From October 25 to 30, the 20th edition of the largest celebration of documentary film in Central and Eastern Europe is held in Jihlava, Czech Republic. Until November 6, the festival continues online at DAFilms.com.
From October 25 to 30, the 20th edition of the largest celebration of documentary film in Central and Eastern Europe is held in Jihlava, Czech Republic. Until November 6, the festival continues online at DAFilms.com.
Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival is dedicated to discovering new filmmaking talents and little known films and to blurring the line between documentary, fiction and experimental film. This year’s programme includes 310 films, the competition sections will showcase 45 world premieres as well as 11 international and 2 European premieres. “To mark the festival’s twentieth edition, we have organised both an exhibition on the history of Jihlava IDFF on Masaryk Square and the Lux Film Prize programme in the Horácké Theatre offering repeats of the most popular films. One of the highlights will be the presence of a long-term colleague of Ken Loach, producer Rebbeca O‘Brien, film editing legend Claire Atherton (who collaborated primarily with Chantal Akerman) and editor Jacop Quadri. Quadri is also the closest collaborator of Gianfranco Rosi whose Fire at Sea is one of the documentary revelations of this season,”i says Marek Hovorka, director of Jihlava IDFF, describing the highlights of the festival’s 20th edition. Besides the above mentioned guests, Jihlava will further host other prominent personalities, including Mike Bonanno from the Yes Men duo and Icelandic director-legend Fridrik Thor Fridriksson.
The festival will be opened by Helena’s Law by Petra Nesvačilová, a film about the Berdych Gang which is also available in our online documentary cinema until October 30. Jihlava IDFF focuses on present-day Turkey, a country that is “larger than Ukraine and as unknown as the Orient.” One of the remarkable films presented within the Transparent Landscape: Turkey section is the successful feature-length debut Gulîstan, Land of Roses by Turkish director Zayne Akyol.
Other categories of the festival programme radiate attractiveness as well: Czech Joy introduces the most remarkable Czech documentary films of the past year while 14 films from Central and Eastern Europe compete in the Between the Seas section. The best of world documentary is presented within Opus Bonum. Another film treat is the presentation of Éric Rohmer, a representative of the French New Wave.
Since man cannot live by film alone, the festival has also prepared a traditionally rich accompanying programme. Those who will not visit the festival can enjoy our online event Jihlava Manifesto (1997-2016) introducing the twenty years of the festival’s history through essays screened in the course of the festival’s existence. Watch it at DAFilms.com until one week after the festival’s closing!
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