U.S. House of Representatives Assassination Records Board in 1994, has led to scores of revelations,...
- 10/28/2021
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
The Czech Republic’s premier nonfiction fest, the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, launched its 25th edition Tuesday in the historic town’s renovated cultural center, previewing an impressive program that accompanies its first fully live version in two years.
Fest director Marek Hovorka greeted the audience with fond memories of the improvements the event – and the communist-era hall – have seen since the Ji.hlava fest was launched as colleagues recalled it was considered a crazy idea at the time. Noting that not just film festivals but education and culture were largely sidetracked over the past year due to Covid risks, Hovorka said the lesson is that losing these “can have bad consequences for society.”
Following tradition, the prize for the Short Joy competition winner, chosen by a global audience watching the films online on the fest platform DAFilms.cz, was awarded this year to Colombian-Portuguese film “Open Mountain...
Fest director Marek Hovorka greeted the audience with fond memories of the improvements the event – and the communist-era hall – have seen since the Ji.hlava fest was launched as colleagues recalled it was considered a crazy idea at the time. Noting that not just film festivals but education and culture were largely sidetracked over the past year due to Covid risks, Hovorka said the lesson is that losing these “can have bad consequences for society.”
Following tradition, the prize for the Short Joy competition winner, chosen by a global audience watching the films online on the fest platform DAFilms.cz, was awarded this year to Colombian-Portuguese film “Open Mountain...
- 10/27/2021
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
As the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival’s 25th-anniversary edition launches in the Czech Republic, fest director and founder Marek Hovorka shows no signs of complacency. Reformatted and streamlined this year, with the former regional section Between the Seas folded into the main Opus Bonum competition, and with new prizes awarded for documentary cinematography, editing and sound design, Hovorka is also honoring the work of several veteran filmmakers and is committed to building connections between doc filmmakers worldwide.
With more than 1,000 film professionals expected as usual, Jihlava’s long-established elements, from its Emerging Producers industry program to the East Silver online market, and Conference Fascinations, focused on experimental cinema, make it a major meeting place for the doc sector and a critical regional hub.
The fest’s opening film, “When Flowers Are Not Silent” by Belarusian director Andrei Kutsila, capturing the brutal suppression of demonstrations against last year’s...
With more than 1,000 film professionals expected as usual, Jihlava’s long-established elements, from its Emerging Producers industry program to the East Silver online market, and Conference Fascinations, focused on experimental cinema, make it a major meeting place for the doc sector and a critical regional hub.
The fest’s opening film, “When Flowers Are Not Silent” by Belarusian director Andrei Kutsila, capturing the brutal suppression of demonstrations against last year’s...
- 10/26/2021
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
“Flowers Are Not Silent,” a film about the brutal suppression of demonstrations against last year’s rigged presidential election in Belarus, will open the 25th Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival on Tuesday. Oliver Stone will deliver a masterclass at the festival as will Russian filmmaker Vitaly Mansky.
Festival chief Marek Hovorka said that “Flowers Are Not Silent,” which plays in the main international competition section, Opus Bonum, is “a brave testimony of the state’s violent repression against peaceful protests.” He added: “It shows how brutally this last European dictatorship resists the transformation of Belarus into a freer society.” The film’s Belarusian director, Andrei Kutsila, will attend the screening.
The festival’s Contribution to World Cinema Award will be presented to Czech director Jana Ševčíková, whose films have been shown at festivals in Berlin, Rotterdam, Paris, Nyon and Leipzig, among others, and screened at Moma in the U.
Festival chief Marek Hovorka said that “Flowers Are Not Silent,” which plays in the main international competition section, Opus Bonum, is “a brave testimony of the state’s violent repression against peaceful protests.” He added: “It shows how brutally this last European dictatorship resists the transformation of Belarus into a freer society.” The film’s Belarusian director, Andrei Kutsila, will attend the screening.
The festival’s Contribution to World Cinema Award will be presented to Czech director Jana Ševčíková, whose films have been shown at festivals in Berlin, Rotterdam, Paris, Nyon and Leipzig, among others, and screened at Moma in the U.
