Armenian-Swiss co-production Flying Cows was among the winners of the Docu Talent awards, held by Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival as part of Sarajevo Film Festival.
Vahagn Khachatryan and Aren Malakyan’s film won the €25,000 in-kind Avanpost Post-production aaward. Flying Cows follows a calf, born during the chaos of the Armenia-Azerbaijan war, which is then sold to cattle traders and transported to Iraq. The film is aiming to premiere in the first half of 2026; producers are Khachatryan for Armenia’s Oolik Production and Irene Munoz Martin.
The Docu Talents jury said “This engaging, emotive project promises an animal’s journey that is scary, surreal and troubling. Flying Cows polarised the jury, eliciting strong responses from all of us; what we agreed on is that it will continue to do so on its journey to audiences. There is a strong sense of scene and narrative, as the animal experience is set amongst a divisive political context.”
The Docu Talent award for most promising project went to Rati Tsiteladze’s Georgian title A Song Without Home, about a young transgender woman in the conservative country who runs away from home. The €3,000 in-kind DAFilms.com distribution award went to Nikola Klinger’s Czech project Land Of Fire, about a grieving father’s quest for justice for his murdered daughter in a terrain struck by wildfires.
The Docu Talents From The East programme had a special focus on countries of the South Caucus, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan this year. “The selected projects showcase the region’s strong cinematic tradition and its ability to transform the historical tensions of long-lasting armed conflicts into universal questions about human identity,” said Marek Hovorka, Ji.hlava director.
Emerging producers
Ji.hlava has also selected 18 producers for its Emerging Producers programme, consisting of 17 European producers and one from the guest country of Ethiopia.
The programme consists of three workshops, taking place in Jihlava in the Czech Republic in October 2025; during the Berlinale in February 2026; and a third to-be-announced venue in spring 2026.
The producers include Belgium’s Maarten D’Hollander of Krater Films; and Portguese producer Bernardo Lopes, who has made films including 2022’s Arrabalde.
Three projects have been selected for the Ji.hlava / JB Films support scheme, each receiving €18,000: Bara Jichova Tyson’s Playtopia; Lynne Siefert’s Valley of the Night, and Lucia Kasova’s World of Walls.
The next edition of Ji.hlava will run from October 24-November 2 this year, with Croatia as guest country and Austria providing an official delegation.
Sarajevo Film Festival continues until Friday, August 22.
Ji.hlava Emerging Producers 2026
Dominic Spitaler (Austria)
Maarten D’Hollander (Bel)
Pavla Klimesova (Czech)
Julie Meigniez (Fr)
Evi Stamou (Gr)
Anna Toth (Hun)
Angelo Rocco Troiano (It)
Ringaile Lescinskiene (Lith)
Yann Tonnar (Lux)
Ivana Shekutkoska (N Mac)
Anita Veda (Nor)
Maria Krauss (Pol)
Bernardo Lopes (Por)
Tomas Gic (Slovakia)
Caroline Drab (Swe)
Azra Djurdjevic (Switz)
Eugene Rachkovsky (Ukr)
Nahusenay Dereje (Eth)
No comments yet