28th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival
2 or 3 Words about the Cite 4000
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Pauline Blanchet, Django Burdeau
Producer: Lucile Mosca
Country: United Kingdom, France
In the notorious Paris suburbs, the Cité 4000 stands as a final remnant of a once-thriving community, now awaiting demolition. The project delves into the lives of the last remaining residents, whose personal memories intertwine with archival footage from the 1980s. As the past resurfaces through these images, the film reveals how urban regeneration not only reshapes physical landscapes but also fractures the emotional fabric of a community that has long endured cycles of displacement.
368 ASL
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Michael Jiřinec
Producer: Matěj Paclík
Country: Czech Republic
Young parents live in a caravan in a small village on the border of Czechia and Germany. To lift the family out of poverty, the father gets involved with arms smugglers. The bleak, hypnotic microcosm of the landscape in which the action takes place is engulfed in a stupendous darkness in which lost souls move without a way out. The father decides to smuggle the weapons, despite the risk, which he eventually realizes. He's leaving and not coming back. The mother will be left alone with two children.
A Journey to the Universe
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Primrin Puarat
Producer: Supatcha Thipsena
Country: Thailand
In 2020, Thai filmmaker Primrin (29) began documenting the toxic waste dumping in Nong Phawa village. Immersed in her project, she developed rashes that led to a shocking diagnosis of leukemia. Forced to abandon her film and undergo intensive treatment, she faced the harsh reality of suffering while bedridden and battling the disease. After two years, Primrin eventually entered remission, feeling gratitude for her survival. This life-altering experience inspired her to reconnect with herself through Vipassana meditation where she seeks fundamental truths about her existence in the universe.
Abstract
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Jaydn Gosselin
Producer: Jacob Fertig
Country: United States
ABSTRACT presents an unsettling look at the scientific gaze and who controls it. Taking the form of a surreal ethnographic study exploring the haunting intersection of science, identity, and surveillance, the film reveals a complex system of securitization, disappearance, and mourning in the most surveilled region of America. It challenges us to confront the ethical implications of these processes, questioning the very nature of identity in a world where bodies are reduced to abstraction and the promise of science is both a beacon of hope and a harbinger of peril.
After the Storm
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Francesco Rufini
Producer: Valdemar Lovcik
Country: Latvia
Film delves into the intertwined lives and dreams of two fishermen and amber searchers, Arūnas and Paulius – the old and the new generation of Lithuania, united by the call of the sea. Night and day, they search for the precious resin in the cold Baltic waters. Holding amber is like holding 60 million years in the palm of your hand. There is something magic and magnetic to it, like a window to a lost world. Both amber and the film become fragments of time linking the past and the present of the two characters with the history of the region and its people.
Artificial Horizon
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Elizabeth M. Webb
Producer: DaManuel Richardson
Country: United States
Artificial Horizon positions historical land surveying as a tool of a Western settler colonial agenda that helped establish and maintain power dynamics and spatial logics of white supremacy. Evolving from this conceptual foundation, the film focuses on the natural and social histories of a tract of former plantation land in eastern Alabama connected to the filmmaker’s family. The film illuminates how plant life defies human-imposed property boundaries and provides liberatory models for how bodies might also subvert similar and related structures of power and control.
Balcana Presenta
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Adriana Trujilo, Marko Sopka
Producer: Marko Sipka
Country: Bosnia and Herz.
Balcana Presenta combines auto-ethnography and docu-fiction to recreate the lives of four Latin American women living in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the format of telenovela, in contrast with women who where impacted during the Balcan conflict. “Balcana” highlights the unique connection between Europe and Latin America through telenovelas, which served as social catharsis during and after the Balkan conflict. The film explores cultural diversity and resilience through the stories of four women who have established their homes in Republika Srpska, navigating Serbian culture and forming new emotional bonds in their city. The film serves as a catalyst for critical dialogues on global connections.
Baltic UXO
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Agne Dovydaityte, Alexander Belinski
Producer: Dagne Vildziunaite
Country: Lithuania, Latvia, Germany
1.6 million tons of munitions, including chemical weapons, were buried in the Baltic and Northern Seas after the first and second world wars. This heritage of war has started rearing its head 70 years later, spreading disease among fish, obstructing marine construction projects, endangering the coastal economy and tourism. Everything all the way up to giant marine construction projects and militaries are now dealing with the consequences of the decisions made in the past. Inviting the viewer into a visual and meditative journey, the film leaves questions such as: Could this have been avoided? Can this be resolved? Or are humans made for slow self-destruction, either way?
