15.09.2020 Preparations of 24th Ji.hlava are in full swing! The packed programme will offer the first and the last film by Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, a film portrait of artist Marina Abramović as well as the best doc of Sundance - Epicentro by Hubert Sauper. Women will dominate the music doc section. And the Inspiration Forum will turn its gaze towards Africa, technology and ecology.
This year’s Ji.hlava will kick off in six weeks, but it is already evident that it will be different from its previous editions. “This year’s journey is by far the most adventurous in the history of the festival. We still believe that Ji.hlava will take place on-site, safely and that it will again bring extraordinary cinematic experience,” says Marek Hovorka, the Festival Director. “We want to stay loyal to our audiences and the filmmakers also in the unpredictable times. While safety remains our priority, we don’t want to give up on getting together and inspiring our audiences with lively discussions. This is what makes Ji.hlava exceptional,” adds Marek Hovorka. And if cultural events are banned completely, the whole festival will go on-line. “We still believe this will not be the case. Our society has to learn how to live with the coronavirus and epidemiologists consider film screenings where the audience will be wearing face masks safe,” adds Hovorka.
What festival spot will accompany the 24th Ji.hlava IDFF? This year, the author of the spot is experimental filmmaker Mike Hoolboom, who visited Ji.hlava for the first time fifteen years ago. Two years later, he brought his film called Fascinations that made such a strong impression that the experimental festival section adopted its name. „The nun is Romy Cola, an artist who has a special interest in crossing over, stepping into forbidden zones, singing where others fear to tread. Who else could I ask to appear as a nun?,“ says Mike Hoolboom about this year’s festival spot. Before Hoolboom, the authors of the festival spot were the likes of Jean-Luc Godard, Godfrey Reggio and Jóhann Jóhannsson.
You can find more info about the 24th edition of Ji.hlava IDFF in the press release below.
20.08.2020 Emerging Producers 2021 were announced, with Israel as guest country.
Nine outstanding documentaries from Central and Eastern Europe, planned for theatrical release during the upcoming 12 months – the Docu Talents from the East – were presented during the Cinelink Industry Days at the 26th Sarajevo Film Festival.
You can find more info in the press release below.
24.06.2020 This year’s Ji.hlava IDFF visual concept has been revealed! In line with tradition, the visuals have been designed by skilled visual artist and award-winning book designer Juraj Horváth, Ji.hlava IDFF’s long-term collaborator. “The visual design for the twenty-fourth festival edition was a challenge. We don’t want to pretend that this year’s edition will be the same as the previous ones. But how to create visuals to reflect on the current situation that we all are a part of and that still lasts?“ asked festival director Marek Hovorka when introducing the festival poster in the Dukla Cinema in Jihlava.
The twenty-fourth edition of the international documentary film festival that will take place on October 27 to November 1 will be unique and different from the previous ones, as also reflected by the festival poster. The contrast of black and white, the concept of black and deeper black creates ambiguous metaphoric environment. “You can easily imagine: / Full moon, / Vinyl record hole, / Light at the end of the tunnel,“ says Juraj Horváth in his poem that forms a traditional addition to the festival visual design.
In his interpretation of the festival visuals, festival director Marek Hovorka infers: “White is in sharp contrast with black to symbolise both the light of the projector illuminating the screen, and a window to the space ‘beyond’ that usually remains hidden. The circle itself may represent our planet thus referring to the environmental mission of the festival.”
There is more than one possible reading, as the art work also applies that we are all a part of the process. This has also been confirmed by the presale of this year’s Early Bird festival passes through which visitors could contribute to the following projects: 40,000 CZK were donated to the Jihlava Hospital for the purchase of ventilators, 24,000 CZK went to support incomplete families that lost their income due to lockdown and found themselves in financial difficulties. Scientific research conducted by the Czech Technical University was supported by 19,600 CZK. “By this time last year, we only had eight hundred passes sold, as compared with almost 1200 passes for this year’s edition sold to this day. Ji.hlava IDFF remains a solid fixture both in quiet and in more turbulent times. We are looking forward to meeting you!” says Marek Hovorka.
24th Ji.hlava IDFF / Oct 27 – Nov 1, 2020 / reduced passes are available for 600 CZK until September 21
Juraj Horváth on his poster design for this year’s Ji.hlava IDFF
Not black in fact.
Just stop to see.
A slight difference.
An unexpected moment of self-reflection.
A white dot in the distance.
Coming close.
You can see through the page.
Through screen.
Through body
.
Flags flying, with a hole inside.
Small things falling out of bags.
The world projected upside down
.
You can easily imagine:
Full moon,
Vinyl record hole,
Light at the end of the tunnel.
.
