The popular science film festival broke attendance records! This year’s edition attracted over 1,300 accredited visitors and expanded its program with new formats, including outdoor screenings and a VR zone. And for the very first time, the autumn Camp 4Science — a two-day workshop focused on the development of science films — was held in Prague.
The award for Best International Science Documentary and a cash prize of 5,000 USD went to Doctor on a Trip, directed by David Čálek. The jury praised the film for its remarkable sensitivity in connecting scientific research with traditional rituals in the search for new ways to treat depression. According to the jurors, the film’s strength lies in its authenticity, courage, and ability to bridge worlds that rarely understand one another.
The creators of the short film The Everlasting Pea could hardly hide their excitement and emotion after receiving the newly introduced award for Best Short Science Documentary, accompanied by a cash prize of 1,000 USD. The jury recognized the film for its exceptional aesthetic quality.
The CZU Rector’s Award, worth 1,000 USD, went to The Documentary Journey of Madame Anita Conti — the story of a woman who dared to cross boundaries and venture where, until then, only men had gone.
And how did the festival audience vote? The Audience Award went to The Kratom Collectors, a Czech mid-length documentary exploring a substance that is a medicine for some and a drug for others. The film presents the production, distribution, and consumption of kratom in a way that is exceptionally engaging for viewers.
For the first time this year, the autumn Camp 4Science residency took place — AFO Festival’s professional program for creators of science documentaries. It was expanded in response to the growing number of applications and the diversity of topics requiring an individual approach. The creators of five selected projects from Central Europe participated in an intensive two-day workshop led by instructors including Monika Koperska, a Polish scientist and science communicator, and Roy Kimhi, an Israeli impact producer and VR creator.
“The Camp mentors were most impressed by the project Near Life, which follows the research of two female neuroscientists investigating what happens in the human brain during clinical death. It’s a very bold project that highlights the role of women in science and demonstrates how film can transcend the boundaries of the screen through storytelling,” explained Dominik Vontor, coordinator of the Camp 4Science program. He added that this work-in-progress documentary has advanced to the spring residency of the workshop, which will take place at the AFO Festival. There, the project will have the opportunity to compete for a $25,000 prize for further development, sponsored by the production company Sandbox Films.
This year’s festival, organized by CZU in collaboration with the AFO team, focused on diving. Audiences explored the mysterious layers beneath the water’s surface — a symbol of the creative process that culminates in surfacing and realizing that film and science are inseparable.
Thank you to everyone who dived in with us!