Because I Have to
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Jakub Kučera
Producer: Tomáš Pertold
Country: Czech Republic
The documentary Because I Have to follows the authentic journey of an individual, in relation to nature in the broadest sense, with the help of a deep experience of the present moment. The work evocatively conveys the actions of the visual artist Miloš Šejn, who merges with the wholeness of the world with an essential, almost ritualistic connection. In extreme intensity, through artistic performances in the landscape, he touches the outer limits of his actions. We witness the existential fate of man, which opens questions over the form of experiencing the moment in its most intimate shapes.
Becoming Riskya
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Riskya Duavania
Producer: Riani Singgih
Country: Indonesia
What risks do we face when we embrace our freedom?
Amid Indonesia's increasing conservatism, Riskya grew up with their family, using a camera to document their life. In college, Riskya meets Cik San, a 60-year-old trans woman who becomes their chosen family and inspires them to confront their identity. Riskya struggles with the hijab, a symbol of traditional gender norms that clash with their non-binary self. At 25, while celebrating a birthday without hijab among friends, Riskya feels estranged having to lead a double life. Will Riskya become the person their family expects or the person they’ve always wanted to be?
Books Are Our Weapons
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Máté Konkol
Producer: Máté Konkol
Country:
Noémi and Péter are new members of FÉSZEK, a community of university students who are committed to studying critical social theory and also changing the world as activists. They participate in debates, reading circles, forums, choir and social life – and in the meantime realise how difficult it is to fit in, both for the first generation college student girl coming from a working class background, and the hedonistic, try-hard middle class boy. With its long takes and a stream of cultural references, our film levels form with meaning, while also depicting how the personal is political.
Burning Land
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Almira Ismailova
Producer: Dana Sabitova
Country: Kazakhstan
My burning homeland speaks to me. I hear it from the buzzing of brand-new houses of ex-residents of Qarashilik village all over Northern Kazakhstan. After Kazakhstan gained independence, their cosy birthplace turned into the void of helplessness with no jobs, no school and a silent closeness of a former Empire. Ermek lost his destiny to sing with his village. Rosa, now living in a flat in a large city, looks at the painted clouds on her ceiling and debates whether she is strong enough to love her husband, who kidnapped her as a bride.
Can homeland be a place where you don't feel pain?
Child of Dust
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Weronika Mliczewska
Producer: Michal Sikora
Country: Vietnam, Sweden, Poland, Denmark, Czech Republic
Sang is one of countless children left behind by American soldiers after the Vietnam War—unwanted, discriminated against, and scarred by a war that took more than just his father. When Sang unexpectedly locates his gravely ill father in the U.S., he becomes determined to meet him, even though it comes at a price. The only way to fulfill this need is to move to the U.S. permanently, leaving behind his beloved wife, daughter, and grandson. In this foreign land, he struggles to find his place. Cultural barriers and unspoken pain collide when the past catches up with the present.
Children of the Moonland
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Roman Ďuriš
Producer: Richard Šimeček
Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic
Karolína, Gabo, Aleš, Kevin, Kiara, and little Matias are growing up in a marginalized Roma community, marked by poverty, and social exclusion. They live in one of Europe's most polluted cities, Jelšava, a dystopian place covered in toxic dust from magnesite mines. Their families suffer from material deprivation, health issues, and alcoholism. The children play in decaying ruins and toxic lakes, trying to escape their harsh reality. When one of them gets cancer, they start asking uncomfortable questions about the pollution and the society that neglects them, leading to painful realizations.
Divia
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Dmytro Hreshko
Producer: Polina Herman
Country: Ukraine, Poland, Netherlands
Divia documentary reveals Ukraine's journey through unprecedented Russian aggression and its aftermath: forests reduced to ash, fields damaged by explosions, and the haunting presence of abandoned military wreckage amidst treacherous minefields. Amidst this desolation, nature stands as a silent witness, absorbing and beginning to heal from the scars of conflict. The meditative narrative without any dialogues follows deminers, body searchers, environmentalists, and animal activists who navigate the wreckage, striving to quantify the tragedy's impact and restore Ukraine's fragile ecosystems
Echoes of Avey
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Atanur Nabiyeva
Producer: Durna Safarova
Country: Azerbaijan
I was twenty-one, on my last day of community service for beating a random guy on the street. Having lost my direction in life, I met an eleven-year-old Roma boy Ivan, who wanted me to teach him how to “draw” the number eight. Despite our differences, Ivan and I felt drawn to each other right away. When he showed up on my doorstep a few days later, barefoot, terrified, and exhausted, I offered him a place to stay. Watching Ivan take his first steps in the wrong direction and feeling like there was nothing I could do about it, I realized that in order to help Ivan, I had to first confront my own past.