- 10/22/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Marking its 25th edition later this month, the Czech Republic’s Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival will celebrate its silver anniversary with an expanded slate, a streamlined number of sections and pointed focus on renewal and wellbeing. As it runs from Oct. 26-31, this year’s in-person edition will screen 300 films, including 54 world premieres spread out across five competitive sections.
“Over the 25 years of its existence, [Ji.hlava] has confirmed its position of the leading European documentary festival, known for its trailblazing approach and innovative program,” said festival director Marek Hovorka. “Therefore, we have upgraded the competitions as well as the structure of the awards in order to highlight the complexity of documentary cinema.”
Alongside the 19 local productions screening in the Czech Joy competition, 10 out of the 15 titles selected for the Opus Bonum section – the festival’s competitive category for international projects – will be world premieres. Among them are Rikun Zhu...
“Over the 25 years of its existence, [Ji.hlava] has confirmed its position of the leading European documentary festival, known for its trailblazing approach and innovative program,” said festival director Marek Hovorka. “Therefore, we have upgraded the competitions as well as the structure of the awards in order to highlight the complexity of documentary cinema.”
Alongside the 19 local productions screening in the Czech Joy competition, 10 out of the 15 titles selected for the Opus Bonum section – the festival’s competitive category for international projects – will be world premieres. Among them are Rikun Zhu...
- 10/15/2021
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
There was a 22% decline in films selected by European documentary festivals during the pandemic, according to research presented in Cannes, and films from underrepresented regions and continents, such as Africa, continued to receive little love from selectors.
On Monday, Marek Hovorka, festival director of Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival, presented its annual report “East West Index,” which compared in-person documentary events in 2019, and festivals during the pandemic in 2020.
The survey covered 14 festivals; eight in Western Europe and six in Eastern Europe. These included Cph:dox, Visions du Réel, IDFA, Cinéma du Réel, FIDMarseille and Ji.hlava.
The report found that 2,701 films were selected by these events in 2019, and 2,106 in 2020 – a one in five decline. Eleven festivals saw a decline in films selected and three had more films in their programs. The festivals in Western Europe saw a 25% decrease and those in Eastern Europe saw an 18% decrease.
As in previous editions,...
On Monday, Marek Hovorka, festival director of Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival, presented its annual report “East West Index,” which compared in-person documentary events in 2019, and festivals during the pandemic in 2020.
The survey covered 14 festivals; eight in Western Europe and six in Eastern Europe. These included Cph:dox, Visions du Réel, IDFA, Cinéma du Réel, FIDMarseille and Ji.hlava.
The report found that 2,701 films were selected by these events in 2019, and 2,106 in 2020 – a one in five decline. Eleven festivals saw a decline in films selected and three had more films in their programs. The festivals in Western Europe saw a 25% decrease and those in Eastern Europe saw an 18% decrease.
As in previous editions,...
- 7/13/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Roberto Minervini, an Italian-born Texas-based documentarian, former punk band singer and It technician, is known for spending months or years building connections and trust within communities as he films their lives.
Shooting handheld himself, filming without cutting until data cards are full and he can no longer hold up his Arri Amira camera, Minervini is seemingly obsessed with what he calls his responsibility to create “a sacred space…for them to be who they are. That’s who I am as a filmmaker.”
His controversial 2015 film “The Other Side” chronicles the lives of “people on the outs, poor, dealers, criminals, then the militias.” The young white males that populate the back roads of Louisiana and Texas are in a place Minervini relates to, he told Ji.hlava docu film fest director Marek Hovorka in a masterclass at the 24th edition of the Czech Republic’s leading non-fiction film event.
“The feeling of abandonment,...
Shooting handheld himself, filming without cutting until data cards are full and he can no longer hold up his Arri Amira camera, Minervini is seemingly obsessed with what he calls his responsibility to create “a sacred space…for them to be who they are. That’s who I am as a filmmaker.”
His controversial 2015 film “The Other Side” chronicles the lives of “people on the outs, poor, dealers, criminals, then the militias.” The young white males that populate the back roads of Louisiana and Texas are in a place Minervini relates to, he told Ji.hlava docu film fest director Marek Hovorka in a masterclass at the 24th edition of the Czech Republic’s leading non-fiction film event.
“The feeling of abandonment,...
- 10/30/2020
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
From its first edition 24 years ago, the Jihlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival, running Oct. 27-Nov. 8, has always gone its own way — largely thanks to director Marek Hovorka and his team, who never wanted to run just another venue for screening docs.
