28th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival

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Blue Light - Memories From a Paramedic
With the same intensity with which the flashing blue light illuminates its surroundings, fatal experiences are burned into the memory of an ambulance paramedic. The traumatic dimension of carrying out a profession that is essential for society is brought closer by the documentary confession of a man who sometimes unfortunately cannot save the lives of others.“In recent years, I have often been surprised at how we move the suffering in our society to the edges. Preferably out of sight.” Source: Jaap van Heusden's blog

Blue Light - Memories From a Paramedic

Jaap van Heusden, Jefta Varwijk
Netherlands / 2022 / 16 min.
section: Ji.hlava Online, Short Joy
International Premiere
Body-Soul-Patient
The medical profession requires not only detailed knowledge of diagnostic and treatment procedures, but also personal qualities or communication skills. Can these be taught? Jindřich Andrš' observational film shows new ways of teaching at the Second Faculty of Medicine of Charles University. We follow medics who find themselves in challenging simulated and real situations - for the first time in the role of a doctor. "I must say that this is a style of teaching that we have not had the chance to encounter before, and the actual experience is absolutely irreplaceable. The emotions are real and you don't feel comfortable at all."

Body-Soul-Patient

Jindřich Andrš
Czech Republic / 2023 / 23 min.
section: Czech Joy, Ji.hlava Online
World Premiere
DISTANCES
Eight years ago, Shiv moved with his wife and young son from Nepal to Poland for a better life. Now in Warsaw, he makes a living by delivering food and by night as a taxi driver. At the same time, his teenage son goes to school and his wife sits at home unhappy. A time-lapse portrait of an immigrant family follows their seemingly ordinary life as well as interpersonal conflicts. Misunderstandings, old grievances and different values lead to the breakdown of family well-being and painful separation. The film sensitively portrays the problems faced by immigrants in Europe, and at the same time focuses attention on their individual life destinies, dreams and hopes. “You can’t drop out of school to become a YouTuber. It doesn’t work like that.”

DISTANCES

Matej Bobrik
Poland / 2023 / 84 min.
section: Ji.hlava Online, Opus Bonum
World Premiere
First of May
The documentary First of May explores the more than a century-long evolution of the celebration and the meaning of this day. The structure is composed of memories, newspaper excerpts, testimonies found in archives, etc. - all these passages are brought to life by the actors' voices, taking on the roles of journalists, factory workers, policemen, workers and ordinary people who watch May Day, sometimes with interest and verve, sometimes with distance or irony.

First of May

Petr Smělík
Czech Republic / 2023 / 55 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries, Ji.hlava Online
The film already had its Czech Premiere
King Coal
The central Appalachian region has always been associated with coal mining, which to this day is not only a source of livelihood but also influences and shapes the lifestyle of local communities. Elaine McMillion Sheldon's documentary is a compelling mosaic that weaves together the past and present myths of the region, as well as a poetic reflection on a unique environment and its transformation. King Coal, as she calls her home, is indeed a place that, like the mountaintops, is dominated by rugged beauty, dreaminess and mysterious stories.“Some think that place matters less today. But here, we know that our bodies are only ever in one place.”

King Coal

Elaine McMillion Sheldon
United States / 2023 / 78 min.
section: Ji.hlava Online, Opus Bonum
European Premiere
La Reine
Drugs have been with 73-year-old non-conformist Ian all his life, but times have changed. Whereas in the 1960s they were part of the counterculture, today the lavender farm is a place far from the outside world where addicts flock, not looking for different or better company, but to bring their own traumas. Nikola Klinger used Super 16 to film not only Ian's memories, but also a nostalgic chronicle of social processes. His portrait of individual and collective memory shows that there are two ways to enjoy freedom, either as a medicinal herb or a poison drug. “Today we are taught to be individualists, but I think we are more dependent than ever.”The first screening is simultaneously translated into English.

La Reine

Nikola Klinger
Czech Republic / 2023 / 61 min.
section: Czech Joy, Ji.hlava Online, Opus Bonum
World Premiere
Praise Me!
A documentary about the various forms of the desire for perfection. Director Eva Tomanová uses the stories of four protagonists to show the motivations that lead people to often unrealistic aspirations, and explores why and at what cost they aspire to fulfil them. She reflects on how treacherous the process of reaching the ideal is and how easy it is to get lost on the road to perfection.

Praise Me!

Eva Tomanová
Czech Republic / 2023 / 54 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries, Ji.hlava Online
The film already had its Czech Premiere
Rehab (from rehab)
The parallels between the human body and architecture are highlighted in a film based on the personal experience of Louise Lemoine. As a child, she spent years in and out of hospitals caring for her severely disabled father. She confronts her traumatic memories with a cinematic exploration of the REHAB facility in Basel – a unique medical space adapted for special purposes. The artist duo arrives at the nature of its holistic character by way of a decomposition into sub-elements, including the body of the building, which is sensitively adapted to the mental state of the patients, as hospitals are not just factories designed to manage people. “So all the ways we occupy space and the way we adapt and subvert it are crucial to us, yet we are under the impression that we, as a society, think about it too little.” Source: ArchDaily

Rehab (from rehab)

Ila Bêka, Louise Lemoine
France / 2023 / 86 min.
section: Ji.hlava Online, Opus Bonum
European Premiere
Ship
After more than 160 years of existence, one of the largest Croatian shipyards Uljanik is closing down. The place where ships of impressive size and importance were manufactured and then sailed away has been turned into an industrial graveyard for wrecks, dysfunctional cranes and abandoned workshops that once teemed with life. Through a collage of observational footage, however, we now observe the almost post-apocalyptic landscape of the site, which has become home to seagulls, sea creatures and hungry cats. How did Pula's originally important Austro-Hungarian shipping empire come to an end? The former glory of Uljanik and its road to extinction come alive in the memories of countless individuals, many of whom have dedicated their professional and private lives to Uljanik. “Everyday I walk past Uljanik and think about those [past] scenes. I simply don’t want to remember this moment now.”

Ship

Elvis Lenić
Croatia / 2023 / 65 min.
section: Ji.hlava Online, Opus Bonum
International Premiere
The Květná Farm
The documentary Farma Květná follows the fate of three young men who have hit rock bottom, living in orphanages, in detention centres, on the streets. Now they have found work, and with it an unrecognised sense of meaning and self-worth, at Farm Květná, founded by former Interior Ministry official Ferdinand Raditsch. In it, he offers unorthodox support to those whose circumstances have destined them for an unfavourable starting line.

The Květná Farm

Jan Gebert
Czech Republic / 2023 / 26 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries, Ji.hlava Online
The film already had its Czech Premiere
Ministerstvo kultury
Fond kinematografie
Creative Europe Media
Město Jihlava
Kraj Vysočina
GEMO
Česká televize
Český rozhlas
Aktuálně.cz
Respekt
Dafilms