IDF Christmas party + short films (13. 12.)

FACEBOOK EVENT

The Institute of Documentary Film has been supporting creative documentary films from Central and Eastern Europe for more than twenty years. Come to our Christmas party and see who is behind the IDF. We will be looking forward to seeing you! 

After Betelgeuse (Len Murusalu, 19 min., Estonia, Latvia, 2022) 

World War II, mass deportations to Siberia and marginalisation during the Russian occupation caused the extinction of the language of the indigenous people of Livonia. Narrated in Livonian and inspired by a folk song as well as Finnic mythology, the story seeks hope in the perishing time and in memories forgotten.

Of Fences and Men (Petr Michal, 12 min., Czech Republic, 2023) The iconography of garden communities, which also includes fences, is spread out before us in a pictorial-sound study of a Czech phenomenon. All those swings, cottages, rusting gates and weed-ridden concrete panel walkways are monuments to human attempts to tame nature within reasonable limits. 

But Not for Ever (Klára Trsková, 4 min.,Czech Republic, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe, 2023) 

The combination of archival footage from the African island of São Tomé, a former Portuguese colony with a slave system, and contemporary shots of Lisbon's decaying greenhouses, among which busts by Manuel de Oliveira hide in the lush vegetation, is complemented by urgent, poignant verses by São Tomé’s poets Alda Espírito Santo and Conceição Lima, recited by musician Gerson Marta. The images are linked by the image of the cocoa bean, a symbol of oppression – but not forever.“…each coffee bush now exhales a dead slave…”

Til We Meet Again (Ülo Pikkov, 14 min., Estonia, 2022) 

Animation short "'Til We Meet Again" talks about the tragic history of a small Ruhnu Island. Fearing for their lives, its entire population abandoned their homes while escaping the war in 1944. Decades later they had a chance to finally return, only to find out that the strangers had settled in. In addition to the twists and turns of the history, "'Til We Meet Again" looks deeper into the meaning of home - is it merely a location or a place that gives one a peace of mind. 

Cherries (r. Vytautas Katkus, 15 min., Lithuania, 2022) A recently retired father invites his son to help him with the cherry picking in the garden. The father is in no hurry to finish the cherry job though, as he tries to catch up with his son. The cherries remain in the background. 

The event is organised by KineDok as part of the Documentary Monday cycle. KineDok is a project of the Institute of Documentary Film. This project is supported by Creative Europe MEDIA, The Czech Film Fund and the Prague City Hall.

By attending the event, visitors give permission to have their person photographed and audiovisually recorded for the promotional purposes of the KineDok project.