These days, the Czech Republic’s prime doc event continues that mission even as it’s been forced by government Covid-19 safety restrictions to go fully online. A digital version will in fact be a permanent Jihlava feature going forward, Hovorka says, but after this year it will be balanced with live events to create a hybrid fest format.
For 2020, rather than simply streaming films, he says, Jihlava will create a rich experience online and on the ground with top doc makers and leading thinkers visiting the central Bohemian town for talks to be aired live from the Lighthouse. This glassed-in shipping container converted into a studio is installed on Masarykovo namesti,...
These days, the Czech Republic’s prime doc event continues that mission even as it’s been forced by government Covid-19 safety restrictions to go fully online. A digital version will in fact be a permanent Jihlava feature going forward, Hovorka says, but after this year it will be balanced with live events to create a hybrid fest format.
For 2020, rather than simply streaming films, he says, Jihlava will create a rich experience online and on the ground with top doc makers and leading thinkers visiting the central Bohemian town for talks to be aired live from the Lighthouse. This glassed-in shipping container converted into a studio is installed on Masarykovo namesti,...
- 10/27/2020
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
The largest Czech documentary film festival is readying 59 world and 26 international premieres, while the full line-up of this extraordinary online edition comprises 220 titles. While the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival had been ready to unfurl as an on-site, physical event (see the news), the current situation in the Czech Republic and pandemic-related measures now in force have thwarted that plan. From 27 October-8 November, the festival will thus screen the line-up of over 220 films programmed for its 24th edition fully online, via the DAFilms platform. “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,” says festival director Marek Hovorka about this year’s partnership with DAFilms. “The uniqueness of this programme lies in the fact that apart from the over 220 films available to Czech viewers,...
- 10/15/2020
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
The 24th Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival, which had to pivot into a digital only event at the last minute, has unveiled a lineup (see link here) with more than 220 films, including 59 world and 26 international premieres.
The festival, which runs from Oct. 27 to Nov. 8, includes a South Korean film retrospective, and a comprehensive showcase of documentaries by African-American filmmakers.
“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,” said 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,” he said, referring to the partnership with DAFilms, which will be the festival’s streaming platform this year.
The festival, which runs from Oct. 27 to Nov. 8, includes a South Korean film retrospective, and a comprehensive showcase of documentaries by African-American filmmakers.
“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,” said 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,” he said, referring to the partnership with DAFilms, which will be the festival’s streaming platform this year.
- 10/14/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The festival is planned as an on-site event, with a backup plan for a virtual festival ready in case cultural events should be banned in the Czech Republic. “This year’s journey is by far the most adventurous in the history of the festival. We still believe that Ji.hlava will take place on site, safely, and that it will again bring extraordinary cinematic experiences,” the director of Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, Marek Hovorka, says as he reiterates the festival's stance from May (read the news). Hit by a second wave of coronavirus, the Czech Republic is tightening measures to slow down the spread. The 24th edition of the Ji.hlava Idff, however, has a backup plan of online screenings, in case cultural events should get banned entirely. “We still believe this will not be the case,” adds Hovorka. The upcoming edition, per the festival's usual programming, will present classical and experimental.
“Calling off or postponing this year’s edition was not, and is not, an option for us,” says the festival’s director, Marek Hovorka. The largest festival for creative documentaries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, is bracing for its upcoming 24th edition (27 October-1 November 2020). The festival will most likely be held in physical form, as opposed to other similar events such as Cph:dox, Visions du Réel and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, which were forced to resort to a virtual version as a result of the pandemic-related prevention measures. Even though the largest domestic film gathering, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, has been postponed and replaced by a more decentralised local alternative (see the news), the situation in the Czech Republic is gradually returning to normal as the pandemic restrictions have already been lifted and local cinemas are being allowed to reopen (see the.
Are Eastern European films under-represented at Western European film festivals?
Concern that this might be the case prompted Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival to carry out research this year to find out how many documentary films from Eastern Europe made it into Western festivals, and vice versa.
Unveiling the study at Ji.hlava, festival director Marek Hovorka showed figures that appeared to confirm an underrepresentation of Eastern European films at Western European documentary festivals.
