Ji.hlava 2026

One of the leading European documentary film festivals and the largest event of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe, it was conceived in the minds of a group of high school students in the Czech city of Jihlava in 1997. Since then, each autumn the Ji.hlava IDFF brings together hundreds and thousands of viewers, directors, producers, film critics, journalists, and friends of documentary cinema to spend several days “thinking through film”. Ji.hlava IDFF is among the festivals whose winners are eligible for the pre-selection of the Academy Awards® and the European Film Award. Our jury of three will present the FIPRESCI award to a film in the First Lights section for best world documentary debut or second feature.