JIHLAVA: Vitaly Mansky’s documentary about life in South Korea seen through the life of a Korean family and their young daughter, Under the Sun, won the best film in the Between the Seas competition of films from Central and Eastern Europe at the 19th Jihlava IDFF’s closing ceremony on 31 October 2015.

JIHLAVA: The decision by the jury of the Czech national documentary competition Czech Joy at the 19th Jihlava IDFF which concluded on 1 November 2015 echoed hints of a problem in Czech documentary production.

VIENNA: Austria is considering a bilateral coproduction agreement with Cyprus.

Thirteen debut or second films competing for the Golden Pram ▪ Competition includes films from all over the world, from Scandinavia to Oceania ▪ Czech Republic and Iceland appear with black humour dramas about families in crises, and Latin America is represented by powerful Venice Film Festival winners From Afar and Neon Bull ▪ Checkers celebrate their 10th birthday ▪ Industry program focuses on short films and inter-festival collaboration

JIHLAVA: Slovak documentary director and producer Peter Kerekes is in development and production with a slate of three documentaries, all of which will be international coproductions, on the heels of the world premiere of Jan Gogola’s Excursions (Peter Kerekes) in the Czech Joy competition at the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival on 28 October 2015.

VILNIUS: Eurochannel and the Lithuanian Film Centre have teamed up to present “Lithuanian Month” in November.

JIHLAVA: Taking risks is not the traditional path for most film festivals. Sponsors and audiences often prove averse to such a move. But in the case of the fifth annual Inspiration Forum at the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival, the risk of inviting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange paid off for audiences, the festival, and the founder/curator of the event, Filip Remunda.

The Croatian Audiovisual Center announced the following grants on 16 October 2015.

PRAGUE: Bones of the Wise Men, a coproduction from Prague-based Sirena Film with Germany’s Films in Motion, has been acquired by Spain’s Moonrise Pictures for exclusive worldwide rights prior to its introduction at the American Film Market in early November.

JIHLAVA: The first full working day of the 19th Jihlava IDFF which runs through 1 November 2105, started at a running speed, with nine specialised industry programme sections kicking off on 27 October.