According to Ji.hlava, for example, 60% of Paris’ Cinéma du Réel festival program in 2019 comprised Western European films, with just 5% from Eastern Europe, and 18% from North America.
For Cph:Dox in Copenhagen, the figure was 52% from Western Europe, 7% from Eastern Europe, and 20% from the U.S. in 2019.
For Dutch documentary festival Idfa in 2018, the figure was 43%, 16% and 12% respectively, and for Switzerland’s Vision du Réel it was 60%, 9% and 7% in 2019.
Germany’s Dok Leipzig, meanwhile, recorded the highest proportion from Eastern Europe,...
Concern that this might be the case prompted Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival to carry out research this year to find out how many documentary films from Eastern Europe made it into Western festivals, and vice versa.
Unveiling the study at Ji.hlava, festival director Marek Hovorka showed figures that appeared to confirm an underrepresentation of Eastern European films at Western European documentary festivals.
According to Ji.hlava, for example, 60% of Paris’ Cinéma du Réel festival program in 2019 comprised Western European films, with just 5% from Eastern Europe, and 18% from North America.
For Cph:Dox in Copenhagen, the figure was 52% from Western Europe, 7% from Eastern Europe, and 20% from the U.S. in 2019.
For Dutch documentary festival Idfa in 2018, the figure was 43%, 16% and 12% respectively, and for Switzerland’s Vision du Réel it was 60%, 9% and 7% in 2019.
Germany’s Dok Leipzig, meanwhile, recorded the highest proportion from Eastern Europe,...
- 10/29/2019
- by Tim Dams
- Variety Film + TV
Stories of transcendence in the face of adversity dominated the Ji.hlava docu fest in the Czech Republic Monday, with a precedent-setting award for best film shared among 10 imprisoned juveniles in Madagascar.
The Opus Bonum main competition award, granted by a sole juror, Romanian director Cristi Puiu, went to “Fonja” by German filmmaker Lina Zacher, the story of 10 juvenile delinquents in the largest detention facility on the island nation. The boys joined a four-month workshop to be trained in filming, editing, creating simple cinematic tricks and telling their own stories.
Puiu, who said the film “kept me awake” and gave him “a dumb smile of genuine satisfaction,” praised Zacher for “the warmth, the intuition, the trust, the courage and generosity that are holding together a film.”
The winners, Ravo Henintsoa Andrianatoandro, Lovatiana Desire Santatra, Sitraka Hermann Ramanamokatra, Jean Chrisostome Rakotondrabe, Erick Edwin Andrianamelona, Elani Eric Rakotondrasoa, Todisoa Niaina Sylvano Randrialalaina,...
The Opus Bonum main competition award, granted by a sole juror, Romanian director Cristi Puiu, went to “Fonja” by German filmmaker Lina Zacher, the story of 10 juvenile delinquents in the largest detention facility on the island nation. The boys joined a four-month workshop to be trained in filming, editing, creating simple cinematic tricks and telling their own stories.
Puiu, who said the film “kept me awake” and gave him “a dumb smile of genuine satisfaction,” praised Zacher for “the warmth, the intuition, the trust, the courage and generosity that are holding together a film.”
The winners, Ravo Henintsoa Andrianatoandro, Lovatiana Desire Santatra, Sitraka Hermann Ramanamokatra, Jean Chrisostome Rakotondrabe, Erick Edwin Andrianamelona, Elani Eric Rakotondrasoa, Todisoa Niaina Sylvano Randrialalaina,...
- 10/29/2019
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
A characteristic of many documentaries at Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival, says festival director Marek Hovorka, is that they don’t necessarily provide answers but provoke questions.
That’s certainly true of “The Building,” a poetic, lyrical and stunningly shot biopic of a vast, communist era building in Ukraine. “The Building” is one of nine films in the First Lights competition devoted to first features from new filmmakers.
Constructed in the 1920s, the Derzhprom Palace in Kharkov was, at the time, the largest building in Europe, designed to house Ukraine’s state industry bodies and to act as a symbol for a modern, communist era. Part affectionate portrait of an avant-garde building and part gentle critique of an ageing edifice that is struggling to adapt to life nearly 100 years on, the documentary presents the building and some of its inhabitants in all their fascinating complexity.
