How do we reach common ground? AFO 61 seeks dialogue in a world full of crises
6. 2. 2026
Where do we find common ground? How do we lose it? And how to reclaim it? These are the key questions asked by the 61st AFO. The festival takes place from 28 April until 3 May and, just like every year, it brings together prominent figures of Czech and international science, documentary film, art and music and becomes a crossroads for inspiring voices across disciplines.
This year, the AFO programmers seek mutual understanding, which we cannot take for granted, and focus on situations that foster, undermine and sunder common ground. “We endeavour to establish a dialogue between science and society, the body and medicine, different generations in the digital space or sports teams and spectators. “Common ground requires honest introspection and the ability to listen to signals that we have long ignored – bodies, technologies, and the future, the names of which we are only starting to learn,” says Zdeněk Rychtera, senior programmer.
Body, technology, relationships and the future
Programme sections expand on this year’s theme in specific areas. “Hi! How are you?” explores how we meet people and form close and authentic relationships in the digital world. “Diagnosis: Unknown” opens up a dialogue between patients and doctors and draws attention to inequalities in care for chronically ill. “Winning Culture” perceives sport as a societal ethos shaping identities, performances and collective emotions. “Echoes of the Future” strives to present a better social alternative to dystopian visions of tomorrow.
“Other traditional non-competition sections include ‘Resilience’, which focuses on social and personal hardiness and seeks to show new ways of thinking and bring a little hope based on action, constructive discussion and humour in the interconnected labyrinth of social and environmental crises. ‘Science Matters’ links academia with the public and focuses on the communication of research findings and education. ‘Science on Czech Television’ reflects upon the current role of Czech Television in popularising scientific knowledge,” adds Dominik Vontor, head of programming.
The festival offers discussions, workshops and walks as well as activities for the whole family on Horní náměstí. The Industry 4Science programme will focus on communicating scientific knowledge in an attractive and comprehensible way. We are also proud to announce our new European Spotlight section, which will showcase a selection of diverse approaches to the communication of science in European audiovisual media.
American filmmaker Erin Espelie, who uses real laboratory research footage in her works, and prominent British volcanologist and filmmaker Clive Oppenheimer, will honour Olomouc with their presence. Both of them will introduce their new films, Ideas of Order and Vulcano Voices, in world premieres at AFO.
We also mustn’t forget concerts and DJ sets. “We will be looking for common ground in the intergenerational dialogue of the contemporary scene, the pulsating electronic rhythms of DJs and audiovisual experiences that transform actual scientific data into sound,” music programmer Kateřina Sovová invites the audience.
This year’s visual identity is shaped by glass.
The author of the visual concept, Radim Měsíc, was searching for a theme that touches us all. “Something we share regardless of where we come from and what we think, and, at the same time, something that deserves finding common ground on. I’ve been using a working title, “Floor is Lava”, for this feeling. It is a metaphor of the world we live in today. Many things around us become more and more unstable, our society becomes increasingly polarised and finding a compromise is more difficult than ever before. “As if the ground we stand on was on fire,” explains Radim Měsíc, graphic designer.
He decided to materialise this theme using glass. “It is a material that is created from natural components and literally comes from the ground – our common foundation. Molten glass resembles lava. However, it becomes brittle and frail when it cools. It was this transformation that inspired me, and it reminds me of how fragile dialogue and our reality itself can be,” adds the graphic designer, who documented the entire process in a glass factory in Přibyslav.
“Along with the glassmakers from Valner Glass, we used several natural artefacts, achieving a unique creative atmosphere, in which glass objects and abstract shapes used for filming were created through improvisation. We are very happy that we can play a small part in this great festival this year,” said David Valner.
Before the festival starts: in a cinema or online in your living room
Even before the festival kicks off, our fans can tune into the AFO vibe. On Tuesday, 17 February at 8:00 PM, the Metropol Cinema will host a preview screening of the competition film André Is an Idiot, directed by Tony Benna. The screening is free of charge, just like the festival itself.
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