Ji.hlava Festival kicks off with an intimate look at OnlyFans sex work in Czechia
The 29th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival begins on Friday, featuring over 300 documentary films from around the world. Radio Prague International spoke with the festival’s director, Marek Hovorka, about the stories filmmakers choose to tell and how they bring them to life at this year’s edition.
“Documentary filmmaking is in very good shape today. It’s incredibly powerful, and there are so many ways to tell stories — from audience-oriented films to experimental cinema. I think that documentary filmmakers today are privileged because they can spend five, ten, or even more years working on their projects. At the same time, we as the audience are privileged to receive their experiences distilled into a 90-minute film.
"I think that what decades ago was the power of journalism, is now a strong part of documentary filmmaking"
Marek Hovorka
“I think what decades ago was the power of journalism, is now a strong part of documentary filmmaking. Journalism has become all about speed, but documentary filmmakers really have time to focus, dive in, and then bring us the results.
“Documentary filmmaking is very unique and diverse in the forms it can take on, and that's very refreshing. We are surprised every year what films we discover.”
Virtual Girlfriends
This year’s opening film, Virtual Girlfriends by Barbora Chalupová, explores online sex work on OnlyFans (a paid subscription website) through the stories of three real content creators. What makes it the right film to open the Festival?
“Through the opening film, we always give space to filmmakers from the Czech and Slovak Republic - it is our way of giving special attention to talented filmmakers from the region. This is part of the reason why we chose Barbora Chalupová. We think that she’s a very talented and promising filmmaker, whom we will definitely hear about in the future. We admire her film language, but also how audiences approach her films and the topics she chooses.
“This year’s opening film is more suited for adults, but since the festival is now 29 years old, it’s also kind of like an ‘adult’ itself. And it's up to the audience to think about whether the film is just about these new virtual erotic relationships, or whether it also reflects how we use social networks and live two lives through them – one real physical life with our families and friends, and another online, where we create a different identity. I think that if we look at the film Virtual Girlfriends in a more open way, it can tell us a lot about our society and our lives today.”
Documentary film as a space for public debate
Do you think that documentary film and festivals like Ji.hlava can influence public debate? Can they help people shape how they understand the world?
“Definitely. This is also how we communicate the programme of the festival. We don’t just want to bring audiences to one place, we really care about connecting filmmakers and their films with critics and audiences in terms of the topic and questions they raise. We think this is part of the role of the festival – to open discussions.
“This is the richness of documentary filmmaking - it really focuses on so many aspects of today's life. And that's why, for example, we have a special section, Testimonies, which is dedicated to topics like politics, environmental issues and science.”
Are there any specific topics that really stand out in this year's line-up?
“That's a tough question, because we screen around 300 films. But, of course, we can see that many filmmakers from the region but also from all around the world are focusing on environmental issues. We also see that many filmmakers reflect on their own lives, their own stories, or they give voices to people on the outskirts of society. I think this is really important – to not only focus on those who are in the centre of attention, but also to show experiences of people who are really hidden and not taken care of by anybody. I am thinking, for example, of an incredible film, Flophouse America (Monica Strømdahl, 2025), but there are many other films that show the lives of those on the outskirts.”
How Ji.hlava transforms its hometown
The festival takes place in Jihlava, which is a relatively small town in the Czech Republic, with a population of around 55,000. Do people look forward to the festival each year?
“Yes, I'm very happy that many people attend the Festival. That's also why we were happy to extend the festival last year from six to ten days, which allows us to repeat screenings and to welcome different types of audiences.
“Of course, during the festival Jihlava becomes a completely different place, as thousands of people attend the Festival. But many of the visitors are from Jihlava and from the region, which is really important to me. We want the festival to bring together the local perspective, a national level, but also an international level. It's something that makes the festival pretty unique.”
