Programme of 15th Jihlava IDFF 2011

October 25-30, 2011

The anniversary Jihlava IDFF screened 229 films of all lengths from a total of more than 2500 submissions. Documentary and experimental films came to Jihlava from 41 countries of the world; 56 films were screened in world premiere, 13 films in international premiere and 7 films in European premiere.

Competition Sections

The Jihlava IDFF programme presented four competitions sections:

• Opus bonum selects an outstanding documentary film of the year from a diverse collection representing tendencies in world documentary; since all of the films are significant, the festival suggest the following game; a single juror picks a single film, a “brilliant” work.
• Between the Seas is a competition section for the countries and nations of Central and Eastern Europe, including their historical, political and cultural interrelationships.
• Czech Joy is a prestigious selection of Czech documentaries; rather than a mere competition for the best Czech documentary, it represents a celebration of its diverse ways of discovering new themes and exploring the cinematic expression.
• Fascinations is a large factory for experimental filmmaking; stripping reality-based films of all that weighs them down, it significantly expands the possibilities of cinematic expression.

Thanks to the co-operation of the distribution company Verbascum Imago and Jihlava IDFF, five films presented in the festival programme were distributed in Czech cinemas after the festival. The Czech Joy in Czech Cinemas project is still running; you can watch Solar Eclipse, On the Outside, A Catapult of Fate, Race to the Bottom and EM and HE in your cinema.

Follow in the footsteps of films screened in the Jihlava festival competition and find out how they are doing at other festivals.

Non-Competition Sections

Doc-fi

The Doc-fi section expresses the conviction that the boundary between documentary and fiction is porous; in fact, that perhaps no such boundary exists at all; as shown by films whose “otherness” alters our understanding of cinema.

Special Events

Special Events is a selection of films that capture the current state of the world from various angles; as much as it may seem that there is no common thread running through them, within the context of Czech and international documentary filmmaking these are works that, for many reasons, cannot be overlooked.

Novelties of the 15th Jihlava IDFF programme

Israel and Palestine

The Promised Land – but for whom? This mini-section looked at the current situation in Israel and Palestine, as well as relations between Jews and Arabs in Israel, thus again calling attention to this burning issue in the Near East. The section showed various forms of helplessness in the vicious circle of violence along the uncertain border between the state of Israel and the territories claimed by the Palestinians.

ZOON Politicon

The festival introduced a new section of documentaries dealing with contemporary political issues. The films were made by students and graduates of FAMU. Presenting portraits of (not only) Czech politicians, the documentaries have proved that documentary film is important for understanding politics, and were very popular with the festival visitors.

Radiodocumentary

Thanks to co-operation with Czech Radio, the 15th IDFF could also boast the first ever survey of domestic and foreign radio documentaries. Through thirteen radio documentaries (a rich palette of sounds, tones, and poetry), plus discussions and interviews with their creators, the three-day audio showcase presented a wide range of possibilities in radio documentary work.

Translucent Beings / Retrospectives

The retrospectives of the 15th Jihlava IDFF were dominated by personalities of Spanish documentary Basilio Martín Patino, who personally came to Jihlava and celebrated his 81st birthday there, and José val del Omar. For more information about the Translucent Landscape – Spain programme section, please go HERE.

The festival also screened 50-year-old documentaries by legend of Italian cinematography Vittorio De Seta and fascinating retrospectives by film experimenters Albrecht Viktor Blum, Bill Viola.