Fantasma
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Tomáš Klein
Producer: Tomáš Michálek, Martina Netíková
Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic
Max takes us into a world where truth feels like the end of everything. During his Chamber REST (dark therapy), he uncovers that his deepest secrets are just fragments of a larger story, and the biggest deception is the film itself. Yet, even the end of the world doesn't taste as bitter as Max had feared.
Fenced
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Gabriella Garcia Pardo
Producer: Jonna McKone
Country: United States
We spend our lives among fences, allowing them to determine where we belong in urban, suburban, and rural places alike. Although we rarely give their ubiquity much thought, their histories tell a very human story–one marked by our desires for belonging and care, just as much as by greed and fear. FENCED is a character-rich, darkly humorous look at human boundaries. Filmed across the US, each community, landscape, or creature we meet introduces us to deep histories and modern realities. Told through verité footage and archival interludes, the film moves from the granular and personal to the expansive and systemic and back again.
Flowers on Marsovo
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Snizhana Gusarevych
Producer: Snizhana Gusarevych
Country: Ukraine
Life intersects with death. This conclusion can be seen in Flowers on Marsovo, where the observation of this intersection is formed in two parallel lines. In one line, we follow Roman, who has organized over 800 funerals of soldiers. Through Roman and his team, we learn about the unknown stages of the military funeral rite. We learn about the unknown army stage's funeral rite through Roman and his team. The second line observes life before, during, and after the farewell ceremony. The archival videos focus on the Soviet government's destruction of references to the Ukrainian military.
From 0 to 8
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Danilo Ceković
Producer: Jovana Jovičić
Country: Serbia, Macedonia
I was twenty-one, on my last day of community service for beating a random guy on the street. Having lost my direction in life, I met an eleven-year-old Roma boy Ivan, who wanted me to teach him how to “draw” the number eight. Despite our differences, Ivan and I felt drawn to each other right away. When he showed up on my doorstep a few days later, barefoot, terrified, and exhausted, I offered him a place to stay. Watching Ivan take his first steps in the wrong direction and feeling like there was nothing I could do about it, I realized that in order to help Ivan, I had to first confront my own past.
Geopoetics
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Hannah Papacek Harper
Producer: Dorian Blanc
Country: France
In an immersive projection on four walls and ceiling, the audience is given a sensory experience that brings them closer to the elements and to an understanding of our position on this Earth. Through scientific research, mythology and personal experience, it explores the elements, natural cycles, our notions of time and our relationship with nature on this planet.
Go Ye Afar
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Frank Sweeney
Producer: Madeleine Molyneaux
Country: Ireland
Inspired by oral history interviews with Irish-Nigerian taxi drivers, the film will apply the storytelling structures of the voyage in Irish literature to the mythical journey of a transatlantic travelling taxi. As the enchanted taxi brings several characters through locations in Ireland and Nigeria, we explore the legacies of colonialism, christianity and charity connecting both regions. The docu-fiction film will connect the use of imagery by missionaries during the Biafra War (the first televised humanitarian disaster), to the foundation of major NGOs in response to this conflict, to the legacies of colonialism in contemporary free trade and immigration systems.
Grand-Popo
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Nuno Escudeiro
Producer: Daria Akimenko
Country: Portugal, Italy, France
"Grand-Popo" captures the struggle of a historic Benin city, where rising waters devour the land. As the ocean claims homes and history, Baron fishes, Evra sings of defiance, Roger weaves tales of truth and myth, and Kpesoui prays to Mamiwata for mercy. Government projects promise safety but threaten to erase this culture instead. The film is a haunting reflection on what it means to stand your ground as your world is washed away—a plea for survival against forces that seek to drown both land and spirit.
Green is the Fire's Tint
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Cristina Hanes, Arya Rothe, Isabella Rinaldi
Producer: Cristina Hanes
Country: Romania, Italy, India
Somi, an indigenous woman, fought for the rights of India's indigenous communities as a Naxalite Maoist rebel. After leaving the movement, she and her family settled on land with other former Naxalites. One day, they received an eviction notice: the land had gained value due to a nearby iron mine, and a presumed owner is seeking real estate investment. In addition to land speculation, mining activities are devastating the jungle surrounding the settlement. GREEN IS THE FIRE'S TINT follows Somi as she leads the fight against eviction, believing the land belongs to the indigenous community.
