28th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival
ecology
![Atirkül in the Land of Real Men](/media/thumbs/films/thumb_400x280_904854-1368801.jpeg?v=)
Atirkül in the Land of Real Men
Janyl Jusupjan
Kyrgyzstan, Czech Republic, France / 2023 / 65 min.
section: Czech Joy, Ji.hlava Online
World Premiere
In the vast plains of Kyrgyzstan, men have been cultivating a group sport with a long tradition. The aim of the game buzkashi is to steal the trophy of a dead goat from the rival team of riders, all while staying on horseback. Into this tough masculine world enters Atirkül, a woman with an enterprising spirit and a sense of humour. The film follows the everyday life of the headstrong horse lover Atirkül, whose ambition is to build her own buzkashi team of local young men to preserve the heritage of her native region. The ethnographic perspective alternates with a purely personal one, gradually revealing the possibilities of overcoming gender roles“They say it’s not for women! This makes me feel insecure. But I don’t care, I just follow my heart.”
![Hovering Over Us](/media/thumbs/films/thumb_400x280_904917-1360245.jpeg?v=)
Hovering Over Us
Hanna Kaihlanen
Finland / 2023 / 16 min.
section: Ji.hlava Online, Short Joy
World Premiere
Big events in our lives and on the planet often start with something small. The author therefore puts different species of mosquitoes and glimpses of a childhood under the microscope. Scientific facts about the tiny bloodsucking creatures are mixed with fragmented memories in a ghostly narrative. To understand the past and prepare for the future, both require equal attention. “Every time that you think we're now living in some final, confusing battle arena, and that it will all end badly, you then realize that nothing truly ends.”
![If I Ever Want to Learn How to Fall Down](/media/thumbs/films/thumb_400x280_950552-1385407.jpeg?v=)
If I Ever Want to Learn How to Fall Down
Hana Slaninová
Czech Republic / 2023 / 7 min.
section: FAMU Presents, Ji.hlava Online
World Premiere
I heard about a man who trains pigeons to fall to the ground. He lets them out of the cage, the pigeons circle high in the sky. Then the man gives the signal and the pigeons start to fall. I was terrified and fascinated by the idea at the same time. I don't understand how it's possible and I'd like to find out. (author's text)
![Iron Cow](/media/thumbs/films/thumb_400x280_950570-1385441.jpeg?v=)
Iron Cow
Barbora Aradská
Czech Republic / 2023 / 8 min.
section: FAMU Presents, Ji.hlava Online
World Premiere
The film depicts the relationship between a farmer and his cattle. The protagonist is Milan Kazda, the mayor of the only energy self-sufficient municipality in the Czech Republic - Kněžice. The second character is his cow, which is constantly hungry and requires attention and care. Since she is a constant burden, she is figuratively an iron cow for the farmer.
![MIGHTY AFRIN: in the time of floods](/media/thumbs/films/thumb_400x280_892332-1373898.jpeg?v=)
MIGHTY AFRIN: in the time of floods
Angelos Rallis
Greece, France / 2023 / 91 min.
section: Ji.hlava Online, Testimonies
Czech Premiere
This time-lapse film follows five years in the life of Afrin, an orphaned girl who lives with her foster parents on an island in the Brahmaputra River. For the past few years, the area has been plagued by heavy rains, and devastating floods caused by climate change have taken the homes and lives of its inhabitants. Survivors are moving to the cities, leaving behind a devastated wilderness. Through her pride and courage, Afrin also manages to make it to civilization, where she tries to find a better life and her missing father. The visually captivating shots of the waterlogged landscape and the story of a girl who doesn't want to be a victim of circumstance speak volumes about the current conflict between humanity and nature. “The Brahmaputra tells new stories over and over again.”
![Of People and Snow](/media/thumbs/films/thumb_400x280_950562-1377340.jpeg?v=)
Of People and Snow
Viktorie Aldabagh
Czech Republic / 2023 / 7 min.
section: FAMU Presents, Ji.hlava Online
World Premiere
The world is losing snow every year and people don't want to accept it. The film Of People and Snow is about what we are willing to do so that we don't have to say goodbye to snow yet.
![The Grief of the Forest](/media/thumbs/films/thumb_400x280_941364-1382926.jpeg?v=)
The Grief of the Forest
Barbora Klocová
Czech Republic / 2023 / 26 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries, Ji.hlava Online
The film already had its Czech Premiere
Children in the Vysočina region miss the forests that climate change and the bark beetle calamity have taken away. How do they cope with this loss and how does the School Forest project help? Environmentalist Barbora Klocová sought answers to these and many other questions. She filmed a total of 31 personal interviews with children and adolescents from the Highlands aged 8 to 18.
![The Květná Farm](/media/thumbs/films/thumb_400x280_953492-1384255.jpeg?v=)
The Květná Farm
Jan Gebert
Czech Republic / 2023 / 26 min.
section: Czech Television Documentaries, Ji.hlava Online
The film already had its Czech Premiere
The documentary Farma Květná follows the fate of three young men who have hit rock bottom, living in orphanages, in detention centres, on the streets. Now they have found work, and with it an unrecognised sense of meaning and self-worth, at Farm Květná, founded by former Interior Ministry official Ferdinand Raditsch. In it, he offers unorthodox support to those whose circumstances have destined them for an unfavourable starting line.
![The World According to My Dad](/media/thumbs/films/thumb_400x280_919113-1369670.jpeg?v=)
The World According to My Dad
Marta Kovářová
Slovakia, Czech Republic / 2023 / 77 min.
section: Czech Joy, Ji.hlava Online
International Premiere
“I thought it would be easier,” admits director Marta Kovářová halfway through the film. In the form of a vivid diary, she captures her father's fight for climate justice. Jiří Svoboda from the Institute of Physics of Materials of the Czech Academy of Sciences came up with an ingeniously simple idea to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He proposes a global carbon price. Accompanied by his daughter's camera and songs, the Brno scientist visits local protest meetings and global environmental summits. The infectious determination of both protagonists, however, clashes with the slothfulness of politicians and the inflexibility of power structures. Yet Svoboda never loses his humour and his belief that certain things make sense simply because they are the right thing to do.“I wanted to use the film to examine why the world couldn't work the way my dad imagines it in the kitchen.” — Marta KovářováThe quote from dok.revue.
![White Grass](/media/thumbs/films/thumb_400x280_885656-1357711.jpeg?v=)
White Grass
Justin Kim WooSŏk
Mongolia / 2022 / 16 min.
section: Ji.hlava Online, Short Joy
European Premiere
In Mongolia, the word dzud refers to extremely cold winters that make it impossible for cattle to dig food out from under the snow. The fundamental transformation of pastoralists' lives caused by climate change is captured in this documentary portrait of a multi-generational family threatened with the loss of their traditional livelihood due to more frequent dzuds.“I discovered film as this really wonderful visual language that helps transport us to different places and introduce us to different characters and emotions that we might not have felt otherwise.” – Justin Kim WooSŏk