The sixtieth jubilee of the international Academia Film Olomouc (AFO) festival of popular science documentaries, taking place from 22–27 April, will bring a selection of the best Czech and international films to Olomouc. This year its scope has expanded to new forms of storytelling – for instance extended and virtual reality, fulldome films, and desktop documentaries. The organisers have loaded the 2025 edition with strong themes, prominent personalities, and sections connecting science with everyday life.
The programme boasts over 500 items. Attendees can look forward to film screenings, debates, workshops, exhibitions, walks, concerts and DJ sets, a mobile planetarium, plus a university brewery beer tasting and an original science game for families with children.
Prominent international personalities in the fields of documentary, experimental, and immersive films will visit Olomouc. Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian, a film director and artist working with NASA, will introduce her new film Doppelgängers³, which recently premiered at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival in the USA.
Belgian director and astrophysicist Vincent Langouche will present his film Testerep. Brooklyn auteurs Sean Paulsen and Brad Wickham will introduce the international premiere of their short film Habbal et al., while the Australian duo of Ben Joseph Andrews and Emma Roberts will present their immersive project Turbulence: Jamais Vu.
The artist Sister Sylvester, who has performed in festivals in Venice, Amsterdam, and New York, will present her project Drinking Brecht, which she describes as an automated laboratory performance. Australian MC, presenter, edu-tainer, and children’s book author Lee Constable – also famous for her Antarctica: The Twitch-u-mentary, an eight-hour livestreamed experience on her Twitch channel – will also be on hand in Olomouc.
Czech films play a big role
“In the Czechoslovak competition, I’m looking forward to the film Lapilli by first-time Slovak director Paula Ďurinová; and the meditation on the fascinating creatures Lichens are the Way by Ondřej Vavrečka, which is having its premiere at AFO, together with the film Czechia Deforested. David Čálek’s Doctor on a Trip shows the breakthrough research being done by Dr Tomáš Páleníček and his international scientific team on the use of psychedelic substances in therapy. The very topical Because of Bear series by director Mira Rema will have its festival premiere at AFO; the Slovak government has approved the culling of 350 bears this very month, and the series gives you the background on this controversial topic,” said programme director Ondřej Kazík.
In the Roomies section, zoologist and ecologist Anna Vedralová –who has inspired the public to protect “unloved” creatures such as spiders, frogs, and insects – will be in attendance. The Beer Culture section will introduce Milan Starec, a historian and brewer who has also brought back historic brewing techologies. The emotional Touch section will offer reflections on physical contact and human intimacy in the digital age.
Current audiovisual trends and archival curios
The exhibition File Explorer: I Like the Pictures in Your Living Room bridges two venues – Gallery XY and Vitrína Deniska – showcasing audiovisual works that use computer screen-capturing techniques in office-like settings. “We’re interested in how the digital environment changes one’s perspective on films, images, and narrative. The art exhibition allows for posing these questions in a slightly differently way than in a cinema,” says the main programmer, Zdeněk Rychtera. The digital present is balanced by a retrospective experience in the Videoforum 2025 exhibition at the Olomouc Regional Museum. Using period technology and the original format of Academia Video Olomouc projection booths, archival films from the 80s, 90s, and 00s will be brought back to life.
Full Moon lights up the music scene
The carefully prepared musical line-up will introduce artists who are unafraid of unexpected musical confrontations. This year, AFO has started a new collaboration with Full Moon Zine, bringing to the festival its feeling for contemporary musical currents. “This year’s line-up maps a terrain full of undiscovered treasures; at the same time the attentive ear will detect several remarkable déjà vus,” revealed Kateřina Sovová, on behalf of the organisers, adding that futuristic pop musician Mart Avi of Estonia will make his Czech debut at AFO.
“We have built the programme with an accent on local, contemporary names, regardless of genre or other barriers. Names such as Dukla, Kodiki, SJ Yellow, and Temný Rudo are among the very best performers currently on the Czech scene, and artists like OGmiaG and Dasa are definitely up-and-coming. For example Slovak musican Erika Rein’s album Kamibe was recently nominated in three categories for the Radio_Head Awards,” said Michal Pařízek, editor-in-chief of Full Moon Zine. The musical programme will take place outside under an awning on the Town Bailey adjacent to the Konvikt Arts Centre.
Children’s events at AFO
This year’s AFO Junior programme, in cooperation with Fort Science, the Czech Academy of Sciences and Czech Television, explores what remains hidden to the ordinary eye – from microscopic organisms and other hidden aspects of our everyday lives to the distant universe. The programme also reflects the themes of the other festival sections and offers a comprehensive view of science and the world from different perspectives.
“I have two children, and their perspective on the world often opens up new horizons for me. Their perceptions are dramatically different from those of adults and force me to discover new perspectives. It was this principle that inspired me this year to call the children’s section Beyond the Visible. What is hidden beyond that which we do not see or perceive? The theme incorporates a whole spectrum of phenomena, from natural ones undetectable to the naked eye, to the invisible mechanisms of our thoughts, emotions, and creativity,” said programmer Ksenia Hain.
AFO at 60
Sixty years ago, AFO’s founders were inspired by a similar event in Padua, Italy, also located at the university there. The idea for AFO came from Short Film Prague and the Czech Academy of Sciences. From its humble origins, the festival has come a gigantic way, becoming the longest continously running European festival of popular science films. Each year, well-known personalities not only in the field of filmmaking come to Olomouc to meet some nine thousand accredited audience members.
Visit afo.cz for the festival progamme, where you can also sign up for three levels of accreditation: Basic (free), the new Teleport with reserved seating, Music is Science (live music pass), and two VIP packages, Star and Galaxy.
Before AFO starts, you can make the waiting more pleasant by going to its Watch and Know platform. This online library of films and more is the perfect place for anyone who wants to learn, discover interesting stories, and tune into the science documentary atmosphere.
The full programme is available here.