AFO60: Sixty Years of Film, Science and Fresh Perspectives

This year’s most significant addition is the expansion of competition categories and festival awards. We are adding the Immersive Competition because we want to give more space to virtual and augmented reality. The visitors can look forward to new VR and XR films and interactive works. Aside from the new competition, we are also introducing several new awards. From now on, the juries will assess the cinematography and artistic qualities of the documentaries, as well as their educational potential. Our goal is to promote documentary filmmaking in all its forms and acknowledge its diversity. We also want to directly support filmmakers who are just beginning to contribute to the science documentary genre. Therefore, AFO60 will include a competition for directorial debut and sophomore films (medium-length and feature films).

Field will be the overarching non-competitive section, addressing the topic of the construction of truth in documentary film and in science through screenings, lectures and workshops. We want to celebrate the important anniversary by selecting films from the previous six decades of the festival, which will be screened chronologically during the six festival days. In the Beer Culture lifestyle section, you can discover that the importance of this national drink goes beyond its consumption – it influences culture, social norms and the economy. 

Visual concept

This year’s visual identity was inspired by the concept of scientific progress, which is represented in the three interweaving layers that constitute the individual phases of the process. The first and original layer reflects the initial idea or contemplation of the phenomenon in question. The second layer encapsulates the current state and key turning points in the field. The third and final layer indicates the future direction of the issue.

The path of progress is often unpredictable and full of twists and turns – and that’s what the intersecting layers symbolise. Research often brings us back to the beginning, prompting us to reassess our initial proposition or even develop a completely new and different thesis. “Work in progress” is the process of creation itself, as well as the acceptance of a reality where work is never finished. The individual layers are deliberately designed in the primary colours of the RGB spectrum. Their interlocking emphasises the complexity and chaos often linked to progress, as well as the continuous technological processes that keep your screen functioning. These layers can be decoded using colour filters, both digital and analogue. This aspect pertains to the retrospective analysis of progress and the essential introspection the festival is undertaking in its 60th anniversary. No iteration is “Final Final” – evolution is a never-ending process, where newer doesn’t always mean better. Everything is just an infinite “work in progress”.

This year’s design makes a pop-culture reference to the aesthetics of loading and buffering. This metaphor captures the uncertain nature of the process, the outcome of which may not always match the original expectations – Refresh and start again. 

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Interactive poster AFO60