Awards of the East Doc Platform 2022 were handed out March 31 during the One World & East Doc Platform Closing Ceremony. The 11th edition of the East Doc Platform, the largest co-production, funding and distribution platform tailor-made for Central and East European documentaries, took place March 25-31 at the French Institute in Prague.
The East Doc Platform Award went to the Polish project The World is not (a) Mine (pictured) by Natalia Koniarz about inhabitants working in inhuman conditions mining metals on the Cerro Rico mountain.
The Ukrainian project Up in the Air by Oksana Syhareva won three awards including HBO Max Award.The documentary follows a young Ukrainian aerial gymnast with ambitions to open his own modern circus studio, while fighting his possessive mother, who is his trainer and a head of the circus studio.
East Doc Platform Award
€5,000 for the best project in development and production
Winner: The World is not (a) Mine (dir. Natalia Koniarz, prod. Maciej Kubicki, Poland)
Jury statement: “We were happy to see a very high quality among the projects being pitched, so it was particularly difficult for us to select just one of them. But it is especially the very cinematographic approach of showing the vastness of a place that seems to have been abandoned by the rest of the world, contrasted with the incredible narrowness of the shafts of the highest mine in Bolivia, that immediately caught our attention. Natalia Koniarz’s project promises to be a parable about nothing less than the meaning of life, about our interaction with nature, but most importantly about how we treat each other.”
East Doc Platform Award Special Mention
Last Letters of My Grandma (dir. Olga Lucovnicova, prod. Frederik Nicolai, Belgium, Moldova, Netherlands)
Jury statement: “For its high cinematic language and the richness of its story, linking the past and present.”
HBO Max Award
This €2,000 award does not constitute any co-production or distribution deal and doesn’t bind the granted director/producer to sell any rights for the film to HBO in exchange for the award.
Winner: Up in the Air (dir. Oksana Syhareva, prod. Nataliia Pogudina, Ukraine)
Czech TV Co-production Award
The award presents a financial investment of CZK150,000 and a subsequent co-production deal.
Winner: The Wife of (Estonia, USA, France)
Cut thru the Noise Award
The award is given to one of the Ex Oriente Film participating teams that makes the most progress over the course of the workshop in terms of their fist-package preparation. The winning team receives a tailor-made consultancy on the project´s release, distribution and sales strategy.
Winner: Up in the Air (dir. Oksana Syhareva, prod. Oksana Syhareva, Nataliia Pogudina, Ukraine)
Statement: “We very much enjoyed the projects we got to choose from and want to thank you all and Ex Oriente. The project that receives the Cut thru the Noise Award – a tailor-made consultancy trajectory focusing on distribution and publicity – stood out because of its high cinematic quality, a strong choice of characters and an absolutely engaging narrative. We understand that the filmmaking process has radically changed, but we are convinced that this film will be completed in the best way possible and we are happy to support it.”
Ex Oriente Fine Cut Award
Rough cut consultations with renowned film editor.
Winner: Shut the Fuck Up! (dir. Taisiia Kutuzov, prod. Stephane Siohan, Olga Beskhmelnitsyna, Ukraine, France)
Statement: “It’s not easy being young. It’s not easy to be brave. It’s even harder to be young and brave in a small town. Well-known American psychologist Phillip Zimbardo is touring the world with his next social experiment called the Heroic Imagination Project, which explores courage in everyday life. Courage, he says, is not the preserve of those who do not feel fear. Zimbardo teaches that courage can be learned. The protagonist of the film we have chosen to honour is courageous. His actions change the order of a world gripped in prejudice and corruption. An aggressive and unjustifiable war has now intervened in his life. A war that aims to destroy everything our young hero has fought for over the years. That must not happen. And it won’t. We also commend the filmmaker for her courage and talent. We want to help her testimony to be seen and heard by the whole free world and to support our young hero and his country. The prize goes to the project Shut the Fuck Up! by director Taisiia Kutuzova. Glory to free Ukraine.”
The Golden Funnel Award
The €1,000 award for the most significant development within the workshop.
