The industry strand of the 28th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival has wrapped with an awards ceremony, where the Slovak project Wasteland Chronicles, developed as a Czech co-production and directed by a trio of emerging Slovak directors (Viera Čákanyová, Barbora Sliepková and Lucia Kašová), took home the top New Visions Award for the Most Promising European Project. It was thus selected from a competitive slate of 30 documentaries at varying stages of development, production and post-production that were showcased at the 2024 New Visions Forum (see the news and the industry report). In collaboration with its industry partners, the Ji.hlava IDFF extended cash prizes and in-kind services to further support the next generation of documentary storytellers.

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The award includes €15,000 in post-production services (from UPP) and an additional €5,000 in sound services (from Soundsquare). The industry jury highlighted the project’s “bold, cinematic filmmaking” while lauding its collective approach to addressing environmental degradation in Slovakia through three different approaches. Wasteland Chronicles, produced by Filmsomnia and Cinémotif Film, explores Slovakia’s most hazardous toxic-waste sites through a distinctly dystopian lens. Divided into three acts, each helmed by one of the directors, the film journeys from tar pits to chemical dumps examining the far-reaching impact of environmental neglect. Employing varied cinematic styles, the directors challenge anthropocentric perspectives, positioning the contaminated land itself as a central character.

The Ji.hlava New Visions Forum Award for the Most Promising US Project, backed by AmDocs, was granted to Fenced, directed by Gabriella Garcia Pardo. The jury praised the film's “unique, essayistic exploration of societal boundaries”. The project received a $7,000 cash prize, and delves into America’s landscape of divisions, both physical and ideological. Among the European projects recognised at this year’s Ji.hlava New Visions Forum were films that zoom in on personal and collective histories, each addressing environmental, political and social themes. Armenian filmmaker Anzhela Frangyan’s Homemade Mulberry Vodka won the Current Time TV Award, which includes a cash prize of $2,000. Set against the backdrop of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the documentary paints a raw, intimate portrait of a community grappling with the impact of war. Frangyan’s lens captures the resilience of individuals living amidst collapse, employing a personal narrative to spotlight the human cost of geopolitical strife and documenting contemporary history from a female perspective.

The #Docs Connect Taskovski Training Award went to Fantasma, a Czech-Slovak experimental project by Tomáš Klein, which will receive mentorship and guidance for festival, marketing and distribution strategies. The film immerses viewers in a surreal journey where truth and perception blur, exploring themes of memory and psychological self-exploration in so-called dark therapy. Meanwhile, the EURODOC Award honoured Laura Alvarez, the executive producer of the Spanish project Homefire, which tells the story of a beekeeping family struggling against climate change and industrial encroachment in the Catalan Pyrenees.

Here is the full list of award winners:

UPP & Soundsquare Award
Wasteland Chronicles – Viera Čákanyová, Barbora Sliepková, Lucia Kašová (Slovakia/Czech Republic)
Producers: Anna Mach Rumanová, Martina Netíková (filmsomnia/Cinémotif Films)

AMDOCS Award
Fenced – Gabriella Garcia Pardo (USA)
Producer: Jonna McKone

Current Time TV Award
Homemade Mulberry Vodka – Anzhela Frangyan (Armenia/France/Sweden)
Producers: Anzhela Frangyan, Stephane Jourdain, Mirjam Gelhorn (Dokino/La Huit/Mantaray)

#Docs Connect Taskovski Training Award
Fantasma – Tomáš Klein (Czech Republic/Slovakia)
Producers: Tomáš Michálek, Martina Netíková (Cinémotif Films)

Cannes Docs – Marché du Film Award
A Journey to the Universe – Primrin Puarat (Thailand)
Producer: Supatcha Thipsena (S+ pictures)

DAE Award
The Songs from Within – Elvis A-liang Lu (Taiwan)
Producers: Stefano Centini, Katrina Hsieh (Volos Films)

Sheffield DocFest Networking Award
Becoming Riskya – Riskya Duavania (Indonesia)
Producer: Riani Singgih (Seven10 Media)

EURODOC Award
Homefire – Neus Pagès (Spain)
Producer: Laura Alvarez (Nanouk Films)