"Thanks to the extension from six to ten days, Ji.hlava took a new breath and screened documentaries to over a hundred thousands viewers," says the festival director. The online part of the 28th Ji.hlava IDFF, which took place on November 3–17, two weeks following the physical festival, is now over.
This year's edition of Ji.hlava IDFF featured 340 films, 147 discussions and 39 Inspiration Forum debates. 110,000 viewers watched the Ji.hlava films – more than 47,000 in cinemas and 63,000 online. The number of issued festival accreditations was over 6,000. The Online Audience Award went to Tomáš Hlaváček's The Impossibility, which was also the most watched film of the online section. The film draws attention to the poverty business, took also the award for the best Czech documentary at the physical Ji.hlava.
"Ji.hlava ran for the first time this year for ten days (October 25 – November 3). The ten-day format simplified the accommodation of guests and audiences and significantly allowed for screening films more times. As a result, for example, the opening film Ms. President was seen by nearly 1,900 people at Ji.hlava, and the Czech winner The Impossibility was seen by over 2,100. This year's Ji.hlava showed that documentaries speak to the present and are reaching new audiences, " says festival director Marek Hovorka.
Over 6,000 people accredited for this year's Ji.hlava. The attendance of the physical festival exceeded 47,000 viewers, Ji.hlava Online recorded 37,000 films played (when converted by the coefficient of 1.7 used by U.S. streaming services to determine the number of viewers) we reach almost 63 thousand viewers of the online part.
Of the 340 films screened, 129 were shown in world premiere, 11 in European premiere and 23 in international premiere. Films competed in 8 sections. They were screened in 8 cinemas in Jihlava and Třešť. The programme offered 147 discussions after the screenings and 39 debates in the Inspiration Forum. In total 1,435 film professionals were accredited at Ji.hlava.
Record attendance at the Industry program
The Ji.hlava Industry Programme is traditionally aimed at supporting the entire ecosystem of documentary filmmaking. This year, it reached more than 1,435 film professionals from around the world. The Ji.hlava New Visions Forum was held for the fourth time, featuring 15 documentary projects from Europe, plus 15 projects from the USA and newly also from East & Southeast Asia. 12 of them won awards. Another 32 projects participated in the Ji.hlava New Visions Market. The Festival Identity meeting of representatives of international film festivals took place at Ji.hlava, aimed at strengthening cooperation among film festivals and exchanging of know-how.
The Matchmaking Accelerator, which connects filmmakers, filmmakers and producers with festival organisers or film distributors, was also very successful. In total, Ji.hlava organised nearly 850 one-on-one meetings this year. Furthermore, the Visegrad Accelerator project connected professionals from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.
This year, for the thirteenth time, the Emerging Producers project presented 18 up-and-coming European producers at Ji.hlava IDFF.
“As part of this year's Ji.hlava Industry programme, we introduced over thirty remarkable documentary projects that garnered significant interest, giving their creators the opportunity to further develop them in collaboration with experts from around the world. This year, we expanded Ji.hlava Industry to include presentations of exceptional projects from East and Southeast Asia, many of which received awards at the festival. It is clear that Ji.hlava Industry is establishing an increasingly strong position on the global documentary scene, which brings us great joy,” Jarmila Outratová, Head of the Industry Department.
During the Industry Days, Ji.hlava announced the first three projects it will co-finance through the Ji.hlava / JB Films co-production support. Its aim is to help documentary filmmakers from Central and Eastern Europe. The three winning projects received a total of 110,000 euros. All income generated from the co-production share of Ji.hlava / JB Films will be reinvested in other documentary film projects from Central and Eastern Europe.
Conference on Ethics in Documentary Film
The Conference on Ethics in Documentary Filmmaking was held for the third time this year. Its theme was "Accountability for the Topic". The day-long programme offered discussions on how filmmakers, institutions or media raise issues that resonate with society. Discussions included, for example, how topics for documentary film are created in the Central European context or which institutional routines are key in creating topics. The Conference on Ethics in Documentary Film is a platform for bringing together people with an interest in documentary filmmaking and ethics from academia, professional, industry and the general public. Its purpose is to spark dialogue on important ethical issues in filmmaking and to stimulate research by establishing a new space for discussion between academics and professionals. The Conference was attended by 538 visitors.
