Palacký University’s international festival of popular science documentary films Academia Film Olomouc (AFO) will celebrate 60 years of its existence. Rather than taking a nostalgic retrospective, however, the jubilee edition, which takes place from 22– 27 April 2025, looks boldly ahead to the future. This year’s motto “Work in Progress” will remind us that this event is a metaphor for the changing world around us and for constantly evolving scientific disciplines. Visitors can look forward to hundreds of films as well as the opportunity to meet their creators.
The jubilee edition will introduce a number of innovations in the programme. For the first time, the programming team has included an immersive media competition to highlight the growing importance of virtual and augmented reality. Audiences will discover the fascinating world of new VR and XR films and interactive projects. The juries in the International Competition and Czech & Slovak Competition will now recognise not only the films’ educational value but also their filmmaking and artistic impact.
“We aim to foster documentary filmmaking in all its forms and appreciate its diversity. Another new feature is the competition for debut and second films in medium and feature lengths. We would like to give the spotlight to new, emerging talents in the of science documentary genre,” said Ondřej Kazík, AFO Head of Programming.
The festival will once again feature talks, film screenings, workshops, concerts, exhibitions, and walks, as well as an interactive programme for the whole family at Olomouc’s Upper Square. The world’s top figures in science popularisation will come to town. Camp 4Science will focus on how to share scientific knowledge in attractive and comprehensible ways.
The search for truth as a lifelong process
The umbrella of the non-competitive section of this year’s edition is Fieldwork, which will focus on the construction of truth in documentary films and science. From the laboratory to field research, this section will explore the very nature of how science works and the methods by which scientists and documentary filmmakers explore the world and provide relevant and compelling testimonies about it. In addition, AFO will mark its anniversary with a unique retrospective – each festival day will be dedicated to documentaries from one decade of the past sixty years.
“We will cooperate with the Czech National Film Archive and the Czech Television archives. An entire section will be interlinked with a book on AFO’s history and enriched with elements of dramatisation and living history techniques. For example, we will build a video library where visitors will be able to play vintage films on VHS tapes and DVDs. The cardinal question we want to investigate is: How has the communication of science and education through film evolved since the 1960s to the present day?” added programmer Zdeněk Rychtera.
The AFO visual identity: once again an integral part of the programme
This year’s visual identity presents a concept inspired by the process of development and research. Three overlapping layers symbolise the individual stages of this process – the first, the oldest layer, refers to the beginning of contemplation or exploration of a given phenomenon. The second layer depicts the current state of affairs, or a key turning point in the field. The third and final layer shows the direction in which the phenomenon is headed.