The German-Ukrainian film is...
That’s certainly true of “The Building,” a poetic, lyrical and stunningly shot biopic of a vast, communist era building in Ukraine. “The Building” is one of nine films in the First Lights competition devoted to first features from new filmmakers.
Constructed in the 1920s, the Derzhprom Palace in Kharkov was, at the time, the largest building in Europe, designed to house Ukraine’s state industry bodies and to act as a symbol for a modern, communist era. Part affectionate portrait of an avant-garde building and part gentle critique of an ageing edifice that is struggling to adapt to life nearly 100 years on, the documentary presents the building and some of its inhabitants in all their fascinating complexity.
The German-Ukrainian film is...
- 10/27/2019
- by Tim Dams
- Variety Film + TV
The 23rd edition of the Czech Republic’s top docu fest, Ji.hlava, launched Thursday with a sharp focus on the climate crisis and the unveiling of a new award for filmmakers created by Ai Weiwei, the Chinese dissident artist.
Ji.hlava fest president Marek Hovorka said the award, made of white Lego bricks shaped into a fist with its middle finger raised, symbolizes “courage, critical thinking and standing up to social conventions.” The prize was in part inspired by Ai’s photo series “Study of Perspective,” which celebrates free speech and independence by displaying his hand in the foreground of images of powerful institutions around the globe, seemingly flipping them off. The White House, Trump Tower and Tiananmen Square all get the treatment in the photo series, shot from 1995 to 2017.
The first winner of the custom art work, Ingrid Pokropek of Argentina, was honored for her short film “Shendy Wu: a Diary,...
Ji.hlava fest president Marek Hovorka said the award, made of white Lego bricks shaped into a fist with its middle finger raised, symbolizes “courage, critical thinking and standing up to social conventions.” The prize was in part inspired by Ai’s photo series “Study of Perspective,” which celebrates free speech and independence by displaying his hand in the foreground of images of powerful institutions around the globe, seemingly flipping them off. The White House, Trump Tower and Tiananmen Square all get the treatment in the photo series, shot from 1995 to 2017.
The first winner of the custom art work, Ingrid Pokropek of Argentina, was honored for her short film “Shendy Wu: a Diary,...
- 10/24/2019
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
Running as a parallel section to the main festival, The Inspiration Forum has grown to be an integral and unique offering of the Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival (Oct. 24-29).
Over the course of the six-day festival, 100 invited guests – authors, academics, scientists, analysts and politicians – will speak on six main topics: climate change; women in society; the crisis of democracy; the rise of China; the role of the Catholic Church in today’s world; and “How Not to Be Afraid” at a time when news about environmental crises through to terrorism dominates the headlines.
The Inspiration Forum does exactly what its name suggests – providing inspiration, ideas and dialogue for festival-goers alongside the documentary screenings and talks.
Crucially, says festival director Marek Hovorka, the Forum also helps open up the documentary festival to new and different types of audiences who will “hopefully then discover the great power of documentary cinema.
Over the course of the six-day festival, 100 invited guests – authors, academics, scientists, analysts and politicians – will speak on six main topics: climate change; women in society; the crisis of democracy; the rise of China; the role of the Catholic Church in today’s world; and “How Not to Be Afraid” at a time when news about environmental crises through to terrorism dominates the headlines.
The Inspiration Forum does exactly what its name suggests – providing inspiration, ideas and dialogue for festival-goers alongside the documentary screenings and talks.
Crucially, says festival director Marek Hovorka, the Forum also helps open up the documentary festival to new and different types of audiences who will “hopefully then discover the great power of documentary cinema.
- 10/24/2019
- by Tim Dams
- Variety Film + TV
Nine international documentary films and one judge. That’s the unique competition format for Opus Bonum, the section dedicated to international documentary titles at Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival (Oct. 24-29).
Films from France, the U.K., Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, India, Madagascar, Egypt and Palestine play in the competition section, and the winner will be chosen by famed Romanian director Cristi Puiu. Known as the father of the Romanian New Wave, Puiu’s credits include 2005’s Cannes Un Certain Regard prize winner “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu.”
Launched in 2006, the format for Opus Bonum was conceived as a way of countering the compromises that are inherent in the functioning of traditional film festival juries. “We ask one really significant cinematic person to decide which is the best film – it is a really personal choice,” says festival director Marek Hovorka.
