The Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival kicked off Echoes of its 29th edition in Belgrade last week. This month, docs presented at Ji.hlava will also travel to Belgium. The programme presents award-winning and outstanding films from last year’s edition, including Mr. Nobody Against Putin, which received the Audience Award at the Ji.hlava IDFF and has now also won the prestigious BAFTA award. International audiences can also look forward to other remarkable titles: the programme will feature, among others, last year’s Best International Film Silver, as well as What About Petey? that earned a Special Mention in the Czech Joy section.
The programme of this year’s Echoes of Ji.hlava offers not only screenings of the most outstanding documentaries from the past edition, but also discussions with filmmakers, masterclasses, and screenings for students of film schools. “We are happy that the Echoes of the Ji.hlava IDFF allow us to share award-winning Czech and international films screened at the festival with international audiences, as well as to foster connections between filmmakers, professionals, and viewers locally. And we are already looking forward to this year’s 30th anniversary of the festival,” says Marek Hovorka, the Director of the Ji.hlava IDFF.
Echoes of Ji.hlava in Serbia (February 24 – March 4) are taking place at the Czech House in Belgrade and feature the tragicomic road movie Change My Mind by director Robin Kvapil. The film follows three protagonists from Czechia on their journey to the Ukrainian frontline, where their attitudes toward the Russian aggression in Ukraine are confronted. The programme also included Mr. Nobody Against Putin by Danish director David Borenstein, which follows a Russian teacher to show how the education system after 2022 became a tool of state propaganda – and how camerawork can serve as a form of resistance. The programme also includes intimate time-lapse documentary What About Petey? by Martin Trabalík, depicting three years in the life of a father who, after the sudden death of his wife, is left alone caring for his teenage daughter Vanessa and his son Peter, who suffers from severe autism spectrum disorder. Power Station follows an art-activist project striving to establish a solar community in London, commenting on the themes of civic initiative and solidarity in times of economic uncertainty. The Echoes are organised by the Ji.hlava IDFF in cooperation with the Czech Centre Belgrade.
Echoes of Ji.hlava in Belgium
The Echoes in Belgrade will be followed by the 14th Echoes of Ji.hlava in Belgium (March 17 – 21) that will take place in cooperation with the prestigious cultural centre Bozar. The programme will showcase four outstanding documentary titles from last year’s festival with the focus on contemporary auteur cinema and its broader social resonance.
The showcase will officially open at Prague House in Brussels with a screening of Unborn Father by director Michal Böhm, an intimate self-portrait exploring the filmmaker’s longing for fatherhood. The programme also features Mr. Nobody Against Putin, offering an urgent look at the mechanisms of power and the personal courage required to stand up to the system. The documentary Resilience by Tomáš Elšík captures the relationship between humans and the land and landscape they live in, exploring what it means today to live “down to earth”. Silver by Polish director Natalia Koniarz, which won the award for Best International Documentary Film in Ji.hlava, presents a complex perspective on silver mining and its social and environmental impact on local communities. Screenings of Silver will be followed by Q&As with the director.
The Echoes of Ji.hlava in Belgium are held under the auspices of H.E. Jakub Skalník, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Brussels, with the support of the City of Jihlava and in cooperation with Czech Centre Brussels.