Winner: Runaway (dir. Marika Pecháčková, prod. Pavla Klimešová, Vít Klusák, Czech Republic)
Statement: “The Golden Funnel award is given to the project, which has made the most significant development within the course of the workshop. Choosing just one has been a difficult decision to make, because all of you worked hard. During the workshop, the director was looking for a way to talk about something that is kept quiet in “better families” out of politeness. She revealed that silence kills. She therefore decided to break the silence and establish an intimate dialogue within the family, of which the author becomes an organic part. She seeks wisdom in trauma. He masters psychological principles, and so the film brings hope that in trauma, apart from destruction, we can all find wisdom and a way out. For all this he has found an original cinematic language. We award the prize to an auteur who will not emotionally drain us, but inspire and uplift us.”
Pitch the Doc Prize
The Pitch the Doc Prize is given to boost the progress of the winning project, providing it with dedicated curation and support in building international recognition and visibility.
Winner: Pianoforte (dir. Jakub Piątek, prod. Maciej Kubicki, Poland)
Statement: “At Pitch the Doc we would like to contribute to boosting the international recognition of the project, which in current terrible circumstances reminds us that passions, emotions and talents may be engaged in shared human heritage. It shows us that there are values common for people from various parts of the world, despite their differences in cultures, origins and personalities.”
DAE Pitch Talent Encouragement Prize
Two free memberships for 12 months, valued at €100 and a bespoke mentoring session with a DAE member, depending on the needs of the project team.
Winner: 5 Pills Away (dir. Karolina Domagalska, prod. Katarzyna Slesicka, Anna Stylinska)
DocsBarcelona Award
Speed Meetings at the 2022 DocsBarcelona.
Winner: 0 to 8 (dir. Danilo Cekovic, prod. Mario Adamson, Sergio C. Ayala, Sweden, Serbia).
Statement: “Making a character driven documentary is about turning events into a story while staying true to what happened to the characters. When these events concern childhood trauma for the director the bumpy creation process gets even tougher and more difficult. Combining emotional closeness with artistic distance is not easy. How the result of this journey will appear on the screen I find very difficult to predict with this film but the recordings are very strong and the personal effort from the director even more so.”
DOK Leipzig Accelerator Award for DOK Co-Pro Market
Fast forward participation in the 18th DOK Co-Pro Market.
Winner: Baltic UXO by Alexandra Belinski & Agne Dovydaityte
Statement: “For its unconventional visual approach to exploring a little known environmental threat in the Baltic and northern seas. Using exquisite cinematic language, the project shines a light to the dumping of tons of unexploded ordenances in the waters. What was perceived as a quick solution to dispose of harmful weapons after WW2 has become a long lasting danger to the sea and the communities living in its surroundings.”
DOK Leipzig Accelerator Award for DOK Preview Training
Winner: Pianoforte by Jakub Piatek
The statement: “An intriguing coming of age story driven by empathy, dreams and hope, which will compel audiences to root for the Young pianists and follow them on their journey to achieve their dreams.”
Sunny Side of the Doc Prize
Industry support and two complimentary accreditations to the creative team behind one project presented in the framework of East Doc Forum 2022.
Winner: Dakar Sistaz (dir. Jakub Šmíd, Barbora Chalupová, prod. Zuzana Kučerová, Czech Republic)
The Current Time TV Director’s Award was awarded to the Institute of Documentary Film
The statement of Kenan Aliyev, the Executive Director of Current Time TV, reads: “This is a difficult, but important moment to recognize and celebrate documentary films. It’s difficult, because we all know that Ukrainian families and children are suffering from bombardment from Russian forces, hunger, family separation, displacement, and fear as we speak. Much of our attention is there, in Ukraine, as it should be.
It’s also an important moment though, because it reminds us of the necessity and power of documentary film. We won’t be so naive as to say ”never again,” because a monstrously destructive land war that we thought could never again happen is, indeed, happening again. But this doesn’t negate the urgent need to bear witness: we must document the violence, we must tell the stories of the heroes, and we must honor and preserve the memory of the victims.
For this reason, the award is presented to the Czech Institute of Documentary Film. IDF marked its 20th anniversary last year, but because of the pandemic, we didn’t have the opportunity to recognize it. It seems fitting to recognize it this year, at this time of war, because of its mission to support documentary film, a mission whose importance is affirmed every minute that this violence continues. Current Time is dedicated to supporting independent voices, so tonight we honor the Czech Institute of Documentary Film for its dedication to ensuring that the voices that support freedom, justice, independence, and peace are heard.
This is a monetary award valued at 2500 euros. And I’m asking the IDF to direct this small contribution from American people to Ukrainian filmmakers that are documenting the war and human tragedy that must end.”
