Field

The 60th AFO returns to the very roots of scientific and cinematic exploration – embracing experimentation, uncertainty and the courage to acknowledge our own ignorance. The main section, entitled Field, delves into questions surrounding scientific and research methods and the process of challenging those very methods.

“Academia Film started as an experiment,” recalled Eduard Petrů, the festival’s co-founder, on the occasion of its 30th anniversary. The spirit of experimentation (the open-ended nature of it, with an uncertain outcome) forms the heart of this year’s festival. When we think of the phrase “science documentary,” we must move beyond sterile laboratories and the illusion of objectivity. Field-based documentary filmmaking involves stepping into the unknown, embracing uncertainty, and remaining open to the change that such encounters bring. In celebration of our anniversary, we go beyond our traditional slogan Watch & Know, with a fresh twist: Watch & Don’t Know. We welcome uncertainty, expose ourselves to surprises and challenge established ways of knowing. The theme of experimentation and field documentary filmmaking runs through the entire programme. The festival then becomes a place which merges cinematic and scientific methods and is constantly moving, adapting to the complexities of the world we are trying to understand.