He explains that Puiu was selected as...
Films from France, the U.K., Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, India, Madagascar, Egypt and Palestine play in the competition section, and the winner will be chosen by famed Romanian director Cristi Puiu. Known as the father of the Romanian New Wave, Puiu’s credits include 2005’s Cannes Un Certain Regard prize winner “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu.”
Launched in 2006, the format for Opus Bonum was conceived as a way of countering the compromises that are inherent in the functioning of traditional film festival juries. “We ask one really significant cinematic person to decide which is the best film – it is a really personal choice,” says festival director Marek Hovorka.
He explains that Puiu was selected as...
- 10/23/2019
- by Tim Dams
- Variety Film + TV
The distinctive look and feel of the Czech Republic’s Ji.hlava film festival – fringy, arty, a bit punk via eco-warrior – is down in many ways to one man: Juraj Horvath. The Slovak artist, provocateur and illustrator of children’s books has created what he calls the “visual identity” of the docu fest for 20 years – and confesses the whole process is still somewhat of a mystery to him.
Festgoers at Ji.hlava have come to expect the unexpected, knowing they may find painted shipping containers taking over the small Czech town that shares its name one year, or images of children’s construction toys – or perhaps bags that double as hats.
The long collaboration with the fest began in the early days of the event, now in its 23rd edition, says Horvath, who knew Ji.hlava founder Marek Hovorka while both were students.
At first Horvath, characteristically, made most of his work by hand,...
Festgoers at Ji.hlava have come to expect the unexpected, knowing they may find painted shipping containers taking over the small Czech town that shares its name one year, or images of children’s construction toys – or perhaps bags that double as hats.
The long collaboration with the fest began in the early days of the event, now in its 23rd edition, says Horvath, who knew Ji.hlava founder Marek Hovorka while both were students.
At first Horvath, characteristically, made most of his work by hand,...
- 10/23/2019
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
The largest Cee documentary film festival, unspooling from 24-29 October, will screen 277 creative documentaries. The Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival is bracing for its 23rd edition (24-29 October). The festival’s programmers have created this year’s line-up, consisting of 277 films, from a total number of 3,700 submitted movies. “Unlike last year, when we presented a broad retrospective of direct cinema and cinéma vérité, combining the filmmaking production of the USA, Canada and France, this year, we have decided to pay substantial attention to Eastern European filmmakers,” festival director Marek Hovorka explains. The gathering will introduce comprehensive retrospectives of Kazakh director Sergei Dvorstevoy and Ukrainian filmmaker Feliks Sobolev, accompanied by a unique showcase of Ukrainian experimental films from the 1960s and 1990s. The retrospective section will be complemented by a showcase of movies by avant-garde artist Man Ray as well as Slovak documentary films from the 1960s. The competition section.
- 10/11/2019
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
Hungary’s “Kix” and Czech Republic’s “Frem” won the Docu Talent Awards, chosen from a field of 10 documentary features from Central and Eastern Europe, at the Sarajevo Film Festival on Sunday.
“Kix,” directed by David Mikulan and Balint Revesz, is the story of Sanyi, a troubled youth, as he grows from eight to 18, morphing from young mischief-maker to public enemy.
Viera Cakanyova’s “Frem,” a visual essay about the rise of artificial intelligence and the growing redundancy of human thought, is described as “an audiovisual requiem for homo sapiens.”
The jury was composed of Cinema du Reel director Catherine Bizern, Israeli producer Noemi Schory, Sundance Film Festival programmer Harry Vaugh, Natalia Arshavskaya from Current Time TV, and Jarmila Outratova, representing the organizer of the section, Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival.
In a statement the jury said: “We were very impressed by this eclectic lineup of projects and decided...
“Kix,” directed by David Mikulan and Balint Revesz, is the story of Sanyi, a troubled youth, as he grows from eight to 18, morphing from young mischief-maker to public enemy.
Viera Cakanyova’s “Frem,” a visual essay about the rise of artificial intelligence and the growing redundancy of human thought, is described as “an audiovisual requiem for homo sapiens.”
