CZECH JOY IN CZECH CINEMAS

CZECH JOY IN CZECH CINEMAS

The films are selected by the Ji.hlava IDFF in cooperation with the Verbascum Imago distribution company, which will be responsible for their cinematic distribution. Richard Němec of Verbascum Imago says, “Our aim is to promote Czech documentary film as a whole and in its entire diversity. Documentaries have become well established among audiences, especially in larger cities. It is our shared goal to expand the Jihlava festival’s geographic influence and its educational efforts in the field of documentary film beyond the borders of Prague and Jihlava. We prefer for documentaries to support each other instead of competing against one another. I believe in Czech documentary film, and am convinced that its potential among audiences will continue to grow. We would like to help this process.” The selection will consist of five films to be jointly distributed on the condition that each cinema interested in participating in the project undertakes to screen at least three films of its choice depending on its scheduling abilities. Otherwise, the film can be screened at each given location without further limitations – in other words, depending on public interest in the various documentaries. As of this writing, we have confirmed the following films: A Catapult of Fate (Rock života, Jan Gogola), which looks at more than a year in the life of rocker Olda Říha as he experiences the death of his band Katapult (and his world); On the Outside (Venku, Veronika Sobková), a long-term look at three people as they leave prison and must face new decisions, freedoms, and their own fates; and Solar Eclipse (Pod sluncem tma, Martin Mareček), a situational documentary that offers an uncensored look at the pitfalls of development aid; the film was shown in competition at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Currently in negotiations is Vít Janeček’s Race to the Bottom (Závod ke dnu).

4. COMPETITION SECTIONS

As in past years, the festival program is centered around four competition sections. This year’s Opus Bonum features 16 of the most distinctive documentaries made over the past two years. Czech Joy presents works by Czech filmmakers, with 15 brand-new films in competition. Between the Seas presents 14 of the best contemporary documentaries from Central and Eastern Europe. And Fascinations will show 34 films offering an overview of the latest trends in international experimental film testing the boundaries of the audiovisual media.

OPUS BONUM

Competition for best international documentary film of 2011

Archa ráje (A Arca do Éden / Eden’s Ark; dir. Marcelo Felix, Portugal 2011) – A cinematic poem that uses the analogy between the conservation of botanical heritage and the conservation of film material to explore memory and its preservation.

Babička, tisíckrát (Grandma, a Thousand Times; dir. Mahmoud Kaabour, United Arab Emirates 2011) – Aunt Fatima is the 83-year-old head of the Kaabour clan and a respected authority in her old Beirut neighborhood. Her grandson Mahmoud tries to capture her view of the world and her legacy for future generations. The film’s intimate nature is underscored by recordings of violin improvisations performed by Fatima’s late husband, who died 20 years ago.

Bengálský detektiv (The Bengali Detective; dir. Phil Cox, India/Great Britain 2011) – A documentary slapstick about a detective and his team, who not only make up for an indifferent police in Calcutta but are also trying to make it as dancers in show business.

Den se děje (Day Is Done; dir. Thomas Imbach, Switzerland 2011) – The director of this autobiographical film-novel looks out his window in search of stories and scenes from everyday life in an industrial neighborhood in Zurich. Messages left on the filmmaker’s answering machine add an extra dimension to images of unusual urban beauty.

Dopis z Německa (A Letter from Germany; dir. Sebastian Mez, Germany 2011) – The stories of three women from Eastern Europe who set out for a better life and ended up as prostitutes. Three anonymous voices read from their letters, thus enhancing the film’s raw look at the ghettos of Eastern Europe that we don’t want to see.

Epilog (Epilogue; dir. Manno Lanssens, Belgium 2011) – Neel, a 50-year-old mother of three, is terminally ill and has a year left to live. The film looks at how she and her family make peace with the harsh truth.

Hospodin činí zázraky ve mně (The Lord Worked Wonders in Me; dir. Albert Serra, Spain 2011) – In this film-letter, the director uses precise compositions of images and lyric absurdity to offer a commentary on the 21st century.

Na schodech (At the Stairs; dir. Rajesh S. Jala, India 2011) – A portrait of a widow who heads to the holy city of Baranes in order to await her death by the cremation stairs, the gháts. Dying here means achieving moksha – release from the eternal cycle of reincarnation.

Noční hlídač (El Velador / The Night Watchman; dir. Natalia Almada, Mexico/France 2011) – A cemetery in the heart of a region ruled by Mexico’s narco-mafia expands dramatically, its many opulent cathedral-like graves creating a surrealist city of the dead. A night watchman is our guide to this “city” and its history.

Oslepení (Blinding; dir. Steve Sanguedolce, Canada 2011) – In contrast to its title, the film is filled with visual poetry shot using the director’s own hand-developed and colored 16mm film. The portrayed events bring together three persons whose views of the world have undergone dramatic changes – a writer who is slowly going blind, a lesbian policewoman, and a military pilot who was a witness to genocide.

Pod kontrolou (Under Control; dir. Volker Sattel, Germany 2010) – This visual film-essay explores the routine everyday experience of living with nuclear energy. Among other things, it shows how difficult it is to combine the idea of peaceful nuclear energy with everyday reality.

Přízraky (Spectres; dir. Sven Augustijnen, Belgium 2011) – A documentary essay about one of the darkest chapters in Belgian history, seen through the eyes of a former government official who defends Belgium’s actions during the decolonization of Congo to this day.

Sipo’hi (Sipo’hi – Manduré place; dir. Sebastián Lingiardi, Argentina 2011) – South American natives living in the remote town of Sipo’hi tell their legends and myths, which the director turns into a self-portrait of a threatened culture.

Vikingland (Vikingland; dir. Xurxo Chirro, Spain 2011) – Using found footage from a television archive, the director edited down 16 hours of video shot by a Galician sailor as he sailed from the Danish town of Romo to the German island of Sylt.

Zámek (Il Castelo / The Castle; dir. Massimo D’Anolfi, Martina Parenti, Italy 2011) – An international airport as a place where new security measures are tested year-round acts as a metaphor for the Western world, which since September 11 has become obsessed with security at the expense of individual freedom.

Ztracená země (Lost Land; dir. Pierre-Yves Vandeweerd, Belgium 2011) – An artistic look at the difficult situation of the Sahrawi nomads, whose homeland has been suffering from the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara. A series of experimental visuals accompany interviews with men and women, primarily in refugee camps, in order to show the extent to which their nomadic culture and traditions have been disrupted.

Directory: press -> 2011
press -> Draft I film Screening
press -> The milk carton kids
press -> Embargoed until 15 december 2005 15H00 gmt
press -> Press Release world meteorological organization
press -> Introductory Text
press -> The project is part of the wider cooperation between Eni and Rosneft sanctioned under the Strategic Cooperation Agreement entered into by the parties on 25th April 2012
press -> El Niño’s Effects May Be Limited This Winter
press -> I am particularly pleased that my last year at Kunsthaus Bregenz was so successful. There are very few institutions in which the architecture, the staff, and the art encounter each other so productively

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