Praha - The 12th edition of the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival, which starts on 24 October, will feature 16 Czech films competing in the Česká radost (Czech Joy) contest, and 13 international films competing for the Opus Bonum award.
Česká radost will present a range of new documentaries from a number of experienced authors as well as promising beginners.
One of the hot candidates for the prize is Helena Třeštíková's René, a film about the incorrigible criminal René Plášil.
Several biographies will be screened, including Helena Papírníková's film on the poet and communist-era dissident Martin Jirous, and a film on the last Czechoslovak communist leader, Gustav Husák, by Robert Sedláček, previously known as the author of a documentary on former PM Miloš Zeman and several acted films.
The authors of Czech Dream, Vít Klusák and Filip Remunda, who are currently filming a documentary entitled Radar - Czech Peace, will present Vánoce v Bosně (Christmas in Bosnia), and Lucie Králová, author of Ztracená dovolená (Holiday Lost), has fielded her new film Legie - Patria Nostra on Czech volunteers serving in the French Foreign Legion.
Of younger directors, Pavel Abrahám will premiere his feature debut Česká RAPublika (Czech RAPublic), which explores the work of Czech rappers and their plays with the language; Radek Tůma will screen Plani di giardini ideali; and Vít Janeček will present Ivetka a hora o mariánském zjevení.
Other films competing in the Česká radost contest will be Černá srdce by Břetislav Rychlík, Dan Konzept (Ulrike Meinhof) by Peter Bágle, Domoff by Veronika Janečková, Film lež by Tomáše Petráně, Gyumri by Jana Ševčíková and Malupien, Olšový Spas by Martin Ryšavý.
As a bonus, the festival will screen Citizen Havel, the bestselling documentary on the former Czech president, and host the world premiere of Vít Pancíř's underground adaptation of Jáchym Topol's novel Sestra (Sister).
The international contest, Opus Bonum, will feature Aka Ana, a bleak excursion to the world of Asian prostitution; Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, a portrait of the author of the book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; and Errol Morris's Standard Operating Proceedure, a film that raised a turmoil at the Berlinale with its depiction of torture practices in the Abu Graib prison.
The programme of the third contest, Mezi moři (Between the Seas), has not yet been published.
The festival's special guest will be a living legend of the American documentary film, Fredeick Wiseman, who will present an overview of his 40-year career.
