Visegrad Visions: 25 Years, 25 Films

A program celebrating 25 years of the International Visegrad Fund

Over the past quarter-century, the Visegrad region has become one of the most dynamic spaces for documentary cinema in Europe. Its filmmakers have continually redefined how we understand reality on screen, blending formal innovation with political urgency, intimate observation with sweeping historical reflection.

For 25 years, the International Visegrad Fund has backed a wide range of events that have played a crucial role in developing documentary filmmaking in the region, contributing to its current international standing. On the occasion of the Fund’s anniversary, DAFilms and Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival join forces to present a curated journey through 25 years of Visegrad filmmaking: one film for every year of the Fund’s existence.

This selection traces the evolving concerns, aesthetics, and identities of Central Europe from 2000 to 2024. It begins with Karel Vachek’s grand, genre-defying fresco, moves through formally bold experiments from Hungary and Slovakia, and includes landmark portraits of personal and political transformation from Poland and the Czech Republic. Along the way, the program highlights recurring themes that have shaped the region: the struggle for democratic values, the resilience of communities in transition, the presence of borders both visible and invisible, and the intimate dramas unfolding within everyday life.

Many of these films have become canon within European documentary cinema: from the social satire of Czech Dream to the exquisite observational works of Helena Třeštíková and Paweł Łoziński, from the human rights testimonies of A Woman Captured to the radical cinematic language of FREM. Others are rediscoveries: restless, daring, and deeply reflective works that deserve renewed attention.

Twenty-five years, twenty-five films — a cinematic portrait of a region continually reinventing itself.

Click here and you will see the 25 titles: https://dafilms.com/program/1746-visegrad-visions-25-years-25-films#:~:text=Twitter-,Visegrad,itself

Photo: Peter Kerekes “66 Seasons” is of course one of the 25 films, love that film!

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Tue Steen Müller
Tue Steen Müller

Müller, Tue Steen
Documentary Consultant and Critic, DENMARK

Worked with documentary films for more than 20 years at the Danish Film Board, as press officer, festival representative and film consultant/commissioner. Co-founder of Balticum Film and TV Festival, Filmkontakt Nord, Documentary of the EU and EDN (European Documentary Network).
Awards: 2004 the Danish Roos Prize for his contribution to the Danish and European documentary culture. 2006 an award for promoting Portuguese documentaries. 2014 he received the EDN Award “for an outstanding contribution to the development of the European documentary culture”. 2016 The Cross of the Knight of the Order for Merits to Lithuania. 2019 a Big Stamp at the 15th edition of ZagrebDox. 2021 receipt of the highest state decoration, Order of the Three Stars, Fourth Class, for the significant contribution to the development and promotion of Latvian documentary cinema outside Latvia. In 2022 he received an honorary award at DocsBarcelona’s 25th edition having served as organizer and programmer since the start of the festival.
From 1996 until 2005 he was the first director of EDN (European Documentary Network). From 2006 a freelance consultant and teacher in workshops like Ex Oriente, DocsBarcelona, Archidoc, Documentary Campus, Storydoc, Baltic Sea Forum, Black Sea DocStories, Caucadoc, CinéDOC Tbilisi, Docudays Kiev, Dealing With the Past Sarajevo FF as well as programme consultant for the festivals Magnificent7 in Belgrade, DOCSBarcelona, Verzio Budapest, Message2Man in St. Petersburg and DOKLeipzig. Teaches at the Zelig Documentary School in Bolzano Italy.

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