Heartsnatcher
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Nelly Ben Hayoun- Stépanian
Producer: Leopold Pape
Country: United Kingdom, Germany, France
Film starts and ends with ‘life’ as you believe you know it:chaos,big bangs,all these origin stories and the violent scream of births.It is visceral and shot in between your legs and it has glowing teeth which connect to the creation of the universe with tarantulas infected by fungis. Our film borrows from the conventions of surrealism&cadavre exquis.Our characters includes the ‘real iron man” Professor Joe Kirschvink in Tokyo who found magnetite in our brain, cardiologists who study what else there is in the empty of our hearts and what could be a body without organs.Midwives who are training for births in outer space.
After 80 minutes, your teeth glow in the dark and you wonder whether you are dead or alive.
Homefire
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Neus Pagès
Producer: Laura Alvarez
Country: Spain
Hidden up in the Pyrenees, an abandoned village begins to revive. Audit and Furi settled there with the dream to live off-grid and build an eco-tourism business. Since then, they’ve been restoring the ruins and expanding their apiary. Bees represent teamwork and resilience, values they hope to pass to their children, Mel and Raïu. But, Mel's fear of the bees creates a distance from her parents' project. One day, an industrial beekeeper arrives, threatening their survival. Slowly, Mel starts to overcome her fear as she realises the values of her family’s project might one day be hers to defend.
Homemade Mulberry Vodka
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Anzhela Frangyan
Producer: Anzhela Frangyan
Country: France, Armenia
Everytime I travelled out of the region I was afraid that soon the road would be closed. People kept asking; ‘’Why are you shooting so much?” I knew the answer to this question from the start. And the reason was the persistent feeling of the end, a premonition that soon this place, these faces, these mountains, houses, trees, everything might disappear and all of these people may never come together again. Unconsciously, I recorded long shots of the landscape, without any words or dialogues, as if I was trying to capture and preserve this world like it was in those moments.
iina
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Yuan Scarlett Wang
Producer: Juefang Zhang
Country: United States
"iiná" is a documentary that immerses viewers in the lives of Navajo farmers grappling with the fallout from the FBI's shutdown of a burgeoning hemp industry on their land. The story navigates the complexities of economic struggle, cultural identity, and community resilience, highlighting the profound impact of federal policies on Indigenous communities. Set against the backdrop of the Navajo Nation, the film delves into the personal journeys of the main participants as they navigate the challenges posed by their pursuit of prosperity through hemp farming.
Keepers of the ruins
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Mariia Shevchenko
Producer: Ella Shtyka
Country: Ukraine, Czech Republic
Kharkiv is located on the border with Russia. Missiles reach the city in 30-40 seconds. The air alarms have become a familiar background. Boys are riding scooters in the square near the captured russian tank on display. Since 2022 Kharkovians make hopes out of ruins. Veins pulsating with light running through the city and not letting it freeze in immobility. The only source of light in night-time Kharkiv is car headlights. In darkness a woman sells glowing balloons. One balloon escape into the dark sky, which becomes a little bit brighter. For a few moments.
Land of Evanescence
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Trang Thi Xuan Nguyen
Producer: Wilfredo Manalang
Country: Vietnam, Philippines
"Land of Evanescence" explores war's lingering shadows, tracing conflict's echoes across generations. The film starts in Vietnam's Vinh Moc tunnels, where darkness whispers of past battles. Life-like mannequins and silent corridors evoke the haunting memory of a time when fear and courage intertwined. The filmmaker, a child of the post-war era, is ensnared in a conflict she never fought but can't escape. Through Nguyen Thi Xuan Phuong’s stories and Charles Bradley's torment, the film reflects on how the ghosts of war shape our future, urging us to seek peace in a world marked by its past.
Land of Fire
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Nikola Klinger
Producer: Kristina Škodová
Country: Germany, Czech Republic
Land of Fire takes us on a journey through the Canadian wilderness, through remote areas where dark shadows of the past lurk in the forests. We travel to a place that stands on ruins of the old world, a world of magical creatures of the wild that was destroyed long ago. Fires subdue entire valleys, figures by the roadside illuminated only by passing cars look like ghosts, people dance around the fire in remembrance of the dead, and men venture into the woods to hunt bears. Can you find happiness in this dark forgotten world?
LOST FOR WORDS - Serie
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Hannah Papacek Harper
Producer: Dorian Blanc
Country: France, United Kingdom
Inspired by "The Lost Words," the Lost for Words series explores the connection between the arts, sciences, and nature, targeting a younger audience. Traveling across the UK, it captures landscapes and communities, weaving voices from diverse socio-economic groups. Each episode blends nature, music, and expert insights, following seasonal themes. The series questions our relationship with the natural world, urging collective action without resorting to fear, to foster a deeper connection with nature.
