The 22nd annual Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival will be kicking off in two weeks. What does have to offer? Film portraits of Gorbachev and Putin, a look inside a ‘Noah’s Ark’ beyond the arctic circle and a story of a dilapidated greenhouse in Ukraine. As always, it will include competition films, as well as a wide selection of cinéma vérité films and virtual reality worlds.
Altogether, the programme will have 327 films on offer. ‘I’m surprised that documentary films still remain overlooked, even though they are some of the most interesting cinema out there. Compared to narrative films, they more accurately reflect our own questions, doubts, joys and failures. Documentary films aren’t meant to be an escape from our own lives – they are a way for us to better understand them,’ says Marek Hovorka, the festival’s director. ‘The true struggle of cinema happens in documentaries which open up new possibilities, topics and perspectives. I am pleased that, this year, the Ji.hlava Festival will bring viewers a unique selection of films they can’t see anywhere else,’ he adds. This year’s show will feature 100 world premieres, 23 international premieres and 17 European premieres.
