Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival, which runs Oct. 25-30, has unveiled Opus Bonum, its international competition section. The 16-strong lineup includes eight world premieres.
Andrea Kleine’s “The End Is Not What I Thought It Would Be,” from the U.S., is set during the pandemic. Kleine, the author of novels “Calf” and “Eden,” is seen performing stand-up comedy, monologues and music in a theater without an audience.
Emily Allen’s U.S. film “Cisco Kid” features a young woman living in the middle of a vast desert in the American West, in the ruins of a town where the last of the oddball inhabitants struggle to survive.
Canada’s “Bloom” by Fanie Pelletier follows three groups of adolescent girlfriends from Quebec, who are going through tough changes in their lives as captured through the videos they post online.
Croatia’s “Deserters,” from director Damir Markovina, looks at the Bosnian War in the 1990s with the aid of photos and letters from former school friends in Mostar.
The Czech film “The Investigator,” by director Viktor Portel, looks at war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia, and centers on an investigator for the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Also world premiering is Switzerland’s “Over Our Hills,” from director Mateo Ybarra, in which young men undergoing military service discuss the experience, while older men look back at their time in the military.
“Cisco Kid”
Courtesy of Emily Kaye Allen
Slovak director Jaro Vojtek’s “Shift” is a probe into the lives of three characters whose family relationships fall apart due to their work abroad.
“Yoyogi” from Estonian director Max Golomidov focuses on a park in Tokyo, and captures its visitors.
“Terra in Vista,” directed by Italians Mattia Petullà and Giulia Angrisani, is one of seven international premieres. It follows fruit pickers as they move from Denmark to France and Spain.
In France’s “07:15 – Blackbird,” directed by Judith Auffray, an old hermit and a young girl hear the singing of an unknown bird one day, and set off into the forest and an abandoned mine to find it.
Hsin-Yao Huang’s “A Silent Gaze” is a contemplative documentary film about the sense of timelessness in a rural community in Taiwan.
“Boom Boom” from French director Laurie Lassalle captures the passion of the Yellow Vest protestors.
“Greater Gospel” from Spanish director Javier Codesal is set in a retirement home for senior LGTBIQ+ citizens.
“Just Be There” from director Caspar Pfaundler in Austria moves between dance rehearsals of the Vienna State Ballet and the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre in Taiwan.
“Kristos, the Last Child,” by French-Italian director Giulia Amati, goes to the Greek island of Arki, inhabited by a thousand goats, but only 30 people. Among them is a single child, a boy named Kristos.
Canadian Joële Walinga’s “Self-Portrait” is a European premiere. It uses security camera footage from various parts of the world to reveal the beauty of industrial spaces, private buildings and natural landscapes.
