Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival Unveils New Visions Forum Lineup

The 30th edition of Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival, which draws around 1,200 industry professionals, has unveiled the projects selected for its New Visions Forum.

Twenty-nine projects from 15 countries will be presented during the Forum, taking place Oct. 28–30, offering their teams the opportunity to connect with potential co-production, financing, sales and distribution partners.

Eight of this year’s selected projects are directed by first-time filmmakers, alongside new works by acclaimed and experienced directors.

These include Lindsey Sitz, a Pulitzer Prize-winning filmmaker, who comes with “Searching for SmarterChild”; Simantini Chakraborty, a close collaborator of Godfrey Reggio and director of “The Original Badass,” who presents “Impossible to Ignore”; Iranian filmmaker Ali Razi (“At Night, the Red Sky”), who pitches “Archiveless Memories, for an Imaginary Museum”; and Polish director Agnieszka Zwiefka (“Silent Trees,” “Vika!), delivering “Words We Never Say.”

The selection also features new projects by two alumni of the festival’s Emerging Producers program: Charlotte Heilstone from the U.K. and Matej Sotník from Slovakia.

The Forum will present projects from Europe, the U.S., and East and Southeast Asia, complemented this year by six upcoming projects from Montenegro, the Country in Focus of Ji.hlava’s industry program this year.

Across the selection, several recurring themes emerge: memory, archives, and what has been suppressed or silenced; individuals confronting systems and structures of power; and the intersection of personal experience with larger historical processes.

The Forum is complemented by an extensive Matchmaking Accelerator, connecting selected projects with international decision-makers and industry professionals.