Discover the new KineDok 2025/26 collection

"The new KineDok film collection is without a doubt one of the best we’ve ever curated in the history of the project. Together with our international partners, we’ve had the opportunity to assemble an exceptionally strong catalogue of documentary films – titles that are winning awards at international festivals while also surprising audiences with their boldness, playfulness, and openness in both form and theme.

Among them, you’ll find films that push the boundaries of traditional documentary filmmaking – from a powerful film composed entirely of photographs, to an animated documentary about the wild 1990s based on real testimonies, to a light-hearted hybrid film by documentary veteran Peter Kerekes. These stories will take you to Bhutan, where people measure happiness; into the hidden world of Brazilian los baloieros, who refuse to give up their need for self-expression and launch magnificent balloons over 70 meters tall into the sky; into the life of photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková; or to a self-sufficient women’s community on a Croatian island. In environments where tradition often binds, new spaces of freedom, creativity, and hope are emerging.

I’m especially pleased that this year we’re seeing a significant increase in the number of screening venues and events. That makes me appreciate even more the opportunity to bring films into this space that inspire with their sense of hope and offer fresh perspectives on the world around us. We believe audiences will fall in love with them just as we have," says KineDok manager Ivana Formanová.

These films will be screened in KineDok’s alternative venues—cafés, galleries, cultural centres, even barns or boats—places where film meets community and conversation. Check our website for planned screenings—or join the project and become a screening venue yourself. Hosting is free and simple—bring documentary cinema to your town!

A self-portrait of an artist seeking freedom, seen through the camera lens of Libuše Jarcovjáková. Hailing from communist Czechoslovakia, her extensive photograph collection takes audiences between three cities in her early career.

As she steps into adulthood, a young woman must reconcile her longing for independence with the fear of abandoning her sister, who lives with atypical autism. A coming-of-age documentary exploring responsibility, self-love, and the deep bonds of sisterhood.

A documentary about the never-ending construction of the D8 highway meant to connect Prague with Germany. Instead, it split the landscape and society—becoming a symbol of state dysfunction, legal disputes, and local frustration.

Block of four short films from the 1960s and 1970s, produced in four KineDok project countries. These films offer a glimpse into the recent past of each country, as found in their film archives.

A Gifted Town (Vladimir Kressl, Czechoslovakia, 1965, 11 min)

This film raises questions that echo throughout the entire program: how do we, in the present, access history; how can film become an accomplice in distorting historical truth; what is there to say about the credibility of the (film) archives? A would-be documentary from the Nazi-era is exposed as having been counterfeit: a collection of drawings and archival documents serve to restore the dark truth.

Inhabitants of Castles (Judit Elek, Hungary, 1966, 28 min)

Inhabitants of Castles explores built heritage—the physical, tangible remnants of history—by observing the social lives of the imperial castles repurposed by the state in socialist Hungary, and the perishable memory of the past following the physical disappearance of those who witnessed it.  

 Let Our Voices Be Heard (Krsto Papić, Yugoslavia, 1970, 16 min)

The third film shifts focus to intangible heritage, exploring the now-extinct pirate radio stations that once emerged in rural Yugoslavia, acting as vital catalysts for popular mobilization.

The Journals of Hrib (Slavomir Popovici, Romania, 1974, 15 min)

The Journals of Hrib returns to the topic of material heritage: an self-taught peasant opens a museum dedicated to local traditions in his home in rural Bukovina. Today we know that the museum did not survive its custodian, who passed away shortly after the fall of the Ceaușescu regime. The pressures and ambitions brought on by the new capitalist order of the 1990s quickly led to the museum's dissolution, alongside the destruction of the plants, factories and film studios left behind by the former regime.

With police and bounty hunters hot on her heels, a young filmmaker embarks on a wild ride with a Brazilian brotherhood of balloon builders as they launch into the sky spectacular balloons over 70 metres large. An intimate and explosive story of community, freedom and self-expression.

A man unravels his trauma and seeks answers from a childhood friend who sexually abused him. This autobiographical film captures his complicated, long journey for closure as he confronts the past.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, Hungary’s youth dream of exploring the world — but with no money, adventure seems out of reach. Three young men find a daring solution: master the art of forging international train tickets.

What does it mean to measure happiness? In Bhutan, agents survey and converse with people door-to-door to help measure the country’s Gross National Happiness, but these agents must search for their personal happiness as well.

In a society where being LGBTQ+ often means living on the margins, Teo—a young trans man—finds community and support in Valentina, an experienced ballroom dancer. Their connection quietly deepens as they navigate everyday life and personal change.

In the remote interior of the island of Brač, a group of women lives in a self-sufficient utopia — but when the issue of land ownership arises, the very foundation of their community is threatened.

Three high school seniors—Una, an aspiring actress, Habet, a trap artist, and Stefania, an environmental activist—face the uncertainties of their future plans as the Covid pandemic upends their lives. Forced to reassess their dreams of studying abroad, they grapple with self-discovery, societal pressure, and the reality of growing up.

A documentary portrait of a girl who began living the life of an adult at sixteen, yet her own pain and trauma keep her from truly growing up. Over the course of ten years, she repeatedly tries to find herself and reconnect with her son.

An authorial documentary directed by Daniela Meressa Rusnoková that brings a sensitive perspective on the little-discussed topic of premature births and saving highly immature infants born in the so-called “grey zone”.

Pivotal moments of political drama, encounters with world leaders over global dilemmas, and quiet conversations with ordinary citizens about everyday struggles—this documentary follows Slovakia’s president, Zuzana Čaputová, through the turbulent years of her presidency.

Luciana, a Neapolitan astrologer, has a method to make her clients’ wishes come true. All they need to do is take a trip on their birthday to a precise destination to be reborn under a new sky.

Can you look into the eyes of those whose lives have been shattered by war?

Fresh Memories: The Look is a short Czech-Ukrainian VR film that transports viewers into the heart of bombed-out Kharkiv—one of the cities most devastated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Through powerful, direct eye contact, the film shares the emotional stories of local residents affected by the war. Viewers find themselves in ruined apartments, hospitals, and playgrounds, where people silently convey their pain and resilience. Inspired by Marina Abramović’s performance The Artist Is Present, this immersive experience confronts the audience with the raw human face of war.

21-22 CHINA presents an immersive, meditative journey across the world’s fastest-growing superpower—a land undergoing rapid urbanization, major industrial development, and massive topographical transformations.