The jury was composed of Cinema du Reel director Catherine Bizern, Israeli producer Noemi Schory, Sundance Film Festival programmer Harry Vaugh, Natalia Arshavskaya from Current Time TV, and Jarmila Outratova, representing the organizer of the section, Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival.
In a statement the jury said: “We were very impressed by this eclectic lineup of projects and decided...
- 8/19/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Although some serious points were made, the mood was light and even jovial at the closing night of the 22nd Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival. Packed into Kino Dko II, a crowd of filmmakers and producers saw the awards handed out in the presence of a live 15-piece band that blasted out the opening bars of Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke” as the winners took to the stage. Handing out the award for Opus Bonum – a prize given, unusually, by a single juror – Poland’s Krzysztof Zanussi, in town for a masterclass, joked that being the lone arbiter “was a special experience – all night I was fighting with myself.”
Many winners – like “Vacancy” director Alexandra Kandy Longuet, who accepted via video – kept their speeches short and thanked the festival, their subject and their colleagues, while Jean-Luc Godard, winner of the Contribution to World Cinema Award, sent over a few...
Many winners – like “Vacancy” director Alexandra Kandy Longuet, who accepted via video – kept their speeches short and thanked the festival, their subject and their colleagues, while Jean-Luc Godard, winner of the Contribution to World Cinema Award, sent over a few...
- 10/30/2018
- by Damon Wise
- Variety Film + TV
If the 18 participants selected to take part in the Emerging Producers program of the Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival aren’t entirely sure what to expect from this year’s edition, they’re not alone. “I don’t know how to define it,” says Italian producer Paolo Benzi, who along with Irena Taskovski is tutoring the group.
Over the course of five days during the festival, participants come together to question, debate, joust, reflect, and “discuss what it means to produce films nowadays,” Benzi says. “[Emerging Producers] isn’t a training in the strict sense of the word. It’s kind of an awakening of awareness of what we do.”
The program was born out of a 2012 encounter between Benzi and Ji.hlava head Marek Hovorka, where the two discussed the scarcity of places in the documentary field “where you could really get the time or the space to think about...
Over the course of five days during the festival, participants come together to question, debate, joust, reflect, and “discuss what it means to produce films nowadays,” Benzi says. “[Emerging Producers] isn’t a training in the strict sense of the word. It’s kind of an awakening of awareness of what we do.”
The program was born out of a 2012 encounter between Benzi and Ji.hlava head Marek Hovorka, where the two discussed the scarcity of places in the documentary field “where you could really get the time or the space to think about...
- 10/27/2018
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Eighteen documentary films from Central and Eastern Europe will take part this week in Between the Seas, a competition section at the Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival, including a host of world premieres from emerging and established filmmakers.
“It’s very rare to have this type of program focusing on [Central and] Eastern Europe,” said festival director Marek Hovorka. “We are part of this region, and we want to be able to support professionals in film in this region [to] meet professionals in film from outside this region—not only from Europe, but from the rest of the world.”
Launched in 2001 with a focus on Central European documentaries – and expanded to include Eastern Europe the following year – Between the Seas was the first international competition at Ji.hlava, and it remains an “essential” part of the festival, said Hovorka.
Among the highlights of this year’s competition are the world premiere of “The End and the Means,...
“It’s very rare to have this type of program focusing on [Central and] Eastern Europe,” said festival director Marek Hovorka. “We are part of this region, and we want to be able to support professionals in film in this region [to] meet professionals in film from outside this region—not only from Europe, but from the rest of the world.”
Launched in 2001 with a focus on Central European documentaries – and expanded to include Eastern Europe the following year – Between the Seas was the first international competition at Ji.hlava, and it remains an “essential” part of the festival, said Hovorka.
Among the highlights of this year’s competition are the world premiere of “The End and the Means,...
- 10/27/2018
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Launching its 22nd edition with an ambitious, expanded program, the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival opened Thursday in the Czech Republic, embracing the theme of memory as it marks the centennial of the founding of Czechoslovakia.
The nation, formed at the close of Wwi, lasted through 1993, when it was broken up into Slovakia and the Czech Republic, two nations that these days each contribute strongly to documentary presence at the fest and beyond. The breakup turned millions into migrants overnight, providing the seed for the Ji.hlava fest’s main focus this year: migration.
