OnlyFans Documentary ‘Virtual Girlfriends’ Opens Ji.hlava Film Festival 2025

"Virtual Girlfriends" (Courtesy of Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival)

Barbora Chalupová’s bold new doc ‘Virtual Girlfriends’ opens Ji.hlava Film Festival, exploring intimacy, work, and the world of OnlyFans through three women’s lives.

The Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, kicking off on October 24, is setting the tone with a provocative choice for its opening night: Virtual Girlfriends, a bold new documentary by Czech director Barbora Chalupová.

The film takes viewers into the neon-lit, hyper-connected world of OnlyFans, exploring how digital intimacy is reshaping modern relationships and redefining what it means to make a living online. Through the lives of three women, Chalupová peels back the layers of performance, desire, and economics, revealing a new kind of labor — one where emotional availability is as valuable as physical expression.

But this isn’t voyeurism — it’s sociology with heart. Virtual Girlfriends asks unsettling questions: Where does authenticity end and performance begin? Who really holds the power — the creators, or their subscribers? And how does constant online validation change one’s sense of self?

The Ji.hlava Festival, long known for spotlighting boundary-pushing European documentaries, couldn’t have picked a timelier opener. As the global conversation around digital intimacy, sex work, and online identity grows louder, Virtual Girlfriends promises to offer nuance where most headlines offer noise.

It’s a reminder that in today’s attention economy, the most valuable currency isn’t money — it’s connection.