POLISH PRODUCTIONS FEATURED AT JI.HLAVA FESTIVAL
We've learned the program for the Ji.hlava Festival, with Polish films selected for several categories, including competitive sections. Audiences will have the opportunity to see more thatn 10 polish production and co-production, such as Joanna Janikowska "Comrades". Tomasz Wolski's A Year in the Life of a Country, Vita Maria Drygas's Danger Zone, Alina Maksimenko's In Limbo, and Izabela Zubrycka's short film You River.
The Ji.hlava International Film Festival stands as one of Eastern and Central Europe's premier documentary film festivals, drawing numerous industry professionals and cinema enthusiasts to the Czech town of Jihlava every year.
Comrades, directed by Joanna Janikowska's, will have its world premiere during the First Lights competition. The film follows Simone, Francesca and Olivia, three young people from Bologna who are members of the Communist Refoundation Party. Full of life, they participate in demonstrations and party meetings, believing they can change the modern world dominated by ruthless capitalism. That is, until it becomes clear that changing the minds of older party members is almost impossible, and failed attempts to attract new supporters intersect with difficulties in their personal lives. Comrades is an empathetic portrait, showing how today's young generation loses its illusions under social pressure and internal transformations, and how difficult it is to keep faith in one's beliefs.
Tomasz Wolski's A Year in the Life of a Country has earned its place in the international documentary competition Opus Bonum. The film explores the period known as the “long night of martial law” that descended upon communist Poland after 13 December 1981. Yet this era of state terror, aimed at suppressing the Solidarity movement, had multiple faces. Using solely archival footage, including both familiar and lesser-known material, the film peers behind the veil of these events. To the rhythm of military drums, it portrays daily life alongside propaganda and military operations, juxtaposing sounds of the streets, demonstrations, riots, and carnival celebrations. In doing so, it challenges the mythologised image of Polish society as merely victims of the system.
Izabela Zubrycka's short documentary You River has been selected for the Short Joy competitive section. This black-and-white impressionistic essay centres on a river, with the camera adopting its perspective. It flows through landscapes, sometimes peacefully, sometimes wildly, influencing the lives of animals and humans alike. For some, it serves as a wellspring of inspiration and forms an integral part of folk rituals.
The non-competitive Constellations section, which showcases outstanding titles previously featured at other international festivals, includes two Polish productions. Vita Maria Drygas's Danger Zone examines the phenomenon of war tourism – an extreme form of recreation aimed at satisfying curiosity whilst seeking adventure and relaxation. Forget well-preserved cultural monuments, vibrant city life, and a general sense of security. This perverse business, involving adrenaline and others' misfortune, is the focus of a documentary which follows both organisers and participants of tours to high-risk areas – people who refuse to forgo luxury and various forms of protection, even as children perish and both houses and lives crumble nearby.
Meanwhile, Alina Maksimenko's In Limbo chronicles the war in Ukraine. When Russian missiles began flying overhead, the director packed several necessities and fled the danger zone to visit her ageing parents deeper within the country. However, the war soon reached there as well. This documentary diary of the first days of the Russian invasion captures ordinary people's immediate reactions to the horrors unfolding in their vicinity. As the conflict escalates, tension mounts in a home gradually stripped of necessities such as electricity and heating. Yet leaving proves difficult. After all, who's going to take care of all the cats and dogs if the people depart?
Polish co-productions will also be featured in the Czech Joy section. The audience will get to see Lidia Duda's Forest and Roman Ďuriš's Fakir. The former tells the story of Asia and Marek, a couple who bought an old house near Poland's eastern border in the Białowieża Forest, Europe's oldest forest. It’s their little paradise – a place for their children to grow up far away from the troubles of the modern world. For Marysia, Ignacy, and Franek the forest is like a second home – familiar and safe. But one day their forest changes. Strangers show up. Outsiders… refugees. Unwanted both in Poland and in Belarus. Against the law, the family starts helping them. You can’t leave other human beings without help, can you? The children’s world changes drastically. They no longer play knights and princesses, but refugees and border patrols. Big politics knocks at their door, and nothing is the same as it was before.
Fakir, directed by Roman Ďuriš, tells the story of Dalibor, a 23-year-old who is released from prison after two years. He returns to his dysfunctional family, only to find that his 12-year-old brother Kevin is living with their abusive, alcoholic father. Dalibor confronts his father and helps his mother fight for the right to raise Kevin, aiming to save the boy from further harm. Entangled in a vicious cycle of suffering, the protagonist finds refuge in a destitute, travelling circus. He becomes a fakir in an attempt to heal his wounds.
Two titles can be found in the Czech Television Documentaries section. Putin's Playground, directed by Konrad Szołajski, explores Russia's authoritarian tendencies. The film delves into the hybrid warfare doctrine introduced by Putin in 2013, which involves attacking Western states without declaring war. The invasion of Ukraine has shattered our sense of security. A pair of Polish documentary filmmakers embark on a journey to seek answers about the threats that Central and Eastern Europe may face. In his documentary Right to Choose, Robin Lipo examines the situation of Polish women. It tells the story of three women who, in difficult life situations, found help from the so-called “Aunt Czesia”. This is a Czech organisation that helps Polish women have abortions.
Once Upon a Time in Poland by Filip Remunda and Vít Klusák was invited to the Translucent Beings section. It's a tale of atheistic Czechs and Catholic Poles. The Czechs look with disbelief at Polish piety, while Poles sometimes scorn the Czechs for living godless lives. A Czech documentary crew embarks on a pilgrimage through Poland to capture specific situations related to Polish religiosity on camera. How will their encounters with an exorcist or devoted listeners of Radio Maryja unfold?
The Siren Test section will feature. Jan Moss's Singeli Movement: Greed for Speed. The documentary was created in collaboration with the Ugandan record label Nyege Nyege Tapes. Singeli music hails from there, produced by two production houses: Sisso Studio and Pamoja Records. It's a genre of extremely fast dance music (with tempos reaching 200 beats per minute!) that emerged around the turn of the century somewhere in the slums of Mburahati in Dar es Salaam from the fusion of styles such as taarab, bongo flava, and mchirikuna.
The complete festival program can be found here.