The Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival and Jan Barta joined forces to support outstanding auteur filmmaking from Central and Eastern Europe by launching the Ji.hlava / JB Films support scheme.

About Ji.hlava / JB Films Support

Its aim is to support the effective distribution of films in both national and international context. We are aware that distributing auteur films is much more difficult after the pandemic, and we want to make it easier for exceptional projects to reach their audiences. We are convinced that these exceptional films can help us understand better the changes and the mounting crises of the world we live in.

Recipients of Ji.hlava / JB Films Support 2025

PLAYTOPIA
Countries: Czech Republic, Romania
Film length: 80 min
Director: Bára Jíchová Tyson
Producers: Alice Tabery, Kristina Husová
Co-producers: Radu Stancu, Cristina Hanes
Genre: hybrid documentary
Estimated date of premiere: 2026
Logline: Frank, surprising, alarming: children show us what they think of our world. Playtopia combines the real and the imagined in a playful documentary film with whimsical and magical elements.
Synopsis: Playtopia is a hybrid documentary where a filmmaker explores the minds of eight children through a magical object called the Playtopia Machine. Together, they imagine The Good Life and The Bad Life, reflecting children's views on power, love, money, hierarchy, and the future. The film asks: Are we preparing kids for a world worth inheriting?
Ji.hlava / JB Films co-production support: EUR 18,000

WORLD OF WALLS
Countryies: Slovakia, Czech Republic, Belgium, France, South Africa
Film length: 80 min
Director: Lucia Kašová
Producer: Matej Sotník (guča films)
Co-producers: CLAW Films, Harald House BV, FACTSTORY, ARTE GEIE, Czech Television, The Audio Room
Genre: hybrid documentary
Estimated date of premiere: 2026
Logline: Set in South Africa where the future is already reality, the coming-of-age documentary World of Walls follows the everyday lives of two girls on opposite sides of a wall.
Synopsis: To evoke and imagine the near future, World of Walls is set in an environment of extreme social divisions and an escalating climate crisis. The story takes place in an unspecified country that is being destroyed by on-going environmental disasters, located in today’s South Africa. The rich are living inside strictly protected luxury estates with secure infrastructure, while the rest of the world survives on scarce resources. People knew these catastrophes were coming, but ignored the fact. By following the contrasting lives of Megan and Laureen—teenagers growing up separated by a wall—the film offers a window into this fractured and dystopian world.
Ji.hlava / JB Films co-production support: EUR 18,000

VALLEY OF THE NIGHT
Countries: Czech Republic, USA
Film length: 80 min
Director: Lynne Siefert
Producers: Matej Sotník (Somatic Films), Lynne Siefert (Mousehaus)
Genre: hybrid documentary
Estimated date of premiere: 2027
Logline: In a near-future world where extreme heat forces society to become nocturnal.
Synopsis: Valley of the Night is a science fiction documentary that envisions a near future world in Phoenix, Arizona, the hottest city in the United States, where nighttime becomes a place of natural refuge as people adapt to survive the extreme temperatures.
Ji.hlava / JB Films co-production support: EUR 18,000

Form of support:

The financial support is a co-production input to the film project, which will provide to Ji.hlava / JB Films a revenue share corresponding to the total cost (or as agreed between the main producer of the film and Ji.hlava / JB Films).

The profit share assigned to Ji.hlava / JB Films will be subsequently distributed in full to the newly selected film projects in subsequent calls. The aim is to create a tool that will enable repeated support for new films in the region.

Deadline for applications:

Currently, the call is closed.