Dajori

Czech Republic / 2024 / 87 min
dir. Martin Páv, Nicolas Kourek, prod. Jan Bodnár, Jarmila Poláková – Film & Sociology

Dajori (which means mother in Romani) tells the story of the main character Marie (45), a mother of three children who lives an ordinary life in a block of flats in Varnsdorf with her husband Enrico (50). For a long time now, Varnsdorf has been classified as an area whose population is threatened by poverty and social exclusion. Marie assumes the role of the female head of her extended family and decides to help her younger sister Iveta who has became homeless with her nine children. Two-year-old Anabel and nine-year-old Samuel end up being fostered by Marie and Enrico. In the next three years, the film follows the dynamics of the new family and Marie's efforts to provide the traumatized children with motherly love while at the same time raising them according to her ideals...

WORLD PREMIERE:
Ji.hlava IDFF

CONTACT:
Jan Bodnár – Film & Sociologie, janbodnar101@gmail.com

Jungle/Placht

Czech Republic / 2024 / 80 min
dir. Alice Růžičková, prod. Jitka Kotrlová – Frame Films, coprod. Barbora Kinkalová – HappyFilms, Kateřina Ondřejková – Czech Television

The jungle is energetically a different world. Chaos, cosmos, mystery. Confusion, permanent transformation, extinction next to birth. This word captures Placht's personality and points to several levels of Otto's "jungles" – existential, philosophical, artistic, and relational. The theme of the film is the jungle – external and inner – as a mental frame for each chapter. Jungle as creation, relationship, spirit, ecology, politics, and Placht as personification of the contexts that converge, intersect, deny, or are in harmony.

WORLD PREMIERE
Ji.hlava IDFF

CONTACT
Jitka Kotrlová – Frame Films, jitka@framefilms.cz

Fakir

Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland / 2024 / 83 min
dir. Roman Ďuriš, prod. Simona Bago Móciková – Bright Sight Pictures (SK), coprod. Michal Sikora – Lonely Production (CZ), Lumisenta Film Foundation (PL)

The psychological journey of Dalibor, a young Romani man from a dysfunctional family, is set against the backdrop of a Slovak slum. This gripping, immersive, and cinematic experience delves into the captivating life at the edge of society, unfolding a modern-day Oedipus story. With a stolen childhood, Dalibor yearns for a father figure in a world that brings a constant struggle for one‘s place. „Fakir“ vividly explores the raw pain that arises from abuse and trauma. This pain resides both internally within the family‘s walls and externally, where the circus‘s agonizing nailbed becomes his haven.

PREMIERE
DOK.fest München

CONTACT
Michal Sikora – Lonely Production, michal@lonelypro.cz

Wishing on a Star

Italy, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Croatia / 2024 / 99 min
dir. Peter Kerekes, prod. Erica Barbiani, Lucia Candelpergher – Videomante, coprod. Peter Kerekes Film (SK), Artcam Films (CZ)
Mischief Films (AT), Restart, RTVS, ARTE, YLE

Luciana, a Neapolitan astrologer, has a method to make her clients' wishes come true. All they need to do is take a trip on their birthday to a precise destination to be reborn under a new sky. Whether it's Taipei, Beirut, or a nearby village, during these birthday journeys, the protagonists will go through unexpected transformations to help them discover what they truly desire.

PREMIERE
Venice IFF

CONTACT
Films Boutique – Julien Razafindranaly, contact@filmsboutique.com

Forest

Poland, Czech Republic / 2024 / 84 min
dir. Lidia Duda, prod. Patryk Sielecki, Michał Ostatkiewicz – Lumisenta Film Foundation (PL), coprod. Michal Sikora – Lonely Production (CZ)

Fresh university graduates, Asia and Marek bought an old house near the eastern border of Poland, in the Białowieża Forest, the oldest forest of Europe. This is their own paradise – a place where their children can grow up safely, away from the problems of today’s world. For Marysia, Ignacy and Franek the forest is their second home, tamed and trusted. Yet one day, their forest changes as Strangers and Others show up. Refugees, unwelcome neither in Poland, nor in Belarus. The whole family helps refugees, even though it’s against Polish law. But how can you not help another person in need? The children’s world changes radically. They no longer play a knight and a princess, but a refugee and Border Guards. Big politics came knocking on their door and nothing was the same anymore.

