News | Ji.hlava IDFF

01.10.2019

Ji.hlava’s Inspiration Forum is looking for a manual to the world

Climageddon, Woman in Change, Re:Democracy, God & Co., Made in China – and most of all: How Not To Be Afraid. These are the main topics covered by this year’s Inspiration Forum organised under the banner of the twenty-third Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival. Make sure your last weekend in October will be dedicated to the “festival of thought”. This year, the Inspiration Forum will take place for the ninth time. In the course of six festival days, it will open up six key topics and present over one hundred guests from all over the world, in more than thirty discussions. “Live discussions after the screenings are an integral part of the Ji.hlava IDFF and often the reason why many directors and visitors alike keep on coming back. However, the Inspiration Forum gave the festival a brand new dimension. I have long dreamt of creating a comprehensive discussion platform that will bring together educated and curious festival audience with inspiring personalities in a focused discussion format and I am very thrilled to see it happening in the past few years. A live dialogue is priceless and I am very happy that guests and debaters literally stepped out of the film screen directly to the audience,” says Marek Hovorka, the director of the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival and founder of the Inspiration Forum. “The first step towards the transformation of the Inspiration Forum was made two years ago while last year, we finished the changes to create an authentic ‘festival of thought‘ which takes place concurrently with the film programme of the Ji.hlava IDFF. Topics, which will this year be discussed during debates, presentations, interviews and documentary dialogues were carefully selected and formulated. We believe that they are a key to better future. Because in order to change the world or at least to survive the threats we are facing, we have to understand the things around us a bit more: in civic, political as well as personal terms,” says Tereza Swadoschová, the Head of Inspiration Forum, summing up its purpose. Climageddon! What will you find on this year’s programme? Bill McKibben, a notable American environmentalist, will talk about the climate crisis as a challenge. His book The End of Nature published in 1989 provided a visionary account of today’s climate situation. Following will be Sini Harkki, the Head of Greenpeace Finland, who greatly contributed to the reduction of the consumption of fossil fuels in her country, and the chief of the Irish Green Party, Eamon Ryan, under whose term, the capacity of wind electric power plants in Ireland doubled. “The guests were chosen not only to sum up the existing media debate but also to discuss what to do next. The means of social transformation will be discussed not only with experienced agents in the field of environmental protection but also with the upcoming generation,” said Tereza Swadoschová commenting on the selection of the guests. This year, the environmental topic will also be reflected in the section of Documentary Dialogues selected and moderated by documentarian Filip Remunda. In an interview, we will introduce Isabella Salton, director of Brazilian environmental organisation Instituto Terra, who fights for the protection of Brazilian forest that the current president Jair Bolsonaro opened to the possibility of commercial use. Woman in Change One whole day will be dedicated to the debates on the position of women in society. “Which are the ways that can bring us closer to the ideal of gender equality? What can be done and how in the sphere of politics, business, industry, education and healthcare? How to change the attitude to feminism so that the mere word is no longer regarded a slur?” says Swadoschová enumerating some of the questions that will be addressed. The topic of Woman in Change will be discussed by Fawzia Koofi, an advocate for women rights and a candidate for the president of Afghanistan, or Slovak actress, diplomat and former presidential candidate Magda Vašáryová. Documentary Dialogues will present Dagestani writer Alisa Ganieva. Her debut, Salaam, Dalgat! had to be published under a male pseudonym to avoid the label “a story for women“. Re: Democracy Another big topic of the ninth Inspiration Forum is the crisis of a democratic society. “How to involve the citizens in the decision-making process again? Which reforms should we be striving for? And how to deal with the issue of short election cycles which do not provide space for long-term visions?” says Tereza Swadoschová, asking some of the questions that will be brought up in debates on the next day. And who will be the debaters? “For instance, Sophie Howe, who has for three years been in office as the ‘future generations commissioner‘ in Wales. She caters to the needs of future generations, evaluates governmental projects from the long-term perspective and intervenes in situations when short-term profit could cause long-term losses,” add Tereza Swadoschová. Another guest will be the political scientist and NATO’s strategic communication specialist, Jonathan Terra, who worked as a diplomat in Afghanistan. As a political analyst and commentator he writes about the state of democracy in the USA. Documentary Dialogue will introduce Croatian philosopher and political activist Srećko Horvat. How Not To Be Afraid Environmental disasters, fake news, wars for water and resources, terrorism, end of the world. These catastrophic scenarios are slowly becoming an integral part of our everyday existence. This year, the Ji.hlava IDFF will also discuss “how to stop being afraid” of these visions and not to be paralysed by fear. The guests will include British futurologist Jonathan Ledgard, author of the cargo drone and droneport concept for Africa, or a former follower of German ultranationalist right-wing groups, Christian Weissgerber. “It is true that when I was young, I was feeling helpless and one of the ways of overcoming my despair was humiliation of others,” says the former Neo-Nazi. Documentary Dialogue will feature the American of Mexican origin, writer and former border guard, Francisco Cantú. His novel, The Line Becomes a River, which draws on his own experience on the borderline between two worlds, has become a bestseller. China and God Another sphere of interest of this year’s Inspiration Forum is China. A country watched by the whole world – and watching the whole world. How does their combination of totalitarianism and capitalism work? How does the regime employ current technological possibilities to take control? What does China want from the world and what does the world want from China? These and similar issues will be the focus of a full-day block called Made in China. Norwegian political scientist Stein Ringen or Czech analyst Tomáš Rezek who is engaged with cyber safety and criminality will be one of those answering the questions. A day block called God & Co. will then focus on the topic of Catholic Church, its role in today’s world, and its further developments. The guest will be the first Czech military chaplain, Bishop Tomáš Holub. He is one of the more progressive Catholic representatives: clearly denouncing nationalism just as the “building of ideological barricades against gender”. And, finally, the Inner World The Inspiration Forum also keeps in mind those who like to get up early. In a daily early morning programme entitled Inner World. “Extraordinary figures from the world of culture and arts will be our guests. They will discuss the ten points talking about what inspired them in their work, both in terms of meetings with others, situations or works of art,” says Tereza Swadoschová describing the format. The guests will include Bulgarian poet Kapka Kassabova whose works explore boundaries of all kinds. “It is important to be open and to listen, to try to understand each other despite the things that separate us. Now more than ever,“ says Kassabova. Lama Sonam Tsering has a similar opinion. For fourteen years, he has been studying as a monk in a Buddhist monastery in Northern India, but he decided to leave; today, he runs a Tibetan food stall in Prague. 9th Inspiration Forum will take place as part of 23rd Ji.hlava IDFF on October 24–29, 2019 You can find more info about the Inspiration Forum topics and program HERE. 23.09.2019

