The Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival selected “Virtual Girlfriends” by Czech director Barbora Chalupová as its opening film for the October 24 event, according to Variety. The documentary examines the OnlyFans platform through the experiences of three women, documenting their content creation process, subscriber interactions, and the dynamics of their personal and professional relationships.

“‘Virtual Girlfriends’ is not a sensationalist look at eroticism, but an attempt to understand how intimacy, relationships, and our ideas about closeness are changing in the digital world,” Chalupová states.

The film addresses fundamental questions about the boundaries between work and intimacy in digital spaces, contributing to ongoing discussions about creator economy dynamics and parasocial relationships.

The documentary arrives as OnlyFans reported a 9% increase in gross subscriber payments to $7.2 billion for fiscal year 2024, with creator accounts rising 13% to 4.63 million and fan accounts climbing 24% to 377.5 million over the same period.

Ji.hlava director Marek Hovorka emphasizes the documentary’s depth, noting it “does not dwell on the surface and does not rely on sensationalism, but approaches the more general theme of loneliness in the digital world.”

According to Hovorka, the film positions OnlyFans as “just one of many social networks,” suggesting its creators face challenges similar to those experienced by users across various digital platforms.

The documentary will be featured in both the Opus Bonum and Czech Joy competition sections of the festival.

Festival Showcases Diverse Documentary Lineup

The 2025 edition of Ji.hlava will present 305 films in total, including 76 world premieres, 28 international premieres, and 15 European premieres.

The Opus Bonum competition section features 15 documentaries exploring intimate human experiences through diverse lenses:

• “Open” by Slovak director Diana Fabiánová examines open marriage through a personal lens, as the director turns the camera on herself and her partner.
• Swiss-Canadian director Peter Mettler’s seven-hour film diary “While the Green Grass Grows: A Diary in Seven Parts” offers a meditation on human existence, connecting landscape imagery with everyday life details.
• Indian director Surabhi Sharma’s “Music in a Village Named 1PB” documents Muslim musicians in western Rajasthan preserving poetry and music that transcend religious and national boundaries.
• “Bürglkopf” by Austrian director Lisa Polster contrasts Alpine scenery with the isolation experienced by rejected asylum seekers in a “return center” atop the Bürglkopf mountain.

Digital Content Creation Through Documentary Lens

“Virtual Girlfriends” arrives at a time when creator economy professionals increasingly navigate questions of authenticity, boundaries, and digital relationship management. The documentary’s exploration of OnlyFans content creation processes provides market-relevant insights into monetization strategies and audience relationship development in intimate digital spaces.

This examination coincides with OnlyFans’ ongoing platform development beyond adult content through initiatives like OFTV, a safe-for-work streaming service with original content, as the company seeks to diversify its creator base amid decelerating financial growth compared to previous years.

By examining both content creation workflows and relationship dynamics, the film offers a framework for understanding how digital creators balance personal authenticity with professional content development – a central challenge across creator economy verticals.

The Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival runs from October 24, 2025, with the full Opus Bonum section lineup available on the festival website.

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