Mount Makalu
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Melanie Manchot
Producer: Solon Papadopoulos
Country: United Kingdom, Slovakia, Germany, Czech Republic
‘Mount Makalu’ is a hybrid fiction documentary combining big-mountain adventure with family drama embedded in 20th century history/politics. We follow the extreme challenges, achievements & ultimate tragedies of the renowned 1976 expedition, when Czechoslovakian mountaineers scaled Makalu’s summit. Focusing on Karel Schubert, the film interweaves fiction, archive & documentary to question why we seek out altitudes to address life’s complex questions. Told through letters between the siblings, we follow Karel searching for the father he never met, and follow Manchot as she uncovers the past.
Musica o muerte
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Hana Jakrlova
Producer: Veronika Janatková
Country: Switzerland, Czech Republic, Cuba
The main character of the film is Gorki, ageing Cuban rocker and frontman of the famous underground punk band Porno Para Ricardo. Gorki has fought against the communist regime for past 20 years. We meet him when his resistance are replaced by weariness and disappointment. In Cuba, the ubiquitous slogan of the revolution, Patria o Muerte, is in fact a symbol of the lives of three generations wasted in the dictatorship. Gorki has been invited to play at a music festival in Prague in 2025. He will meet his friends and formal band members Renay and William, who have emigrated years ago. They are now somewhat lost without a sense of purpose after losing the common enemy. Is this the right time to leave everything behind?
My Name is Najla
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Patrick Wally
Producer: Shirin Hooshmandi
Country: W. Sahara, Austria
The activist Najla (32) and her people live in the desert, displaced by the conflict between Western Sahara and Morocco. The birth of her son Mohamed (1) has completely changed her life. Her brother Mohamedlamine (23) goes to fight at the border. For a long time, Najla believed in a peaceful solution to the conflict with Morocco. She traveled through Europe and the USA, advocating for the referendum promised to the Sahraoui by the UN, but in vain. Back in the camps, Najla must decide: should she renounce peaceful resistance and join her people in war, or seek a safe life in exile for herself and her son?
Other Kindness
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Lea Petříková
Producer: Petr Kubica
Country: Czech Republic
Other Kindness is a short dealing with the theme of human-animal transformation through the perspective of otherkin – those who identify as non-humans. The film is based on a collaborative effort of the director and otherkin community to capture reality through the eyes of otherkin. What is it like to feel non-human, or, what is the world like when we look at it differently, as alterhuman? Through social networks and otherkin's own videos, we‘re looking for a new cinematic expression to reach empathy, while exploring diversity, alternatives, and the importance of one’s own defining of identity.
Peninsula
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Paula Skelin
Producer: Igor Jelinović
Country: Croatia
Winter on the Čiovo peninsula. A few kilometres from Trogir, on Čiovo, in little place Mastrinka, my mother Slavica (74) lives. Ten kilometres away, in the village Slatine, my father Frane (69) lives. By showing my parents actions and the atmosphere of the island, I place myself with them in a dialogue where I show curiosity about my and their past. I also became an important character in the film, which was revealed during the first 6 months of filming, so creative and emotional involvement collide throughout the filming process.
Pilsenita
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Erin Babbin
Producer: Erin Babbin
Country: United States
"Diana Solís: A Portrait" is a poignant documentary that traces the extraordinary life and artistic journey of Chicana photographer and activist Diana Solís. From her early days documenting Chicago's vibrant Chicano movement to trailblazing queer activism in Mexico City, Diana's lens captures a kaleidoscope of cultural evolution. Battling cancer, gentrification, and a global pandemic, Diana embarks on a soul-stirring photographic rediscovery of her changing neighborhood, preserving the spirit of her community. Through resilience and creativity, Diana fulfills her childhood dreams, culminating in the publication of her acclaimed book, "LUZ: Seeing The Space Between Us."
Pony Boys
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Joseph Mangat
Producer: Alemberg Ang
Country: Taiwan, Philippines
"Pony Boys" offers an intimate glimpse into horse tourism in Baguio, Philippines, rooted in indigenous traditions and influenced by U.S. colonization. The film follows teenage horse handlers as they navigate the changing dynamics of Baguio’s Filipino cowboy community, or Ponyboys. With fewer local youths joining, recruits from lowland provinces increase, creating a more complex community. Despite their varied backgrounds, these ponyboys form strong bonds while balancing adolescence and work. The film highlights the impact of U.S. occupation on their identity and socio-economic landscape, reflecting globalization's challenges to tradition and cultural assimilation.
