The documentary festival in Jihlava will offer new competition sections this year

The face of last year's edition by H3T Architekti

Jihlava - This year's International Documentary Film Festival Ji.hlava will offer two new competitive sections focused on the upcoming generation of directors and short documentary films. The visual concept of the 18th edition, traditionally created by artist Juraj Horváth, is dominated by a black-and-white symbolic motif of a factory. The winners of the awards for the best Eastern European and Czech documentary films will receive monetary prizes. This was stated to journalists today by the festival director Marek Hovorka.
    "The factory is a multi-layered metaphor of the transformations of our society over the last 120 years. We can supplement history lessons about the migration of nations with chapters about the migration of factory buildings, their decline, and the construction of new ones from scratch," said Hovorka. While the end of Austro-Hungary was a time for establishing museums and the period of the First Republic a time for founding schools, according to him, the new factory halls, warehouses, and shopping centers are symbols of today’s era.
    The central motif of the factory will intertwine with the visual aspect of the festival, its architecture, and the program. It will also influence some of the festival sections.
    According to Hovorka, the festival's budget should range between ten to 12 million crowns, pending the involvement of some additional grants. "After years of stagnation, the situation at the Ministry of Culture and the State Fund for Cinematography has stabilized, and we no longer have to address how to trim the festival, but can instead think about how to further advance it," Hovorka said. He believes that the better situation is also reflected in the ability to financially reward the holders of some awards, although compared to other festivals, these rewards are significantly lower.
    The documentary film festival will take place in Jihlava from October 23 to 28. Festival screenings will be held at traditional venues in the House of Culture, the Dukla Cinema, the DIOD Theatre, and on the small stage of the Horácké Theatre. This year's precursor to the program will again be Live Cinema, where screenings of documentaries will take place outdoors in locations corresponding to the themes of the films.