Fest founder Marek Hovorka, speaking in the city’s communist-era community center known as Dko, presented to an international audience the fest’s three sections covering work on migration: Foreigner Looking for an Apartment, about émigrés settling into life abroad; a focus on the region of Carpathia, “sort of a mythological part of the country...
The nation, formed at the close of Wwi, lasted through 1993, when it was broken up into Slovakia and the Czech Republic, two nations that these days each contribute strongly to documentary presence at the fest and beyond. The breakup turned millions into migrants overnight, providing the seed for the Ji.hlava fest’s main focus this year: migration.
Fest founder Marek Hovorka, speaking in the city’s communist-era community center known as Dko, presented to an international audience the fest’s three sections covering work on migration: Foreigner Looking for an Apartment, about émigrés settling into life abroad; a focus on the region of Carpathia, “sort of a mythological part of the country...
- 10/26/2018
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
Marek Hovorka, a native of the city of Jihlava in the Czech Republic, founded its biggest cultural event some 22 years ago at a time when films were submitted on VHS cassettes in bubble wrap and invitations sent out via fax machine. Today the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival is a nexus for work from around the globe and a key player in the influential European documentary film ecosystem. He reflects on the fest’s humble start and the unexpected turns it has taken on its road to major player status.
What was the genesis of your idea for Ji.hlava? What convinced you it could work in a town that was then so quiet and fairly remote?
In 1997 the situation for documentary filmmaking and its festival landscape was completely different – and not only in the Czech Republic. Almost all films were screened from film prints and nobody had a website.
What was the genesis of your idea for Ji.hlava? What convinced you it could work in a town that was then so quiet and fairly remote?
In 1997 the situation for documentary filmmaking and its festival landscape was completely different – and not only in the Czech Republic. Almost all films were screened from film prints and nobody had a website.
- 10/25/2018
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
The longlist includes the winners from both Sheffield Doc/Fest and Idfa.
The European Film Academy has unveiled the 15 documentaries that have been recommended for nomination at the 2018 European Film Awards.
Scroll down for full line-up.
They include The Silence Of Others by Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar, which won the grand jury award at this year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest, and Serbian director Mila Turajlic’s The Other Side of Everything, winner of Idfa’s best feature-length documentary prize.
Also nominated is Jane Magnusson’s Bergman – A Year In A Life, which premiered in Cannes Classics, and Stefano Savona...
The European Film Academy has unveiled the 15 documentaries that have been recommended for nomination at the 2018 European Film Awards.
Scroll down for full line-up.
They include The Silence Of Others by Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar, which won the grand jury award at this year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest, and Serbian director Mila Turajlic’s The Other Side of Everything, winner of Idfa’s best feature-length documentary prize.
Also nominated is Jane Magnusson’s Bergman – A Year In A Life, which premiered in Cannes Classics, and Stefano Savona...
- 8/15/2018
- ScreenDaily
One of Central Europe’s top docu fests, known for cultivating art film and nonfiction work that explores genre boundaries, has adopted a suitably avant-garde look this year, thanks to the work of Jean-Luc Godard.
The 22nd Ji.hlava international docu fest, running Oct. 25-30 in the former silver mining town of Jihlava in the Czech Republic, is not mentioned in the moody one-minute clip posted on YouTube, although its logo appears in the last few seconds.
Instead, a disembodied hand runs a finger across a mobile phone screen menu of photographs, presumably from the life of an older man, murmuring in voiceover.
“And even if nothing turned out how we’d hoped,” he intones, “it would not have changed what we’d hoped for.”
The voice, Godard’s own, riffs on the French New Wave auteur’s habit of overlaying philosophical observations to complement his jump cuts and surreal...
The 22nd Ji.hlava international docu fest, running Oct. 25-30 in the former silver mining town of Jihlava in the Czech Republic, is not mentioned in the moody one-minute clip posted on YouTube, although its logo appears in the last few seconds.
Instead, a disembodied hand runs a finger across a mobile phone screen menu of photographs, presumably from the life of an older man, murmuring in voiceover.
“And even if nothing turned out how we’d hoped,” he intones, “it would not have changed what we’d hoped for.”
The voice, Godard’s own, riffs on the French New Wave auteur’s habit of overlaying philosophical observations to complement his jump cuts and surreal...
- 7/4/2018
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
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