Russian Bricklayer, Slovakia’s First Woman President and Pistachios in California Among Subjects at Ji.hlava Documentary Festival
variety.comWill Tizard Contributor From its showcase of the most probing Czech and Eastern European nonfiction work to its tributes to underappreciated auteurs and platforms for indie collaborations, the Ji.hlava Intl.
Documentary Film Festival is in its stride these days. With a newly expanded 28th edition, a 10-day gala held in the historic Czech town of Jihlava, the fest is out to shake things up, as usual, says founder and festival director Marek Hovorka.
The fest’s opening film, “Ms. President,” by Marek Sulik, is an embedded account of the frustrations of Slovakia’s first woman to win the office, Zuzana Caputova, and it makes for a fitting banner project, says Hovorka. “We always support Czech and Slovak culture and films.
It’s a huge work and I think it can bring a deeper impression of how society works in the Czech and Slovak republics.” Hovorka says people can detect “a shift in mood and tendency” in Slovakia, which borders Ukraine and whose government has become vocally pro-Putin.
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