Ji.hlava Academy

Over the course of four days, Ji.hlava Academy will offer a creative lab for those dedicated to making, reflecting upon and sharing contemporary films. The program is designed for aspiring filmmakers and future film professionals who want to push the boundaries of visual style and authorial approach, broaden their understanding of non-fiction filmmaking and become part of the creative industry.

This year, we are honored to have two distinguished tutors guiding the program: Anja Salomonowitz, an acclaimed Vienna-based film director and screenwriter, and Khavn De La Cruz, a renowned Filipino filmmaker, poet, and composer.

Under the mentorship of these experienced unorthodox tutors, the Academy program will be divided into two tracks. The first track, Practical Filmmaking, involves hands-on filmmaking sessions where participants will shoot and edit short films throughout the program under the guidance of Khavn De La Cruz. The second track led by Anja Salomonowitz, Industry Insight and Development, includes curated masterclasses, lectures, talks, and meetings with industry insiders and festival programmers.

Participants of the Ji.hlava Academy will receive a festival industry accreditation, providing full access to all industry events and festival screenings. This is a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the vibrant atmosphere of the Ji.hlava IDFF, network with peers, and engage with leading professionals in contemporary non-fiction cinema.

The programme will be accessible only for a limited number of selected participants. The application deadline is September 15.

The 180 EUR participation fee includes access to the programme, festival industry accreditation, light lunches and accommodation for 4 nights in hostel-type shared double rooms with shared bathrooms on the floor. It does not cover travel costs.

Note: The participants of the practical filmmaking track are expected to shoot and edit a short film with their own equipment on site in Jihlava. As part of the programme, their work will be screened in one of the festival cinemas. Hence, the final export of their film should be of suitable quality for a big screen (minimum full HD) and the technical equipment they will use must correspond.

 

"Fairly, it was one of the most interesting and engaging workshops I have attended recently. I learned so much from Khavn and the rest of the participants. The workshop gave me the possibility to learn about an absolutely new genre for me. The haiku I made during the workshop are part of my current film project. Moreover, I plan to share this knowledge with students as a co-lecture of a documentary course next year."

Lala Alieva, Azerbaijan
Participant of Ji.hlava Academy 2020

 

Head tutor in 2024

Khavn / Philippines filmmaker, composer, writer Khavn is the director of more than 203 films − 52 features and 151 short films. He is also the composer of 40 albums and author of 8 books. His poetry and fiction have won in the Palanca Awards, the Philippines’ foremost literary award. He has served in the jury of various film festivals such as the Berlinale, Clermont-Ferrand, CPH:DOX, Jeonju, Bucheon, New Horizons, Dok Leipzig, & Ji.hlava IDFF. Khavn has exhibited at the MoMA, MAXXI, Guggenheim Museum, Tate Modern, National Museum of Singapore, & Venice Architecture Biennale. He has lectured at the Berlinale Talent Campus, Bela Tarr’s Film Factory, Goethe Institut, & the Danish Film Institute. Khavn has curated programs for the Viennale, the Edinburgh International Film Festival, & the Sharjah Biennial. Selected retrospectives of his films were presented in Rotterdam, Pesaro, Dokufest Kosovo, Sao Paulo, Taiwan, Film Mutations Zagreb, and Oberhausen among others.

Anja Salomonowitz / Austria film director and screenwriter Anja Salomonowitz is a Vienna-based filmmaker. In her films she has developed a visual language that combines elements of documentary film-making, classical narrative and challenges to politics and society. Her films have gained international recognition and won numerous film awards; they have also been cited as references in literature on documentary film-making. In 2014, she was the chairlady of dok.at, the Austrian Documentary Film Alliance, and in 2016 she was chairlady of the Austrian Directors Association. Anja Salomonowitz has three sons. She studied film in Vienna and Berlin, honed her craft as an assistant to Ulrich Seidl and elsewhere. Last year, 2016, she staged the theatre piece The boy has to be circumcised in Vienna. She frequently gives lectures on the topic of artistic documentary film, for example at the Aalto University in Helsinki (Department for Film and Television), at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

HISTORY