_{Light - Stockhausen's Legacy by Oeke Hoogendijk}

Oeke Hoogendijk and Witfilm's Light - Stockhausen's Legacy** is selected for Siren Test, the section dedicated to music/sound in contemporary progressive cinematography. Brilliant. Megalomaniac. Unstageable – some words to describe the opera cycle Licht, the most radical project in the history of music theatre, written by the legendary and controversial composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. The Dutch National Opera and Holland Festival staged Licht in 2019. Oeke Hoogendijk documented the path to this frenzied opera spectacle. The film recreates Stockhausen’s musical universe through the making of the opera, against the backdrop of his dramatic life story.

Two Sergei Loznitsa documentaries screen at Ji.hlava IDFF: The Natural History of Destruction* and The Kiev Trial, both produced by Atoms & Void. The Natural History of Destruction is inspired by W.G. Sebald’s book: the film posits the question if it is morally acceptable to use a civilian population as an instrument of war? It is selected for Testimonies, a selection of films that capture the current state of the world from various angles. The Kiev Trial is about the trial took place in January of 1946 in the Soviet Union, and was one of the first post-war trials convicting German Nazis and their collaborators. It is selected for Constellations, which presents films that last year shone on world documentary skies. We introduce carefully selected titles from other film festivals.

Co-produced by Basalt Film, Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel* by Amélie van Elmbt and Maya Duverdier is selected for Constellations. The legendary Chelsea Hotel, an icon of 1960s counterculture and artists’ refuge for over a century - former residents and regulars have included Patti Smith, Jim Morrison, Robert Mapplethore and the superstars of Warhol's factory -will soon reopen as a luxury hotel.

_{When the Shot by Ana Bravo Pérez}

Celebrating its world premiere as part of the Fascinations programme is short film Prison with Songbirds by Ewan Macbeth. In the Fascinations section for experimental documentaries from all around the world, it will compete for the Best Experimental Documentary Film award. An unseen narrator recounts his experience of wrongful imprisonment in an unnamed country, and his sudden release. Based on a nightmarish letter sent to Amnesty International, and a surreal interview with its writer on freedom and coincidence. Distribution is handled by EYE Experimental.

Short film When the Shot by Ana Bravo Pérez is also selected for Fascinations, celebrating its European premiere. When the Shot connects life and death with a character that travels between present and childhood, sailing obscure waters and hiking trees’ wrinkles. Shot in s8mm, 16mm and digital video, the film drags us in by situating individual memories in fractured landscapes, impossible to recognize yet familiar. The film is a journey where differente cinematic formats take us beyond stories of violence to immerse us in sensorial experiences.

World premiered at Locarno Film Festival, where it took home the Pardino d’argento, short film Neighbour Abdi* by Douwe Dijkstra is selected for Constellations. How can you understand a violent past? Somali-born Abdi is furniture designer and support worker. He reenacts his life, marked by war and criminality, with the help of his neighbour and filmmaker Douwe. Through playful reconstructions in a special effects studio, Abdi and Douwe embark on a candid and investigative journey through a painful history, focusing on the creative process throughout. Neighbour Abdi is produced by Valk Productions.

Furthermore, in the special retrospective programme labeled as Fascinations: Progress, three Dutch shorts are selected. Karel Doing's Energy Energy, Bert Haanstra's Glass and Paul de Nooijer's Transformation by Holding Time (Landscape) all screen in this section.

Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival takes place between October 25 and 30. For more information click here.
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*Film is supported by the Netherlands Film Fund
**Film is supported by the Netherlands Film Fund and Film Production Incentive