Marek Hovorka, the festival director, said in a press release that the presence of Julian Assange at the 5th Inspiration Forum, a platform for the development of themes and reflection of the present, is a unique opportunity: “We have been trying to get Mr. Assange involved in the festival’s programme for over three years and we highly value his promise to participate, albeit through the mediation of the Ecuador Embassy.

It is known that he rarely makes public appearances. Visitors of Jihlava IDFF will have a unique chance to ask him various questions. As part of the Inspiration Forum, Julian Assange will also collaborate with selected documentarists on their work,” said Marek Hovorka.

This year, Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival will be dominated by the theme of eternity. According to the CTK press agency, the budget of the festival, which is around 550,000 EUR/15 million crowns, will be for the first time partially funded from the Norway Grants and the Czech-Swiss Cooperation Fund. The Czech Ministry of Culture, the Czech Cinematography Fund, the Town of Jihlava and the Vysocina Region are regularly contributors.