Prometea
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Kristína Žilinčárová
Producer: Michaela Kaliská
Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic
Prometea is the very first clone of a horse. The eponymous documentary essay examines the practice of cloning horses as a way humans (don’t) cope with death. Cloning erodes the former confidence that every individual is unique and mortal.
The film presents the stories of two professional equestrians whose best horses died unexpectedly in their primes – one has over a hundred clones. At the same time, the other still keeps giving interviews about his deceased horse. The film should offer a reflection on mortality at a time when the technology to counteract it is no
longer sci-fi.
Rebellion of Memory
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Joël Jent
Producer: Sophia Rubischung
Country: Switzerland, Peru, France
Former child soldier Carlitos wants to reunite his wartime parents, Tania and Shogún—no ordinary parents. Carlitos chose them, despite their being enemies in the Peruvian civil war. At 11, Carlitos joined the Guerilla and met Tania, who became his mother after teaching him to survive. Their paths split when his division was ambushed, leaving him the sole survivor. Shogún, a young lieutenant, spared his life and raised him. Carlitos had to fight against the guerillas, and against his mother. Now, 40 years later, Carlitos reunites them at a former battleground, seeking understanding and reconciliation.
Rock, Paper, Scissors
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Christina Phoebe
Producer: Christina Phoebe
Country: Greece
A group of friends in their 30s leave behind city life to learn the faded art of stone building in the mountains of Arcadia. Argyris (93), an architect, historian and partisan, becomes their unofficial mentor. Together they begin a series of road trips, mapping out fragments of Greek civil war history hiding in the landscape - breaking silences and stones, healing from ongoing grief and resisting forgetting. As Argyris gradually becomes bound to the house, he only has one last wish: to travel to Albania and honor the memory of his brother killed there in the war of 1940.
Scorpionikas - a countermanifest
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Bruna Kury, Matheus Mello
Producer: Matheus Mello
Country: Spain, Canada, Brazil
A visual manifesto weaves together the stories of five marginalized women—whether for being trans or sex workers—each confronting the harsh realities imposed by deeply rooted societal prejudices and stigmas.
Through a kaleidoscopic montage of interviews, performances, and archival footage, the film dismantles colonial narratives and explores the intersections of race, gender, and class, offering new narratives.
By sharing their personal struggles and celebrations, the work stands as a cry of resistance and love, challenging social norms and proposing new fictions for an emancipated future.
Semicolon
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Èlia Ramon Ferrer
Producer: Gala Diaz
Country:
Since Èlia experienced the suicide of a close person, she has felt alone with immensely deep pain. When discovering through her psychologist how healing writing can be, she turns a notebook into a space of care for others who need it. Ari and Salva embark on a project that leads them to face the worst moment of their lives using correspondence with a stranger as therapy. They know nothing about each other; they only have a notebook with an address where they send it. The only thing they know is what they have in common: they have both experienced the suicide of a close family member.
Sister Senators
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Emily Harrold
Producer: Robin Hessman
Country: United States
Three Republicans arm-in-arm with a Democrat and an Independent is akin to seeing a unicorn in today’s hyper-partisan, bitter political landscape, but that’s exactly what one sees at the South Carolina State House. They are the only 5 women in the South Carolina State Senate and they call themselves the Sister Senators. South Carolina ranks at the bottom in gender parity nationally. However, rather than be intimidated by the male-dominated State House, the Sister Senators defy their political parties and work together.
Sugarland
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Julia Groszek
Producer: Alicja Gancarz
Country: Poland
Coca-Cola is extremely important to the people of Chiapas - it is used ritually during prayers in church, it determines a person's status, and if a local politician wants to win the people's vote, he or she has to serve 180 cases of Coke at a rally. What's more, local healers (curanderos) believe in the healing power of Coca-Cola. There is an epidemic of diabetes and obesity in Chiapas, while at the same time the Coca-Cola plants are depleting the groundwater, leaving residents without access to drinking water. The indigenous community is aware of the problem, but has no means of stopping 'coca colonisation'.
Sunchaser
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Matt Waldeck, Jyrki Eschner
Producer: Jyrki Eschner
Country: Finland, United States
A son's final months with his Alzheimer's-stricken father shift from sorrow to adventure when a cache of 16mm film reveals his father's secret past as the millionaire skipper of the legendary sailboat Sunchaser. Like "Rosebud" in Citizen Kane, Sunchaser becomes Harry Altick's obsession in his last days. A phone call from Finland reveals another Sunchaser, connecting generations of fathers and sons. Harry's unfinished 1972 documentary, with a soundtrack from David Loggins and Mel Tormé, captures a lost era of yacht racing and early "yacht rock."
