{"id":662367,"date":"2026-10-31T04:28:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T04:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/662367\/"},"modified":"2026-10-31T04:28:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T04:28:14","slug":"6tm-wins-top-industry-award-at-ji-hlava-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/662367\/","title":{"rendered":"‘6TM’ Wins Top Industry Award at Ji.hlava Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\u201c6TM,\u201d directed by Karim Akalay and produced by Walid Bekhti, won the New Visions Award for the most promising European project at the Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival<\/a> on Friday. The film is described as \u201ca Belgian family comedy in three chapters, rooted in magic realism and the resilience of a community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the film, which is set over one scorching summer in the Cit\u00e9 Mod\u00e8le, Brussels\u2019 largest housing project, three stories unfold across one family. Two kids chase a magic lamp to keep their wheelchair-using friend from being forced out by broken elevators. A teenage girl builds a team of misfits for a soccer tournament. A mother rallies her neighbors to uncover who stole the rain.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe jury said, \u201cWith its imaginative blend of magical realism, humor and social relevance, \u20186TM \u2018 offers a fresh vision of European cinema. Rooted in lived experience and shaped through co-creation, \u20186TM\u2019 challenges conventional representations and opens up new possibilities for who gets to tell stories, whose voices are heard, and who sees themselves reflected on screen. We believe this approach holds extraordinary promise for the next generation of both audiences and filmmakers, demonstrating how cinema can become more inclusive and participatory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe jury was composed of Katrine Kiilgaard, managing director of CPH:DOX in Denmark; Anda Ionescu, managing partner and producer at Tangaj Production in Romania; and Robert Y. Chang, co-producer of American Documentary at POV in the U.S.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe award was presented in cooperation with UPP, which donated an in-kind grant for visual post-production worth about 15,000 Euros, and Soundaquare, which provided sound mixing and a final sound master, with an estimated value of 5,000 Euros.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe New Visions Award for the most promising U.S. project went to \u201cSearching for SmarterChild,\u201d directed by Lindsey Sitz and Zan Gillies, and produced by Erin Williams-Weir.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe U.S.-Canadian film looks back to 2003, and the creation of SmarterChild, an online chatbot. He became a sounding board for a generation. People confided in him, insulted him and propositioned him.<\/p>\n

\n\tTwenty years later, as AI becomes deeply embedded in our lives, what does our treatment of the first internet chatbot say about us? By revisiting our cringe-worthy conversations, the film explores the darkest parts of human nature, accountability, and what it takes to change, not only the technologies we create, but ourselves.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe jury said, \u201d \u2018Searching for SmarterChild\u2019 takes us back to the early days of the internet to confront one of the most pressing questions of our time: what does our relationship with artificial intelligence reveal about ourselves? By revisiting their interactions with one of the earliest chatbots of their childhoods, the filmmakers offer a perspective on today\u2019s fascination with AI, challenging us to reflect not only on the technologies we create, but also on how we treat them and each other. The jury wishes to recognize the project\u2019s promise to engage audiences through an original, entertaining and thought-provoking approach to a subject that will profoundly shape our collective future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe award was presented in partnership with AmDocs, with the winner receiving $7,000 in cash.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe festival also accorded the APA World Excellence Award to renowned Danish producer Signe Byrge S\u00f8rensen. The award honors her \u201coutstanding contribution to international film production and her remarkable achievements in world cinema.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFurther New Visions Forum Award Winners<\/p>\n

\n\tCANNES DOCS \u2013 MARCHE\u0301 DU FILM AWARD
\u201cIridescence\u201d
Directors: Dominika Kov\u00e1\u010dov\u00e1, Kilhan Wittock
Producers: Matej Sotn\u00edk, Kl\u00e1ra Tasovsk\u00e1
Countries: Slovakia, Belgium, Italy<\/p>\n

\n\tDAE AWARD
\u201cMonument of Revolution\u201d
Director: Mladen Ivanovi\u0107
Producer: Tamara Puizina
Countries: Montenegro, Croatia<\/p>\n

\n\t#DOCS CONNECT TASKOVSKI TRAINING AWARD
\u201cPlanet A\u201d
Director: Emelie Mahdavian
Producer: Charlotte Hailstone
Country: United Kingdom<\/p>\n

\n\tDOCS BY THE SEA AWARD
\u201cDaughters of the Pit\u201d
Director: Anshul Chauhan
Producers: Mina Moteki, Anshul Chauhan
Country: Japan<\/p>\n

\n\tEURODOC AWARD
\u201cIf Only the Pines Could Speak\u201d
Director: Yelyzaveta Myshkalenko
Producer: Diana Nazaruk
Country: Ukraine<\/p>\n

\n\tJACOB BURNS FILM CENTER AWARD
\u201cPlanet A\u201d
Director: Emelie Mahdavian
Producer: Charlotte Hailstone
Country: United Kingdom<\/p>\n

\n\tLIGHTDOX AWARD
\u201cMale Fantasies\u201d
Director: Max Bowens
Producers: Ryan Krivoshey, Sam Hewison
Country: United States<\/p>\n

\n\tMEDITALENTS RESIDENCY AWARD
\u201cThe 13th Fish\u201d
Director: Sara Stijovi\u0107
Producers: Sara Stijovi\u0107, Marija Vlahovi\u0107
Country: Montenegro<\/p>\n

\n\tSHEFFIELD DOCFEST NETWORKING AWARD
\u201cA Spectre Is Haunting Europe\u201d
Director: Robo Mih\u00e1ly
Producers: Anna Mach Rumanov\u00e1, Alena Kapinajov\u00e1
Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic<\/p>\n

\n\tRAFF RESIDENCY AWARD
\u201cWords We Never Say\u201d
Director: Agnieszka Zwiefka
Producers: Agnieszka Zwiefka, Iza Igel
Countries: Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Spain<\/p>\n

\n\tBRATISLAVA INDUSTRY DAYS AWARD
\u201cIf Only the Pines Could Speak\u201d
Director: Yelyzaveta Myshkalenko
Producer: Diana Nazaruk
Country: Ukraine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201c6TM,\u201d directed by Karim Akalay and produced by Walid Bekhti, won the New Visions Award for the most…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":662368,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[32996,146,85,46,64222],"class_list":["post-662367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-documentaries-to-watch","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-ji-hlava-documentary-film-festival"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=662367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/662368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=662367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=662367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=662367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}