30/10/2006

Bosnian director Nedzad Begovic, his Polish counterpart Marcin Koszalka and Czech filmmaker Linda Jablonska collected the most prestigious prizes at the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival, which ended October 29.

Koszalka won Best Central European Documentary with his film All Day Together (Caly dzien razem), a story about his fruitless efforts to communicate with an elderly Japanese woman. Begovic’s autobiographical trip in what used to be Yugoslavia, Totally Personal, was voted Best World Documentary.

There was an element of surprise in the award for Best Czech Film as Jan Sikl’s Low-level Flight (Nizky let) picked up the main prize, while the Czech Joy section was won by Erika Hníiková’s I Guess We´ll Meet at the Eurocamp (Sejdeme se v Eurocampu), yet another view of life in today’s Czech countryside.

However, the Audience Award went unanimously to Linda Jablonska’s Left, Right, Forward (Kupredu leva, kupredu prava), a cynical look at the inside world of organised young Communists and conservatives in the Czech Republic.

The Jihlava festival has been gaining prestige by the year as documentary films, with half a dozen theatrical releases this year, are slowly making it back to the big screen in Central Europe.

The Jihlava IDFF awards:

Best World Documentary Film
Totally personal (Sasvim licno), Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nedzad Begovic

Best Central European Documentary
All Day Together (Caly dzien razem), Poland, Marcin Koszałka

Audience Award
Left, Right, Forward (Kupredu leva, kupredu prava), Czech Republic, Linda Jablonská

Best Czech Documentary Film
Low-Level Flight (Nizky let), Jan Sikl

Czech Joy Special Jury Award
I Guess We´ll Meet at the Eurocamp (Sejdeme se v Eurocampu), Erika Hníková

Between the Seas Special Jury Award
Our Daily Bread, Austria, Nikolaus Geyrhalter

Contribution to World Cinematography
Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal