"CONNECTED" WIN THE AWARD AT THE MESSAGE TO MAN
The film by Aleksandra Maciejczyk was appreciated by Russian journalists and won the best short documentary film award at this year's edition of the Message to Man festival.
The Message to Man International Film Festival was created in 1989, and currently, it is considered one of the most important and the most popular Russian film festivals. Initially, the event was dedicated only to documentary films, but with time the organisers decided to expand the programme, and since 1994, they have widened the pool of awards by opening their doors also to short films.
In this year's programme, there was no lack of Polish productions. "The Wind. A Documentary Thriller" by Michał Bielawski was invited to the documentary film competition, whereas the film "You Are Overreacting" by Karina Paciorkowska competed for the best short animated film award. In addition to the award-winning "Connected" by Aleksandra Maciejczyk, in the short documentary film competition you could also watch "The Briefing" by Filip Drzewicki. In the non-competing section, there were the screenings of "In Touch" by Paweł Ziemilski, and Izabela Plucińska had her retrospective.
The awarded film tells the story of two 50-year-olds, Krzysztof and Wiola. We observe them when they are skiing. Krzysztof is blind and Wiola is his guide. Early in the morning, they prepare for skiing. Krzysztof installs Bluetooth sets on their helmets so that they are connected with each other. They go to the top of the mountain by a chairlift. The higher they are, the more we learn about their lives. At the same time, the weather conditions change, the fog falling on the slope becomes thicker. When Wiola and Krzysztof finally reach the summit, they have to find each other and connect in the fog. A short, simple documentary form about love.
The list of all award-winning films can be found here.