Man Ray and erotica

23rd Ji.hlava IDFF film news 20.09.2019

Karel Vachek and honey

23rd Ji.hlava IDFF: film news 19.09.2019

Away from the Stage: Music and Sound in the Festival Landscape

This year, the music programme will freely tie up with the main environmental theme of the festival. “We will introduce music makers who work with the sounds of the real world,” says the programme composer of the “off-screen programme”, Pavel Klusák. Miloš Vojtěchovský, who has in the long-term been a significant figure of the Czech sound experiment, has prepared a walk through Jihlava accompanied with the sounds communicating with a smartphone app. Vocalist Lucie Páchová and her trio called Love_Me use recordings from Uganda and Congo; and the section of field recordings will feature Jiří Suchánek and Tomáš Šenkyřík. Slovakia will introduce their naive artists: Džumelec or Erik Sikora, currently nominated for the prestigious Oskár Čepan Award, and the aptly critical and surreally grotesque Samčo, a Brother to Earthworms. Contemporary European experiment is represented by guitar player Kim Myhr (Norway), drum improviser Ingar Zach (Norway) and Billy Roisz (Austria) who transforms the sound of her heart into a video during her concerts. The evening in a traditional festival tent will feature performances by WWW Neurobeat, the fresh energy of imaginative hip-hop called PΛST and Jihlava-based musicians and performers MΛKE UP NOT WΔR and their restlessly melancholic post-music. Jakob Schubert will be the DJ of the night with Radio1 and on the following nights you can listen to Brno-based DJ duo Diskofilcky composed of Zuzana Fuksová (Čoko Voko) and painter Marie Butula. Night owls and festival visitors eager to dance will find their groove at DKO that, at the stroke of midnight, will turn into a dance club under the baton of Radio Wave. You can look forward to pop DJ, singer and producer HOLY, audience’s favourite Jarda Petřík and ambient and techno producer Trevor Linde. A well-seasoned organiser of club parties, DJ dMIT.RY will make his appearance, Brno-based duo Tomino & Myslivec will infect the audience with their eclectic, and almost ironic, music selection, and, last but not least, the festival audience will be treated to a live set by the legend of modular synthesisers, HRTL. Musician and producer Aid Kid will dish out current clubbing trends as well as timeless experiments, ranging from Prague’s electronic music legend Floex, followed by colourful and energetic set by DJ Barbora ending the tour of the club scene with techno music. 19.09.2019

Piano, Vladimír Mečiar, Kiruna

Czech Joy competition section: news 16.09.2019

Press release. This year, Ji.hlava IDFF will be even more varied: from Karel Vachek through Man Ray to erotica

18.08.2019

The Docu Talent Awards 2019 were granted to Kix and Frem

17.08.2019

EMERGING PRODUCERS 2020 were announced, with Taiwan as guest country

01.08.2019

Film submissions for 23rd Ji.hlava IDFF have been closed!