The Amateur Photographer's Family Portrait
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Nurlan Hasanli
Producer: Irina Gelashvili
Country: Georgia, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani filmmaker Nurlan (32) sets out to bring his script, shot without notice and ruined by the Ministry of Culture, to life with his family as an act of creative revenge. As the family members become aware of his situation, they eagerly join the project to assist their beloved one. As Nurlan starts pre-production, his family members' own needs and hopes make this process difficult. The grandfather cares for his Alzheimer-stricken wife until her death and, besides this, his mission is to buy a place for a family grave.
THE CASTLE
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Danny Biancardi, Viriginia Nardelli, Stefano La Rosa
Producer: Giulia Campagna
Country: Italy, France
Angelo, Mery and Rosy are three 11-year-olds living in Danisinni, an isolated neighborhood in Palermo. Their expeditions lead them to an abandoned kindergarten in the middle of the main square. Driven by a desire for adventure, the group decides to explore it. Amidst the rubble, they discover a safe place where they can escape the gaze of others. A secret place where they can let their imaginations run wild without feeling judged. However, this island of freedom is in danger: after fifteen years of waiting, the kindergarten will soon be renovated by the city of Palermo.
The Flight of The Stork
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Berta Vicente Salas, Soumaya Hidalgo Djahdou
Producer: Matheus Mello
Country: Spain, Algeria
Soumaya, a young woman of Algerian descent, explores her relationship with her mother, Malika, as she prepares for a trip to Algeria during the month of Ramadan, with her childhood friend Berta, who films the journey. What begins as a nostalgic exchange reveals family tensions and a conflict of identity. Between memories and expectations, Soumaya seeks to reconcile her path with the heritage her mother expects her to honor and what she wishes for herself. Through love and memory, the two find common ground in their relationship.
The Last Care
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Nicolas Gayraud
Producer: Guilhem Olive
Country: France, Belgium
Dr. Yves De Locht, a 77-year-old Belgian general practitioner, resides in a tranquil area nestled between the Soignes forest and the town of Waterloo. His daily life is that of a typical general practitioner, yet it is marked by the profound moments when he assists patients at the end of their lives, shortening their suffering in accordance with the 2002 law that decriminalized euthanasia. A man of great humanity yet fragile, Dr. De Locht views each act of euthanasia as significant, grave, and considered. These instances evoke reflections on his personal history, his life, and the religious education of his youth, leaving him at times conflicted and torn.
The Library of all possible things-- Immersive
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Maria Laura Ruggiero, Ana Fraile
Producer: Ana Fraile
Country: United Kingdom, Argentina
The Library of All Possible Things is an immersive experience that combines art, technology, and storytelling to explore the wonders of scientific exploration. As a companion piece to the film of the same name about monoclonal antibodies, the project utilizes videomapping techniques and interactive elements to create an immersive installation. This allows participants to enter narratives evoking a sense of wonder at the complexity of the human body and its systems, the beauty of nature, and the challenges of outer space. The project is available in two versions: a virtual reality (VR) experience and an interactive installation.
The Season of Fire
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Geoffrey Lachassagne
Producer: Orlane Dumas
Country: France
September 24, New Caledonia. In a village at the end of the world, the white community celebrates the anniversary of the French takeover of the island. A few kilometers away, the Kanak first nation declares its independence. Between the young rioters, the white militia and the French army, the conflict escalates. In the midst of this chaos, volunteer firefighters do their best to contain the fires and rescue the injured. But how can Kevin the French mainlander, Ellison the young caledonian, and Bellinda the daughter of the Kanak chief, join forces when their communities are being torn apart?
The Songs from Within
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Elvis A-liang Lu
Producer: Stefano Centini
Country: Taiwan
According to legend, the bear eagle embodies the ancestral spirit of the Paiwan tribe and symbolizes warriors. Mufan and Chen Wei, two young men who express themselves more femininely, feel isolated in their small tribe. Their families avoid confronting their differences. They often stare at the sky, wondering if the ancestral spirits will accept them. Singing and dancing in their minds is their escape. When Mufan leaves for a music academy in Taipei, Chen Wei remains behind, singing and gazing at their separate skies, longing for love and ancestral acceptance.
The Spaces We Inhabit
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Bruno Cerpa Moreno
Producer: Bruno Cerpa Moreno
Country: Spain, Peru, Italy
We will visit, in different seasons of the year and times of the day, some of the houses I have lived in, without geographical details. We will first explore the streets, then we will slowly get closer to the facades, until we will get to the interior of the houses. No one will knock on the door, no one will open it, we will simply suddenly be inside, guided by my voice-over that will narrate memories that connect me emotionally to time when I lived there. We will not see the people who live there now, but we will hear them talking about their relationship with those spaces.
