4 POLISH DOCUMENTARIES WITH PREMIERES IN THESSALONIKI
Three Polish documentaries will have their premieres at the prestigious international film festival Thessaloniki Doc Fest. The audience will see "30 Years of Excuses" by Armand Urbaniak, "The Voice" by Dominika Montean-Pańków, "Leon" by Wojciech Gostomczyk and" God and Lunaparks’ Warriors" by Bartłomiej Żmuda. And these are not the only Polish films in the program.
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival was founded in 1991. This international event is dedicated to documentaries. The main goal of the organizers is presenting and promoting the most important international documentary productions. Debates and presentations on the future of the industry and new technologies are important as well and also an inseparable element of the event is the industry part. The festival is under the patronage of the Greek Ministry of Culture.
This year, four Polish documentaries will premiere there. "The Voice" by Dominika Montean-Pańków and "Leon" by Wojciech Gostomczyk are selcted to the Newcomers Competition and "30 Years of Excuses" by Armand Urbaniak and "God and Lunaparks' Warriors" by Bartłomiej Żmuda to Open Horizons section and they will compete for the audience award.
30 Years of Excuses by Armand Urbaniak is a film ballad about a man who promised something to himself and the world many years ago, but because of various doubts he never fulfilled this promise. The musician and drummer's magnum opus is supposed to be an original album, which he has been thinking and dreaming about for 30 years. He intends to record his ‘’Bieszczady suite’’ where he lives, in his house on the water. This is a documentary about the hero Michał ‘’Gier’’ Giercuszkiewicz, about a hero full of weaknesses, who we observe in another, perhaps the last, attempt to fulfill himself as an artist.
The Voice tells about a novitiate in an order. Isolated from the society for two years, without common amenities, young men have enough time to consider the question: is religious life for me? In the Dominika Montean-Pańkow’s documentary, we observe mainly the first lectures for future clergymen. "If you sit in the kennel, you will see the fruits of everyday life" - says the elder monk. Desert shots by Wojciech Staroń define the symbolic horizon of experience of the novitiate participants, and the metrical music of Adam Bałdych creates an aura of meditation.
In the same section as "The Voice" was Wojciech Gostomczyk's "Leon" with its world premiere. There are no borders for Leon, neither during his legendary performances, nor in the geographical sense. He hails from the Tricity, here he co-founded the alternative scene, lives in Berlin, and has fans not only in Europe. Wojciech Gostomczyk's film is not only a due tribute to a great artist, but above all it fills a gap in the world documentary. There are few such passionate and colorful characters in the modern world as Leon Dziemaszkiewicz. With his personality, he fell in love with Thierry Mugler, one of the greatest icons of the modern fashion and pop culture world. It's remarkable to see their love, difficult relationship, daily life on screen.
The third premiere is God and Lunaparks’ Warriors by Bartłomiej Żmuda. Overwhelmed by religious frenzy, the son embarks on a crusade in order to convert his father. This turns out to be an extremely daring quest, for his father is none other than Andrzej Rodan - the author of scandalous novels from the late 1980s and a sworn atheist. Their mutual journey through Poland will bring back a lot of memories, but above all it will become an opportunity for further clashes between them. The passion of the neophyte will be put to a severe test by the cantankerous anti-cleric.
In a special section, viewers will also have the opportunity to see "The Balcony Movie" by Pawel Lozinski.
More about the festival can be found on its website.