The Ji.hlava New Visions Forum has selected 29 projects from 15 countries for its 2026 edition, taking place October 28 to 30 during the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival. The Forum is a key industry event of the festival, presenting documentary projects from emerging and established filmmakers to potential co-production, financing, sales and distribution partners.

Eight of the selected projects are directed by first-time filmmakers. The selection also includes new works by Lindsey Sitz, a Pulitzer Prize-winning documentary filmmaker, Simantini Chakraborty, a close collaborator of Godfrey Reggio and director of The Original Badass, Iranian filmmaker Ali Razi (At Night, the Red Sky), and Polish director Agnieszka Zwiefka (Silent Trees, Vika!). New projects by Emerging Producers alumni Charlotte Heilstone from the United Kingdom and Matej Sotník from Slovakia are featured as well.

The Forum will present projects from Europe, the United States, and East and Southeast Asia. This year’s selection is complemented by six projects from Montenegro, the Country in Focus of Ji.hlava Industry 2026.

Organizers note several themes recurring across the selection, including memory, archives and what has been suppressed or silenced, individuals confronting systems and structures of power, and the intersection of personal experience with larger historical processes.

The Ji.hlava New Visions Forum is complemented by a Matchmaking Accelerator, connecting selected projects with international decision-makers and industry professionals. Around 1,200 industry professionals are expected to attend this year’s 30th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival.