"THE SYMPHONY OF THE URSUS FACTORY" AWARDED AT THE HOT DOCS
On the 4th of May, the award-winners of the festival Hot Docs were announced. Among the award-winners, there is the film "The Symphony of the Ursus Factory" by Jaśmina Wójcik.
The award-winners of the Hot Docs were announced on the 4th of May. During the ceremony, which was organised in Toronto, the festival jury gave fourteen awards with a total value of 75 000 dollars. One of the awards went to the film "The Symphony of the Ursus Factory" by Jaśmina Wójcik.
"The Symphony of the Ursus Factory" won the Best Mid-Length Documentary Award. In their justification, the jurors emphasised that they were enchanted by the film which allows the viewers to explore the protagonists' past in an exceptional and sincere way. They pointed out that in the documentary film we can discover the ruins of the industry through a dynamic landscape of sound and rhythmic editing which restored the neglected areas to life.
The Ursus factory was one of the largest tractor production plants in Europe. For nearly the entire twentieth century, it was the pride of the Polish industry. The fall of communism was the beginning of its end. Today, the halls of Ursus are empty or fall into disrepair. Tens of thousands of the biographies of people who worked here were consigned to the dustbin of history.
"The Symphony of the Ursus Factory" is a creative documentary which introduces to the film the methods of participatory art and the art with the community. It is also a film which combines video art with choreography and experimental music. Most of all, however, it is a voice in favour of commemorating the Ursus factory, the culture of the industry and the workers, and fighting for the dignity of the working people and the politics of memory which takes their biographies into account.
The Canadian festival Hot Docs is one of the most important documentary film festivals in the world and the largest one in North America. The first edition was held in Toronto in 1993 and since then, the festival has been constantly growing.
The full list of the films awarded at the Hot Docs can be found here.