The Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival will return to the Vysočina region this fall with one of its most politically charged lineups yet. Running Oct. 24 to Nov. 2, the festival’s 29th edition will showcase a diverse program of Czech and international documentaries, experimental cinema, and themed retrospectives. Organizers promise ten days of screenings, discussions, and premieres that reflect the turbulent global climate while celebrating the creativity of contemporary nonfiction film.
Ji.hlava’s 2025 edition will also explore the festival’s chosen theme of food through an extensive retrospective and a slate of experimental works. Director Marek Hovorka says the theme connects everyday life with historical and political context, using cuisine as a lens to examine social change. From kitchen-table traditions to avant-garde visual experiments, food will serve as a metaphor for how culture reflects its time.
A high-profile premiere with global resonance
Among the festival’s most anticipated titles is The Librarians, a timely U.S. documentary directed by Kim A. Snyder and co-produced by actor Sarah Jessica Parker, known worldwide for her role in the TV series Sex and the City. The film follows library staff in Texas, Florida, and other states as they resist censorship efforts targeting works about LGBTQ+ issues, race, and sexuality—a topic that has grown increasingly contentious across the United States.
The Librarians premiered at Sundance earlier this year and has drawn critical attention for its intimate portrayal of those who face harassment and job loss for defending access to contested books. Festival director Hovorka called the documentary “a courageous portrait of those fighting for the right to read,” noting that its inclusion underscores Ji.hlava’s commitment to presenting urgent global issues.
Also screening at this year’s Ji.hlava festival is Norwegian director Monica Strømdahl’s Flophouse America (pictured at top). The film follows a 12-year-old boy growing up in a run-down U.S. motel with his alcohol-dependent parents, capturing the despair of a childhood shaped by addiction and poverty. Screened earlier this year at Denmark’s CPH:DOX festival, the documentary offers a stark portrait of an American underclass rarely shown on screen.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is addressed in the film Coexistence, My Ass! by director Amber Fares, which follows Israeli stand-up comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassi. She grew up in the Israeli village of Wahat al-Salam–Neve Shalom, where Jews and Palestinians live side by side, leading her to work in the field of peace diplomacy including at the UN. The film, which won an award at the Sundance Film Festival, focuses on the absurdity of Israeli politics, the normalization of occupation, and international inaction.
Czech premieres and a feast of film history
Beyond international headlines, Ji.hlava remains a vital platform for Czech documentary film. The Czech Joy section will host the world premiere of Martin Trabalík’s What About Petey?, a three-year chronicle of a widowed father raising two teenagers, one with a severe autism spectrum disorder.
Other local entries include Jan Strejcovský’s art-market comedy Is It Worth It? and Michal Böhm’s intimate 8mm diary Unborn Father. AMOOSED: A Moose Odyssey follows director and ethnozoologist Hana Nováková on a globe-spanning exploration of moose and the cultures that revere them.
Food, the festival’s central theme, will take center stage in the retrospective Food and Epoch, which traces social change in Czechoslovakia from the 1950s to the 1980s through the evolution of kitchens, cooking shows, and domestic labor. A series of food-inspired experimental films from around the world will accompany the retrospective.
Experimental programs will push the concept further, using edible materials to alter film stock or exploring the visual textures of decay. “Food has historically been both a subject of depiction and a physical tool for filmmaking,” says programmer Andrea Slováková, who curated the section.
Also at this year’s festival, Taiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-liang will return to shoot and premiere a new installment of his meditative Walker series with crew from Prague’s FAMU film school. The 2025 Ji.hlava festival promises a rich mix of artistry and social engagement—underscoring why Ji.hlava has become one of Europe’s leading showcases for documentary film.