26.06.2019

Ji.hlava for the twenty-third time: minding our ecological footprint!

Visual artist Juraj Horváth, the author of the festival poster that was officially unveiled today, always writes a short poem accompanying the visual design. This year, one of the poem’s lines depicts a “planet glowing red-hot”. Marek Hovorka, the Director of the Ji.hlava IDFF adds: “So far, the festival has mainly followed the line of thoughts and filmic expressions. This time, we are adding a third aspect: the environmental footprint.” The eyes are looking To the left To the right Upwards And down Full stop You can see Quickly sketched shapes You can imagine All kinds of signs A planet glowing red-hot Full stop Just a sizzle She said Painted all over Covered with scribbles With words Full stop I saw a familiar eye Drifting freely Falling stars Melting shapes Smoking messages Full stop Full stops Exclamation mark In the distance Juraj Horváth This year’s visual concept of the festival is specific for its two-colour register and distinct drawings. “We wanted Ji.hlava to become more playful. Our graphic artist, Juraj Horváth, plans to scatter the festival printed materials with his drawings, and the poster visual is only one of them,” says Marek Hovorka explaining the graphic design. Hovorka adds: “Although surrounded by apocalyptic news, our outlook into the future is slightly optimistic. We believe that if we, as a mankind, behave responsibly, we will handle the situation.” Environmental concerns will be the main theme of this year’s Ji.hlava IDFF. “We have always tried to keep the environment in mind. But we realised that our environment-friendly attitude has been rather patchy. We want to be consistent and plan our next steps based on the latest findings. We are trying to find savings within our system and perhaps be an inspiration to others,” says Hovorka. The 23rd Ji.hlava IDFF will therefore introduce the environmental ombudsman who will “serve as a direct contact between the festival and the visitors: and introduce Ji.hlava’s environmental practices to the public. He or she will also collect comments and suggestions. This is a long-term commitment, not a one-off activity. Some things will not change immediately, but we want to adopt a more consistent environmental attitude that would become a natural and commonplace part of our festival.” What does it mean in practice? No single-use plastic, encouraging festival guests to use public transportation over cars, prioritising direct flights and much more. Inspiration Forum: China and climate change This year’s Ji.hlava will for the second time offer an extended version of the Inspiration Forum. The Forum’s events will take place throughout the whole festival week, encompassing six burning social topics, and hosting dozens of experts from across the globe. Programmer Tereza Swadoschová explains this year’s programme concept: “This year, the Forum will have a futurologist concept. We have identified social issues that have a global impact, and, at the same time, concern every single one of us. The focus will be on topics such as the Chinese current influence on world politics and economy, or the condition of the western democracy.” The Inspiration Forum will also resonate with Ji.hlava’s environmental focus: “We will dedicate one whole day to the issue of climate change. Many experts warn that we are slow in curbing global emissions and the reduction is definitely not fast enough to avert the upcoming planetary crisis,” continues Tereza Swadoschová, and she concludes: “The purpose of the Forum is to spark an intensive dialogue. Instead of merely analysing the problems, we want to try and find solutions and to inspire others to take an active stance in their everyday life, and as politically engaged citizens.” Out in the streets This year’s Ji.hlava is introducing another new feature. After ten years, the architectural concept now has new authors - architects Jiří Mašek, Miroslav Kukrál and Lukáš Výtisk. “We are very thankful for our decade-long collaboration with Josef Čančík and Vít Šimek whose installations for the Ji.hlava IDFF even made it into the prestigious Czech architecture almanac,” says Iveta Černá on behalf of the Ji.hlava team and she continues: “This year, we were searching for a concept that would be creative, sustainable and at the same time offering a comfortable solution for the visitors both in the screening halls and in the public city space.” The winning concept works with the idea of a temporary square set up in front of DKO, in reaction to the original urbanist concept created by the Machonins. “We simply want to transform the unwelcoming space of the current car park into a place where people will be happy to meet,” points out Iveta Černá. This concept applies to the entire Ji.hlava IDFF. The twenty-third edition of the Ji.hlava IDFF will showcase documentary films in eight screening halls. Children aged three to fourteen can look forward to a rich programme prepared as part of the “Ji.hlava for Kids” section. The 23rd Ji.hlava IDFF will take place on October 24 to 29, 2019 Early bird accreditations for 600 CZK are available until September 23 download festival poster in PDF or PNG press release [galerie45]