JOURNEY OF OUR FILM IN SEPTEMBER 2026

With the start of the film awards season comes an increase in the number of festivals in which FAMU films are participating. The Student Oscar awards ceremony, which will take place on September 14 at the Toronto International Film Festival, will be highly anticipated not only by FAMU but by the entire Czech Republic. In the experimental and alternative films category, the film Volklore by Viktorie Štěpánová from the Center for Audiovisual Studies has made it into the top three. The final ranking will be decided at a gala evening attended by a delegation of filmmakers, including FAMU’s leadership.

Two feature-length graduation projects are also heading to theatrical release. In Slovakia, Posledná sezóna (The Last Season ), directed by Pavol Hirjak, will have its theatrical premiere on September 17. Pepa Lubojacki’s film Kdyby se holubi proměnili ve zlato (If Pigeons Turned to Gold), which was selected as the Czech Republic’s Oscar nominee for Best International Feature Film, will open in domestic theaters on September 24.

The premiere of the FAMU 80 – Best of distribution program is scheduled for October 1; it will take place at Kino Pilotů in Vršovice, kicking off the next phase of FAMU’s 80th-anniversary celebrations.

At the end of August and beginning of September (August 28–September 6), the Euganea Film Festival will host the Italian premiere of *Amma, Do Giraffes Cry*, a successful documentary essay by FAMU International student Kartikeya Saxena.

In early September, the Kinotaj program will be released in Czech theaters, offering young audiences aged 9 and up the films Šmik! (Cut!) by Philipp Kastner, Dobré ráno (Good Morning) by Živa Divjak, and Mikoláš Arsenjev’s playful documentary Ode hry ke hře (From Play to Play). On Thursday, September 3, at 5:00 p.m., the FAMU for Kids 2 program will be screened at the Vyšehrátky festival.

Animated films will take center stage at the Swiss Fantoche International Animation Film Festival (September 1–6), where Naše zdi (Our Walls, Živa Divjak) and Křehce (Kindly, Jamaica Kindlová) will be featured in the Panorama section. In the non-competitive selection Kurzfilm(e) in der Kirche, Živa Divjak will also screen her film Plimovanje (Ebb and Flow), and the “98’856 Frames of Bonding” section will feature Daria Kashcheeva’s film V popelnici (In a Dumpster).

The successful and award-winning films Naše zdi (Our Walls) and Křehce (Kindly) will also be screened in Bulgaria at the World Festival of Animated Film Varna (September 2–6). The animated films Jeptiška (The Nun, Ekaterina Kuznetsova) and O chlup pozdě (Just a Hair too Late, Emma Kimlová) will also compete at the festival.

Naše zdi (Our Walls) will then head to Denmark for the Viborg Animation Festival (September 7–13). In the student film competition, it will be featured alongside Kontakt (Contact, Anna Belova), and in the experimental film competition, we’ll see Quantum Jump by Šimon Mészáros. Quantum Jump will also be screened in competition at the BLON Animation and Games Festival in Lithuania (September 10–13). The film Growth Project (Matěj Podskalský and Anna Podskalská) will also be featured there. Quantum Jump earned a prestigious U.S. premiere at the Ottawa International Animation Festival (September 23–27), where it will be featured in the student projects competition.

Olexi Chubun’s acclaimed drama Druhé jaro (Second Spring) is set to make its Asian premiere at the Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (Sept. 4–20).

There will be a strong showing of films from FAMU at the Medfest Egypt festival (September 10–14). The main short film competition features three entries: Lepší člověk (Better Man, Eliška Jirásková), Ale řekni jenom slovo a má duše bude uzdravena (My Soul Shall Be Healed, Marína Hnídková), and Naše zdi (Our Walls). The non-competitive Beyond the Scene section includes five FAMU films: Mysli na tělo (Mind Your Body, Anna Rybecká), Jsi mé světlo (You Are My Light, Hana Stehlíková), Spolu sami (Apart, Diana Cam Van Nguyen), Přes střepy (Rising Above, Natálie Durchánková), and, once again, Lepší člověk (Better Man).

FAMU films will also be screened in South America thanks to the Equinoxio University Film and Audiovisual Festival (September 18–27). In Colombia, the festival will feature the films Co když kamínky dojdou? (What if We Run out of Stones, Nora Štrbová), Zatoulanec (A Stray, Mikoláš Fišer), and Lepší člověk (Better Man).

The LUCAS – International Festival for Young Film Lovers (September 24–October 1) will present the international premiere of Fúrie (Little Fury) directed by Ivana Vogrinc Vidali, in its competition section. The Croatian festival KIKI – International Film Festival for Children (September 28 – October 2) is also aimed at young audiences; the documentary Ode hry ke hře (From Play to Play) will be screened in its competition section.

As is traditional, there will be a large selection of animated projects at the Trikfilm Festival in Ostrava (Sept. 23–26). The following films will be screened: Growth Project, Kontakt (Contact), Naše zdi (Our Walls), Hledám pana Lejzra (I’m Looking for Mr. Laser, Laura Boráros), Zamilovaná autoharfa na sexy kluky (The Autoharp Crushing on Hot Guys, Antonie Zavadilová), Jeptiška (Nun), Tisíce hodin (Thousands of Hours, Barbora Vanická), O chlup pozdě (Just a Hair too Late), Quantum Jump, Nezvaný  (Uninvited, Luša Benková), and Houby (Mushrooms, Theodora Pfeffermannová). Concurrently, works from the Department of Animation will also be featured in Slovenia at the StopTrik International Film Festival (September 23–27). Once again, Jeptiška (Nun) and Tisíce hodin (Thousands of Hours) will be screened, along with last year’s entry by the aforementioned Laura Boráros, Snovník (Paper Dream, in the Borderlands competition).

The films Kontakt (Contact) and Naše zdi (Our Walls) will also be screened at the Finále Plzeň festival (September 25–30). In the student film competition, they will go head-to-head with Věž (The Tower, Marie Magdaléna Kochová, world premiere), Druhé jaro (Second Spring, Czech premiere), Volklore, Co když kamínky dojdou? (What if We Run out of Stones?), and the experimental documentary Amnion (Sarah Lomenová). As part of this year’s festival focus on Poland, the program will also feature works created by Polish students during their studies at FAMU. These include Sin of God (Agnieszka Holland), Všechno v pořádku, brambory na řádku (Wszystko w porządku, ziemniaki w żołądku )a Mimo (Bunk) by Piotr Jasiński; Jsme v tom spolu (Stuck Together, Anna Wowra); and Letopis Jarka Kaminského ( Portrait of Jarosław Kamińskia, Juliana Moska).

The Ukrainian LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival also focuses on animation. Between September 29 and October 4, it will present six films from FAMU to the audience. A record four films will be featured in the main competition: Hledám pana Lejzra (I’m Looking for Mr. Laser,), Quantum Jump, Kindly (křehce), and Řepa (Beetroot, David Šourek, Jáchym Štulíř). In the Teens 13–16 section, audiences can watch Zamilovaná autoharfa na sexy kluky (The Autoharp Crushing on Hot Guys), and the Ladies First section will screen Our Walls (Naše zdi).