25th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival
Reality TV
Reality TV opens viewers’ eyes to new television formats and presents the full range of current forms of crossover genres such as docudrama, docusoap, reality show, and mockumentary.

An effort to bridge the gap in society led to the creation of this remarkable and internationally acclaimed project. In each episode, two opponents with completely different mindsets and views – including, for example, those who write hateful messages on social media – meet face to face. The show’s moderator is the renowned journalist, Abdel Aziz Mahmoud, and the goal, of course, is not to make the opponents like each other, but rather to make them willing to discuss and listen to each other's arguments. (30 minutes)
Abdel: Between the Enemies
Denmark / 2020 / 30 min.
section: Reality TV

An experiment in which ten candidates experience a doomsday scenario. Solar flares will cause power and mobile network outages. Five candidates will live in a modern dungeon while the other five will live on a farm. The blackout lasts for 14 days, giving them time to establish cooperation with each other. The show resonated greatly on other media and with the Swedish public. (45 minutes)
Blackout
Sweden / 2019 / 76 min.
section: Reality TV

Black garbage dumps, illegal hostels, graffiti artists, bike thieves. These are problems that almost every mayor in the Czech Republic faces. However, not every municipality is headed by Pavel Novotný – a man who claims to be an "obsessive maniac" who will "stop at nothing" to protect the welfare of his fellow citizens, as evidenced by the cameras of web television network Mall.tv. On the show Extreme Mayor, he’s not looking for excuses, but solutions that can sometimes be — as the show’s name might suggest — rather unusual.
Extreme Mayor
Lukáš Záhoř
Czech Republic / 2019 / 60 min.
section: Reality TV

The Canadian version of a successful Australian format. Six Canadians with different views on Native Americans, but who mostly have preconceptions about them, set out on an unforgettable, twenty-eight-day journey on camera to find out what the daily lives of the "first nations" look like in different parts of the country, including in the Yukon territory.
First Contact - Season 2, Ep.01
Canada / 2019 / 45 min.
section: Reality TV

This docu-reality series follows four ordinary British families tasked with caring for domestic farm animals. While handling pigs, chickens, and cows would have been just an ordinary day for our ancestors, many of us would find it a challenging chore. Eventually, the families are forced to make difficult decisions. When will their new “family members” be next on the dinner plate? And how will they decide when to send the cow off to the slaughterhouse, or the pig off to the butcher’s and the hen off to get decapitated? (48 minutes)
Meat the Family
United Kingdom / 2020 / 46 min.
section: Reality TV

A series of reports by Václav Dolejší, who watches closely how politicians woo voters. The experienced political reporter and commentator shoots videos of politicians from up close and personal, revealing them in situations outside of a parliament context or official press conference. Directed by Jan Strejcovský, with original reportage camerawork by Patrik Balónek and an exceptional cut by Alan Sýs Dolejší, he recorded various events including a typical tantrum of the self-centered Řeporyje mayor Pavel Novotný, an auction of paintings by Jaroslav Faltínek, Karel Schwarzenberg's calm in the storm of a pandemic, and Miloš Vystrčil's decision to fly to Taiwan.
Neboli
Jan Strejcovský
Czech Republic / 2020 / 80 min.
section: Reality TV

The show is presented as a social experiment. British families move into a completely different and unknown environment: a village in Namibia. Only, when they get there, they find that replicas of their own houses in the UK have been built. While they seem to be living right at home, as soon as they open the front door, they’ll find themselves in the backyard of the semi-nomadic Himba tribe. (60 minutes)
The British Tribe Next Door Ep.1
United Kingdom / 2019 / 50 min.
section: Reality TV

Every day we flush down millions of litres of urine. But did you know that urine can actually help you stay healthy? And that it can send you warning signals that a chronic disease is developing so that you can catch it early? In this program, two experts test urine samples from all walks of life in British society and come up with surprising results. They consider a urine test to be something like a lie detector test – it reveals exactly how people eat, what their bad habits are when it comes to taking care of their health, and so on. (90 minutes)
The Great British Urine Test
United Kingdom / 2020 / 67 min.
section: Reality TV

For people who find it hard to go on dates because they’re too shy, this TV show offers a unique chance to overcome their shyness – the first round of dating takes place virtually and takes advantage of all the possibilities that virtual reality has to offer. Only later will the candidates meet each other face to face.
Too Shy to Date
Denmark / 2019 / 30 min.
section: Reality TV