25 films from 16 countries were selected for the 50th EKOFILM. Europe dominates

25 films have made it into the competitive showcase of this year's 50th anniversary edition of the EKOFILM festival. They were selected from more than 200 entries by the festival's dramaturgical team led by Jitka Kotrlová. They will compete for trophies in the categories of Beauty of Nature, Vision of Nature and In Short. In addition, the films in competition may also win some of the other awards - the Main Prize of the Minister of the Environment for the Best Film and the President's Award of the Festival. The total prize money this year is $3,087. The festival will take place from October 1 to 6 in Brno. Admission to the festival will be voluntary. 

"EKOFILM celebrates fifty years of its existence this year. I know of no other environmental festival in the world that has such an incredible tradition. For half a century, EKOFILM has been presenting the world's top films focused on the protection and understanding of nature to the Czech and international public," says Ladislav Miko, who has been the festival's president for 10 years. 

This year, the competition is dominated by films from European production. France and Germany have the most - four each. Three films from outside Europe were submitted by the United States, one each by Canada and Australia. The Czech Republic and the Netherlands have three final entries. "It is a fascinating showcase of stories from different parts of the planet and I believe that the audience will enjoy the films and meeting the filmmakers," adds Ladislav Miko.

The festival will offer three competition sections. An international competition of medium-length films and individual parts of a documentary series called Visions of Nature will complement the showcase of feature-length environmental films called The Beauties of Nature. The third competition section In a Nutshell will present short films. "The final selection offers a diverse range of themes that resonate in both local and international environmental debate. We have selected intense stories of people and communities standing right in the middle of environmental causes, and on the other hand, perhaps even visually stunning footage of microorganisms and larger animals," says festival dramaturg Jitka Kotrlová, adding: "Compared to previous years, we see an increase in themes that seek innovative solutions to environmental problems and also give more space to nature itself and its power. Some of them are also a testimony to the humility that we as a society sometimes lack about nature," says Jitka Kotrlová. 

This year there is also one main theme, around which the discussions and the accompanying programme will mainly revolve. "In this 50th anniversary year, we want to focus more on the topic of conflicts and their impact on the environment. This is not just about war, but also about conflicts in society, which ultimately are mainly to the detriment of nature. However, we also want to focus on how we can give new life back to the landscape. It is the restoration of nature that we want to highlight in this year's edition. Together with the filmmakers and the audience, we want to reflect on our relationship to nature and the challenges we face in today's world," says Environment Minister Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL), whose ministry is responsible for organising the festival. "It is about recognising and understanding the complexity of the relationship between human civilisation and the natural world, as well as the conflicts that take place in nature independently of human presence," adds Minister Hladík.

The main venue of the festival will be Cinema City Velký Špalíček, supplemented by other locations in Brno, including the Faculty of Social Studies and the Brno Zoo, where the EKOFILM family day will be held. An open-air concert by Dan Bárta will be prepared for visitors during the festival. 

The detailed programme of the festival will be published at the end of August. 

The Ministry of the Environment organises EKOFILM. The festival is held with the financial support of the South Moravian Region and the Statutory City of Brno. The general partner is CEZ Group, the main partner is Sako Brno and the main media partner is Czech Television.