We present an extensive retrospective of Jonas Mekas, 95-year-old director straddled between Europe and the US, documentary and the avant-garde. Discover the work of the Lithuanian-American director, poet and visual artist often called the godfather of American avant-garde cinema and founder of the diary genre in documentary film.

How many faces does documentary have? They’re countless. We have picked directors with an original way of expression and we invite you to explore the diverse ways in which they perceive the world, society, reality and time.

Agnès Varda, Jan Němec, Chris Marker, Peter Tscherkassky, Victor Kossakovsky, Sergei Loznitsa and others; ten filmmakers, ten different filmmaking approaches. We have prepared a collection of directors whose works are worth watching regardless of their theme, time of their making or the number of awards.

War, hatred, mistrust, armed attacks by both sides, and hopelessness. These are all characteristics of the never-ending, Palestinian-Israeli conflict. We would like to present Israeli director Avi Mograbi, who reflects his Jewish identity through his unique artistic style: he makes fun of himself without ceasing to take his subject matter seriously, combining politics with his purely personal perspective.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the armies of the Warsaw Pact in 1968, we present two remarkable films focusing on the Prague Spring. The Ferrari Dino Girl by Czechoslovak New Wave classic Jan Němec and Elective Affinities by Karel Vachek include authentic scenes as well as a re-enactment of the period events.

What films are winning at the French documentary festival FIDMarseille? In the next two weeks, we will take you to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and present the films that appealed to last year’s jury the most and won the main awards and special mentions. Join us on a trip to the French Riviera and watch the best of the prestigious FIDMarseille festival!

The renowned Ukrainian documentary filmmaker has been mapping the phenomenon of contemporary Russia in an original way for several decades. In his films, he meets his protagonists in big cities and remote territories, following politicians as well as the everyday lives of common people. Mansky’s latest film Putin’s Witnesses will be premiered in the documentary competition at the upcoming Karlovy Vary IFF. The director’s current retrospective at DAFilms includes an exclusive preview from the film.

The Syrian Civil War started more than 7 years ago, lasting already 2645 days (June 11, 2018). Since it started, approximately half a million people died and over six million were forced to flee their homes. There are four sides involved in the conflict that are supported by various countries and fractions. However, the numbers fail to describe the complex situation, as they cannot tell individual human stories. That is why we present a selection of documentaries dealing with the war in Syria from various points of view.

The Vietnamese are the third most numerous national group in the Czech Republic. The first wave of immigration came already before the revolutionary year of 1989; since then, more Vietnamese have been coming to the Czech Republic, with the youngest generation already being born here. What was it really like for the Vietnamese to live in the Czech Republic ten years ago and what is it like today? Do young Vietnamese deem the Czech Republic their home or do they long to return to their “homeland“? These and other themes are reflected in a serious and fun way in the films by Czech and Vietnamese directors in our current Curated Program.

Why do people still react to difference by aggression? Where does the struggle for sovereignty end and nationalism begin? Is hate leading to war a never-ending story of human history? Chris Marker, Peter Entell, Selma Doborac and others have looked for answers.