The Violent Skin
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: André Robert
Producer: Mario Adamson
Country: Switzerland, Sweden, Costa Rica
I invoke the ghost of my father to have the conversation I could never have with him in life. I return to my family's rustic cabin in the coastal town of Cuajiniquil, ten years after scattering his ashes in the same sea that now, due to climate change, threatens to erase our home and family history. How do I tell him about the intergenerational violence that has afflicted the men in our family with a deadly silence that killed him and led me to repress my homosexuality for so many decades? The only thing I can tell him is a story about how a few months after he passed away, my Uncle Sergio, a hunter who lives isolated in the northern mountains of Costa Rica, invited me to the untamed wilderness to hunt a jaguar.
This is Me Loving You
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Julia Hunter
Producer: Danny Alpert
Country: United States
Sydney, a gregarious heroin user, moves into a Chicago recovery home and befriends Julia, an alcoholic filmmaker. When Sydney gets pregnant and returns to her abusive boyfriend, both women re-enter a world of abuse and addiction where they must choose between protecting those they love and saving themselves. Through the lens of one unbreakable friendship, This is Me Loving You documents Sydney's journey through the birth of her daughter, the escalation of abuse form her partner, her return to drug use, and ultimately how the young women hatched a plan to get Sydney and her daughter to safety.
Undine*
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Felix Rier
Producer: Petra Forer
Country: Italy
In an urgent clash of despair and hope, the documentary UNDINE* delves into the aftermath of sexual violence. As Undine* confronts her trauma, she channels her pain into choreography, striving for peace and harmony. Living with her partner and their labrador in East Berlin, Undine* finds solace in this new little family. Her unexpected pregnancy marks a pivotal, symbolic turning point. Through raw video diaries and poignant dance exploration, the film intimately follows her journey, posing questions about love, resilience, and healing. UNDINE is a leap toward a utopian vision, daring to ask how we truly want to live.
Veiled Village
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Komeil Soheili, Jooyoung Soheili
Producer: Amir Masoud Soheili
Country: South Korea
Two musicians joined a village protest against a newly built military base. Tragedy struck when the younger one died during the protest, with his final wish to be buried in front of the base. His heartbroken friend left everything behind but his guitar and moved to the village. Over the years, he struggles to keep the protest alive, visiting his friend’s restricted grave daily. As doubt creeps in, villagers begin to question the endless battle. Now, he faces a choice: continue fighting for a fading dream or finally let go of his friend’s haunting memory.
Wasteland Chronicles
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Viera Čákanyová, Barbora Sliepková, Lucia Kašová
Producer: Anna Mach Rumanová
Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic
_The ‘Triangle of Death’ lies in eastern Slovakia, well beyond the horizon of interest of politicians and the wider public. The three chemical plants are responsible for the largest PCB contamination in Europe.
_Over the years, the tar pits in central Slovakia have morphed into a living mass. Every time it rains more than usual, the toxic water threatens to overtop the bank and inundate the residential part of the village.
_The contamination originating in the dump site of Bratislava chemical plant Istrochem has spread through the groundwater towards Žitný ostrov, the largest drinking water supply in Central Europe.
Wind and View
Ji.hlava New Visions Forum
Director: Sheng-Hung Hsieh
Producer: Ina Hon
Country: Taiwan, Japan, Germany
“Wind and View” is the name of the little grocery store located in Sandimen, a little indigenous village in Southern Taiwan. Grandpa Kang is from Northern China and was brought to Taiwan as a prisoner of war after fighting in the Korean War and his wife ‘Eleng is the chief of the local Paiwan tribe. They don’t speak the same language, but have been running the store together for over 60 years.
The film follows their grandson Kang Yuan-Jin, revisiting his grandparents’ love story that spans 100 years of East Asian history to look for answers to questions of heritage, identity and the future.
Zanki
Ji.hlava New Visions Market
Director: Marcella Zanki
Producer: Matija Drniković
Country: Serbia, Croatia
Marcella is a film directress who observes everything through some form of digital media, constantly placing a distance between herself and reality in her already chaotic city lifestyle. The result is a general lack of clarity about her place in today’s world. There is nothing to hold on to, except for her father Frane who is complete opposite — a healthy, vital spea fisherman in his 70s, living mostly underwater and hailing from the uninhabited island of Svetac, the island owned by the family. On the cusp of major life decisions, the author decides to spend a period on the island of Svetac with her father in hopes of re-connecting with nature and thus, finding out what is
her "sea" to hold on in this life