"JUREK" AWARDED IN BRATISLAVA
The documentary by Paweł Wysoczański was given the "Cena V4" award at the International Mountain and Adventure Film Festival "Hory a mesto" in Bratislava.
According to the festival jury, "Jurek" is a film which amuses but at the same time bluntly shows the price which the protagonist had to pay. It is a great production, using enormous amounts of archival materials, thanks to which it perfectly represents political circumstances and life in Poland at that time. The award was given by the jury consisting of Kerim Jaspersen, Miloslav Končok, Linda Jamborová and Peter Hapčo .
"Jurek" tells the story of Jerzy Kukuczka, who died on 24 October 1989 during the Lhotse expedition. It was the first time when he went to the Himalayas with money, equipment, and as a really famous person. The documentary by Paweł Wysoczański does not, however, concentrate on the mystery of the Himalayan mountaineer's death. It shows a person who climbs up, higher and higher - literally, but also metaphorically and symbolically. From a bootblack to a millionaire, from a socialist worker to an international media star, from the man who climbs without any money and equipment to the real competitor of Reinhold Messner in the competition to climb the Crown of the Himalayas and the Karakoram. Interviews with family and friends, archival materials, photographs, recordings, excerpts from television programmes and interviews make up the portrait of the Himalayan mountaineers in 1980s. It is also the image of the times in which they lived - hard and colourful at the same time, when idealism was more valued than fame.
The full list of award-winners is available on the Festival's website.