Online Audience Award: The Impossibility
The Ji.hlava Online Audience Award went to the documentary The Impossibility by director Tomáš Hlaváček, which was also awarded the best Czech documentary of this year's edition. The film deals with the topic of decent housing for families in need and the poverty business. Hlaváček chronicled the months-long conflict of people living in rented flats in Brno who receive bullying and threats from the owner, who, in his own words, "doesn't like colour". They join forces with activists and lawyers to fight for their rights. The Impossibility was also the most watched film of this year's Ji.hlava Online.
The awarded films of the 28th Ji.hlava IDFF can be found here. "This year, the juries were leaning towards political films. This is shown not only by the winners of the main sections, such as the Slovakian The President or Filip Remunda's Happiness for All, made in Russia, but also by the award-winning U.S. VR Dreaming of Lebanon or the Argentinian The Goodbye, which reveals the roots of the director's grandfather, who was an aide to Mussolini. As much as the competition sections offered more poetic and universal films, the juries responded to films that powerfully show the contemporary divided world," Hovorka evaluates this year's edition.
Ji.hlava more accessible
With the extension, Ji.hlava also focused on further reaching out to the local audiences. In order to make Ji.hlava more accessible to everyone, this year it provided free passes to seniors aged 65+ and to holders of disability cards. Special screenings with free admission were organized for parents accompanied by their children. In cooperation with the Psychiatric Hospital Jihlava, Alzheimer Home Ji.hlava, TyfloCentre Jihlava and the Stříbrné Terasy Home, we organised four special screenings for those who otherwise would not have had the opportunity to watch documentaries in the cinema.
This year, Ji.hlava strengthened the physical as well as the online part and further developed the festival's Industry programme. "I am happy that we managed to use the potential that the ten-day festival offers. We have shown the direction in which Ji.hlava can develop further, both in terms of increasing the audience comfort and the possibilities to show films to as many viewers as possible," says Marek Hovorka.
Fourteenth Inspiration Forum: Immunity, War, Technology and Leisure, and Forest
The fourteenth edition of the Inspiration Forum, the Ji.hlava discussion platform, hosted 80 local and international guests and 2,150 visitors attending the programme. The four thematic blocks were dedicated to the relationship between new technologies and leisure, forest, new concepts of immunity and its overlap with society and politics, and the current phenomenon of war. The discussion programme was expanded by workshops and Inspiration Meeting series, which offered an open space for discussion.
"This year's Inspiration Forum has become a real meeting place. Seniors, freelancers, students, businessmen and businesswomen, as well as people from the art and film scene, people from different social bubbles and age groups, often with opposite opinions, were able to talk openly, listen to each other and inspire each other," says Tereza Swadoschová, the head of the Inspiration Forum.
The Inspiration Forum discussions were physically attended by 2,150 male and female viewers. The Inspiration Forum debates had 2,943 views during Ji.hlav Online. Recordings of the debates can be watched online here.
Ji.hlava for Kids and Ji.hlava Vibes
500 children were accredited to attend the Ji.hlava for Kids accompanying programme, and more than 3,300 people attended in total. A total of 1,700 participants attended Ji.hlava Vibes. The six-day programme prepared 60 workshops and seminars for children, 4 theatre performances, 4 guided walks, 15 lectured screenings and other accompanying programmes. The programme was designed for children from zero to fifteen years old. All activities were free of charge.
For the third time, Ji.hlava Vibes was also held, designed for teenagers aged 13 and over. The four-day program was created in dialogue with youth and young adults - its goal is to offer the participants knowledge and fun on topics that really interest them. Vibes complements the festival's accompanying programme with workshops, fresh culture or discussions with inspiring personalities.
The 29th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival will take place 24 October - 2 November 2025.
