Documentary Films - Competition
Sections of 52nd KVIFF
- Official Selection - Competition
- Official Selection - Out of Competition
- East of the West - Competition
- Documentary Films - Competition
- Special Events
- Horizons
- Another View
- Imagina
- Future Frames: Ten New Filmmakers To Follow
- Future Frames’ Mentor: Denis Côté
- Variety Critics’ Choice
- Midnight Screenings
- Czech Films 2016–2017
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Tribute to Kenji Mizoguchi
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30 Years of the European Film Academy
- People Next Door
- Six Close Encounters
- Out of the Past
- Prague Short Film Festival Presents
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Another News Story
Další čerstvá zpráva /
Another News Story
Directed by: Orban Wallace
United Kingdom, 2017, 90 min
In today’s chaotic era, what is the “who, how, and why” of news spewed forth on world conflicts and crises? A young British director turns his camera lens on the journalists sent by their employers to the Mediterranean to cover the unfolding humanitarian tragedy. When faced with immeasurable suffering, do they maintain a fundamental sensitivity or do they fall back on sensationalized treatments of human misfortune?
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Atelier de conversation
Lekce francouzské konverzace /
Atelier de conversation
Directed by: Bernhard Braunstein
Austria, France, Liechtenstein, 2017, 72 min
One room, twelve red chairs, and a common language. Foreigners from all corners of the world meet each week for free lessons to hone their French. This formally minimalist documentary captures the fleeting moments in which grammatical fumblings and the painstaking search for the right word inadvertently open a window into the human soul.
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Before Summer Ends
Než skončí léto /
Avant la fin de l’été
Directed by: Maryam Goormaghtigh
Switzerland, France, 2017, 80 min
Even after studying in France for five years, Arash hasn’t completely gotten used to the place, so he decides to return home to Iran. But friends Hossein and Ashkan are determined not to accept the loss of their closest pal. This documentary comedy, about a goodbye road trip across France, boasts beer chugging and French girls, but it’s also about cultural differences and the natural need to find and hold onto kindred spirits when living in a foreign land.
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A Campaign of Their Own
Kampaň /
A Campaign of Their Own
Directed by: Lionel Rupp
Switzerland, 2017, 74 min
Partaking of the Direct Cinema documentary style, A Campaign of Their Own tells the story of the loyal supporters of democratic socialist Bernie Sanders, who lost to Clinton in the Democratic primaries. Subtly engagé and skillfully incorporated into a stylistic frame, the film lifts the lid on a newly-inflamed radical skepticism towards political representation in the United States and the general frustration at the breakdown of representative democracy itself.
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Land of the Free
Země svobodných /
Land of the Free
Directed by: Camilla Magid
Denmark, Finland, 2017, 95 min
In the economically depressed neighborhoods of South Central Los Angeles it’s far too easy to get on the wrong side of the law. One fateful day 42-year-old Brian, who has just been released from serving a long prison sentence, experienced it firsthand. The vicious cycle of social determination, however, also begins to effect the lives of teenager Juan and seven-year-old Gianni. The debuting director immerses herself in the depths of human vulnerability in order to draw out fragments of hope.
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Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle
Spousta dětí, opice a zámek /
Muchos hijos, un mono y un castillo
Directed by: Gustavo Salmerón
Spain, 2017, 90 min
Julita always wanted lots of kids, a monkey, and a castle. After finally realizing these wishes, however, her family loses their property in the economic crisis. But they have not lost the disarming ease and kindheartedness that mark their domestic squabbling. A film chronicle with elements of absurd humor that serves as a madcap allegory for the contemporary situation in Spain.
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A Memory in Khaki
Vzpomínky v barvě khaki /
A Memory in Khaki
Directed by: Alfoz Tanjour
Qatar, 2016, 108 min
A Syrian director dusts off memories of the past, when people were persecuted for their political beliefs. A poetic portrait of people whose homes have been turned to rubble, and a story that tells us that a free life can never be monochromatic, let alone khaki.
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My Life without Air
Život bez vzduchu /
Moj život bez zraka
Directed by: Bojana Burnać
Croatia, 2017, 72 min
The most important moments in the life of Goran, a Croatian free diving record-holder, take place exclusively under water. This portrait of an extreme athlete features intentional dramatic minimalism in order to guide the viewer toward a shared physical experience of performances that push the boundaries of what is humanly possible. Between each inhalation and exhalation we experience an endless emotional fall into the depths of the deep blue sea.
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Tarzan’s Testicles
Tarzanova varlata /
Ouăle lui Tarzan
Directed by: Alexandru Solomon
Romania, France, 2017, 105 min
A research center in Sukhumi, the capital of today’s Abkhazia. Legend has it that it was built at the end of the 1920s to create a hybrid between man and monkey. The hypothetical creature never saw the light of day, but people and primates, like sad relics of the past, live together in the derelict wings of the medical institute to this very day.
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This Is Not Me
Richard Müller: Nepoznaný /
Richard Müller: Nespoznaný
Directed by: Miro Remo
Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, 2016, 90 min
This uncompromising, sometimes painfully revealing but always deeply insightful portrait presents the life of Richard Müller from a fresh perspective. We get to know the famous Slovak singer as a still uncommonly charismatic man who has become exhausted by his struggles with addiction, mental illness, and the demands of show business.
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The White World According to Daliborek
Svět podle Daliborka /
Svět podle Daliborka
Directed by: Vít Klusák
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, United Kingdom, 2017, 105 min
A stylized portrait of an authentic Czech neo-Nazi, who hates his life but doesn’t know what to change. Corrosively absurd and starkly chilling in equal measure, this tragicomedy investigates the radical worldview of “decent, ordinary people.” And just when it seems that its message can’t get any more urgent, the film culminates in a totally uncompromising way.