Every year, some 1,300 film professionals descend upon the small Czech town of Jihlava to join a vibrant Industry programme whose raison d’être is to develop and facilitate the (co)production of auteur docs and to unite filmmakers from all parts of Europe and beyond. “We want to be the melting pot for people from across the whole of Europe – north, south, east and west,” says Jarmila Outratová, Head of Industry.
“When we receive applications for our Emerging Producers programme and other programs, this is also the aim of participants, they tell us,” Outratová continues. “Ji.hlava Industry is a great opportunity to meet the whole Europe basically in one place. That’s what has become our signature.”
At the heart of Ji.hlava Industry is the New Visions Forum, “dedicated to new formats, innovative trends, and visions for the future,” which enables 14 European producers to present new works at all stages from development to post-production on 26-27 October. On 27 October, eight of their US counterparts are given centre-stage to do the same.
Outratová underlines how, during the selection process, the focus is always on the artistic vision of each project, its originality and author-driven character, its visual style and international potential in terms of finance and collaboration, and its presentation, exhibition or broadcast across a range of distribution platforms.
The Industry chief further elaborates on the US New Visions presentation, an innovation that was introduced in 2021. “It was during the Covid time when it was so difficult to travel, especially from America. So at that point we ran this forum of US docs only online, and it was a huge success from the very first edition because the topics and approach to the filmmaking was astonishing,” she says. “And we could also choose from a lot, because so many American projects are being produced. So the selection is always really the best of the best…This way we help the projects to look for European co-productions and festivals, and therefore help the them to have more chances in the European market.”
Running at the same time (and into November) is the Ji.hlava New Visions Co-production Market, open to all non-fiction audiovisual formats and whose aim is to create an active hub connecting producers and other professionals to support the financing and development of projects, as well as their subsequent promotion and distribution. All accredited film professionals will have access to the Co-production Market, which will be accessible until November 12.
One particular Ji.hlava Industry programme has a distinct collegial feel. Festival Identity is a platform designed to strengthen collaboration among film festivals, encourage the exchange of know-how and build and strengthen a greater sense of community among the film festivals. “We would like to search for environmentally sustainable ways to collaborate effectively as we believe that together we are stronger,” Outratová underlines. Every year between 30 and 60 festival representatives are in attendance.
This year, the French documentary industry is in focus both at home and at numerous international events, one of which is Ji.hlava. “On the industry side, France is a huge market with a lot of opportunities and potential,” Outratová says of the emphasis she is placing this year on French docs and doccers, as well as the country’s funding structures. A panel discussion on October 28 will give the full lowdown to local and international professionals alike on how to co-produce with France.
Outratová reminds BDE of this year’s Conference on Ethics in Documentary Filmmaking which is subtitled ‘Documentaries of Time: How to Make the Absent Present’ and which will discuss how filmmakers should work with material they have not filmed themselves, such as archive material, found footage, home videos, found footage on social media, news reports, etc. “Therefore, the second edition aims to explore the limits, principles, and documentary methods of work with these materials, considering the crises we are currently facing or have faced in the past, such as wars, ethnic conflicts, pandemics, genocides, totalitarian regimes, propaganda,” the programme notes explain.
Festival director Marek Hovorka further stresses the importance of the Industry component, and flags up other key elements. “Ji.hlava cannot be perceived only through the festival itself,” he says. “It includes the successful Emerging Producers training programme for the upcoming generation of European producers as well as the presentation of projects from Eastern Europe, Docu Talents from the East, which gave rise to this year’s IDFA opening film [Havel Speaking, Can You Hear Me? by Petr Jančárek] or the successful festival title Between Revolutions [by Vlad Petri, 2022].”
“Ji.hlava also initiated and developed the documentary VOD Dafilms, which – when looking back – helped prepare the documentary scene for the pandemic and the transition to the digital environment thanks to its pioneering work,” he adds. “In short, we have been striving for an original and innovative approach to the audiovisual sector for a long time.”
