Between US, directed by Dorota Proba
Polish documentaries and filmmakers are all set to make a splash at Ji.hlava IDFF and Dok Leipzig in late October with a series of selections and new projects to pitch to the online doc community.
In Ji.hlava’s Between the Seas Student Competition is the international premiere of The Last Knights of the Right Side by Michał Edelman which follows the right wing, black balaclava-wearing National-Radical Camp brigade from Łódź, all of whom have arrived at arrived at this point in their political lives along very different paths.
In regular Between the Seas competition is Between Us, directed by Dorota Proba, described as a story about male-female relationships. The director follows three couples, which differ in terms of their age, experience and the relationship’s duration, who reveal their fears and dreams related to their life together in front of the camera, resulting in an intimate, warm, surprising and intense film, “just like life itself,” according to the director.
In Opus Bonum competition is the Czech-Polish-Slovak co-pro Once Upon a Time in Poland. The non-competitive Constellations section sees The Wall of Shadows by Eliza Kubarska while Conference Fascinations: Poland turns its attention to Poland’s rich selection experimental films from the Łódź Film School.
On 30 October there will be a live streamed Polish Docs Pro Showcase which will present the most interesting Polish creative documentary projects in progress. The presentation consists of project pitches developed at Doc Lab Poland, the largest documentary programme in Poland. Filmmakers will be on hand to discuss the works, as will representatives form Polish Docs and Doc Lab Poland.
Siskin (52 mins, Polish/Russian language) is a doc by director Zofia Kowalewska in which a 92‑year‑old man and his granddaughter travel to a remote village in Kazakhstan, where grandpa was exiled during WWII. Together, they search for his first love, who he was forced to leave behind. The project is currently in post-production.
Being Benovsky is a 90-minute Polish/English/French-language doc, currently in development, by directors Katarzyna Trzaska and Marek Kucharski, in which three enthusiasts from a small Polish town, fascinated by the figure of the 18thcentury traveller Maurice Benovsky, plan an excursion to Madagascar to experience a journey to their inner selves.
In My Place Ozerna, directed by Karina Będkowska, Aunt Slava, living in Ukraine, wants to die so that she can reconnect with her beloved husband in the afterlife. But thanks to her, director Karina, who has suffered isolation and depression, regains her own sense of self and the will to live. In development, the Ukrainian/Polish-language film is in development. Delivery is estimated for April 2022.
In House of Sand, directed by Paweł Wyszomirski, while trying to reunite his family, Maciej is building a house out of trash and tires. Soon it turns out that the whole process and the house itself are more symbolic than one could expect. The 75’/52’ Polish-language project is currently in development with hopes of a January 2022 bow.
Meanwhile The Chums is described a bitter sweet story told in a fairy-tale style with a touch of magical realism about two widowed neighbours Hanka and Bronka, friends since more than 30 years, belonging to the Polish minority who have lived for generations in a remote village of Romanian Bukovina. Directed by Emilia Śniegoska, the film is 75’/52’ film is currently in development with May 2022 delivery in mind.
Additionally at Ji.hlava, four Polish documentaries produced or co-produced by Poland received nominations for the Silver Eye Awards. The Silver Eye Awards are presented by the Institute of Documentary Film to the best documentary films within the East Silver Market.
In the short film category, the producers of We Have One Heart by Katarzyna Warzecha and Son Of The Streets by Mohammed Almughanni are competing for the statuette. In the full-length category, Say Yes/No by Paweł Hajbudzki and the co-production of Salt from Bonneville by Simon Mozgovya are nominated.
In the short film category, the producers of We Have One Heart by Katarzyna Warzecha and Son Of The Streets by Mohammed Almughanni are competing for the statuette. In the full-length category, Say Yes/No by Paweł Hajbudzki and the co-production of Salt from Bonneville by Simon Mozgovya are nominated.
Polish Docs Pro will be equally busy at Dok Industry during Dok Leipzig 2020 with a showcase programme of projects developed at Doc Lab Poland that will live stream 28 October.
In @miriamfrompoland, directed by Piotr Szczepański, Miriam Synger is a strong woman in a patriarchal society, struggling for her identity as an orthodox Jewess wanting to live in contemporary Poland. The mother of five children, she is on a mission to prove that Jewish life is still possible in Poland. The 75-minute Polish/English/Hebrew production is currently at shooting and edit stage with a slated delivery date of January 2021.
Debut is directed Aleksandra Maciejczyk and concerns Marysia who comes from royal lineage, but whose family has withdrawn from aristocratic life. However, she goes against the grain and takes part in the Debutants’ Ball. Through her act of rebellion she searches for her identity. With confirmed partners in HBO Europe, the Polish Film Institute and Studio Cukry, shooting on the 72-minute film will complete in February 2022 with a delivery date set for November 2022.
In A Few Good Days, directors Tadeusz Chudy and Bartosz Łuniewski follow a group of inmates who are given the task of train aggressive dogs from the shelter. For Capitan Tomek, this is the last mission before he resigns from a duty. The task changes one of the prisoners completely. The 72//52’ film is in post-production with an imminent delivery date set for October 2020.
The Big Chief by noted Polish documentarian Tomasz Wolski asks who Leopold
Trepper, head of the legendary Red Orchestra, really was. Was he a Pole or a Jew? A Soviet spy working for Alliance, for the Gestapo or for Moscow? Was he a James Bond or a spy dilettante? Was he a hero or was he a traitor? With the Polish Film Institute, Polish National Television and the Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission on board, the 85-minute French/Polish/English/ Hebrew-language film will be delivered April 2023.
In Nina Gets Married by director Andrzej Szypulski, Nina is a 68‑year‑old widow, a Jehovah’s Witness who unexpectedly falls in love with Krzysztof – a dozen years younger and Catholic. It is a love that turns her life upside down. The Polish-language 75’/52’ production is currently shooting ahead of a slated delivery date of May 2022.
Once again, filmmakers will be on hand to discuss the works during Leipzig presentation, as will representatives from Polish Docs and Doc Lab Poland.