PREMIERE
Thessaloniki IFF

CONTACT
Michal Sikora – Lonely Production, michal@lonelypro.cz

Scent Evidence

Czech Republic, Slovakia / 2024 / 78 min
dir. Zuzana Piussi, prod. Vít Janeček – D1film, coprod. VIRUSfilm (SK)

Among the law enforcement and judicial methods with very high relevance in the evidentiary proceedings of many ex-communist states, the so-called “scent evidence” is included. Its main protagonist is a dog, which convicts the perpetrator. This method originated in the former GDR and was initially secretly employed by the German police against political dissent. Over the years, it became domesticated as one of the accepted strong evidentiary methods, and its acceptance extended to the law enforcement and judicial practices of democratic states in many Eastern Bloc countries. In the Czech Republic, the result of a “scent evidence” alone is sufficient as evidence.

PREMIERE
Ji.hlava IDFF

CONTACT
Vít Janeček – D1film, vit@d1film.com

World Between Us

Czech Republic, Slovakia / 2024 / 90 min
dir. Marie Dvořáková, prod. Pavel Berčík – Evolution Films, coprod. HBO Europe, PubRes (SK)

We follow a five-year phase in the personal and professional lives of Marie and Thomas, partners in work and life, their passion and obsession for art, their fearlessness to make their vision a reality, and the boundless effort that requires. The film thus becomes a testimony to the moments that shape the young artists' careers, with all the uncertainties and obstacles they must overcome on the way to make their dreams come true. The film is also about a young artist's desire to be accepted in a new place, but also to be recognized in the place she left. Marie no longer feels at home in her native Mikulov, nor does she feel like she belongs to America. The phenomenon of pulling up one’s roots, migrating elsewhere, and finding a new home in a foreign land is a universal theme.

PREMIERE
Ji.hlava IDFF

CONTACT
Pavel Berčík – Evolution Films, pbercik@evolutionfilms.cz

War Correspondent

Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine / 2024 / 78 min
dir. David Čálek, Benjamin Tuček, prod. Václav Flegl – Sounderground, coprod. Atelier.doc (SK), Braha Production Company (UA), Czech Television

Through the reporter Martin Dorazín, we discover the ordinary life of ordinary people, exposed to the effects of war for a long time. We show the power that actually decides wars. It is not victory on the front, but the resilience of the home front. We explore the theme of societal resilience through the eyes of a war correspondent, through his work with sound in radio reports. In the film we also refer to the non-war context - a society is only as strong as its weakest individual. Failure usually does not occur where people have come together, because coming together itself increases the chances of the whole surviving. This is a theme that also speaks to a society not directly threatened by war.

PREMIERE
Warsaw Film Festival

CONTACT
Václav Flegl – Sounderground, vasek@sounderground.cz

The Birdhill

Slovakia, Czech Republic / 2024 / 72 min
dir. Eva Křižková, prod. Silvia Panáková – DayHey (SK), coprod. Jarmila Poláková – Film & Sociologie (CZ), Czech Television, RTVS (SK)

A neighbourhood on the outskirts of Bratislava. A wild, green hill full of trees and birds, where the film director lived alone with her family - until the first drilling noises and cranes appeared. As the construction machines advance and transform the world of her childhood into a modern settlement with detached houses, roads, and fences, the director explores the relationship of the new and old residents to nature and the people around them. In the microcosm of the "Birdhill" she encounters dreams of protected refugees, loneliness, struggles for territory, and the question of power and self-determination. The birds, which give the hill its name and are its actual indigenous inhabitants, become secret antagonists that playfully reflect the efforts of humans to find their place in this world.

PREMIERE
Film Festival 4 živly

CONTACT
Jarmila Poláková – Film & Sociologie, fas@seznam.cz

More about Czech Joy in the Spotlight

The "Czech Joy in the Spotlight" showcase at the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival is a platform that brings attention to prominent Czech documentaries featured in the Czech Joy competitive section. It typically includes films that have garnered attention for their artistic quality, social relevance, or cinematic innovation, covering a wide range of themes that reflect contemporary Czech society, culture, and issues of global interest. The showcased films often delve into topics such as personal identity, social and political history, and cultural heritage, offering viewers a window into Czech perspectives on universal themes. 2024 Czech Joy in the Spotlight was backed by Creative Europe, the City of Jihlava, the Visegrad Fund, the Czech Ministry of Culture, the Czech Film Fund, and the Region of Vysočina.