POLISH DOCUMENTARY ON ITS WAY TO… OSCAR AWARD®!

Among 24 documentaries, that are presented in the International Documentary Association’s 15th Annual DocuWeeks™ Theatrical Documentary Showcase in New York and Los Angeles and designed to qualify for consideration for Oscar® Awards, there is a Polish film “Phnom Penh Lullaby” directed by Paweł Kloc.


For several years now the International Documentary Association announces films that will compete for nomination for The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ annual Oscar® Awards, and every year it holds DocuWeeks™ Theatrical Documentary Showcase.

Since its premiere in 1997 DocuWeeks™ has qualified over 161 short and feature length films for Oscar® consideration and yielded 17 nominations and 7 winners.

Screening from August 12th through September 1st in New York at the IFC Center (323 Sixth Avenue at West Third Street) and August 19th through September 8th at the Laemmle Sunset 5 (8000 Sunset Blvd.), the 2011 edition of DocuWeeks™ will present seventeen feature films and seven shorts from sixteen different countries in theatrical runs designed to qualify the films for consideration for The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ annual Oscar® Awards – and give documentary fans a chance to catch some of the best documentary films of the year.

“With every film playing for a full week, DocuWeeks™ gives movie-goers in Los Angeles and New York City multiple opportunities to see a great lineup of new documentary films,” says IDA Executive Director Michael Lumpkin. “After playing some of the world’s major film festivals such as Berlin, Sundance, Tribeca, Hotdocs, Sheffield and Los Angeles, some of today’s most talked about docs will now reach theatrical audiences on both coasts.”

Following “Rabbit à la Berlin” by Bartek Konopka, nominated for Oscar® Award in 2010, another Polish documentary “Phnom Penh Lullaby” by Paweł Kloc will be shown during this year’s DocuWeeksTM. The film will be screened from August 26th to September 1st in New York and Los Angeles.

“Phnom Penh Lullaby” was presented at several international film festivals, such as: Hot Docs (Canada), Vision Du Réel (Switzerland), Sheffield Doc/Fest (UK), as well as at 51. Krakow Film Festival, where it won the “Silver Horn” Award (for the Director of the Best Feature-Length Documentary in the International Competition) and “Silver Hobby-Horse” Award (for the Director of the Best Documentary Film in the National Competition).


“Phnom Penh Lullaby”'s screening schedule during DocuWeeksTM is following:

New York (the IFC Center, 323 Sixth Avenue at West Third Street)

Fri 26.08. >>> 3:20 PM | 9:35 PM
Sat 27.08. >>> 1:50 PM | 7:30 PM
Sun 28.08. >>> 12:05 PM | 5:25 PM
Mon 29.08. >>> 3:20 PM | 9:35 PM
Tue 30.08. >>> 1:45 PM | 7:30 PM
Wed 31.08. >>> 12:05 PM | 5:20 PM
Thu 01.09. >>> 3:20 PM | 9:35 PM

Los Angeles (the Laemmle Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd.)

Fri 26.08. >>> 3:35 PM | 9:45 PM
Sat 27.08. >>> 12 noon  | 5:30 PM
Sun 28.08. >>> 1:50 PM | 5:30 PM
Mon 29.08. >>> 3:35 PM | 9:45 PM
Tue 30.08. >>> 12 noon | 5:30 PM
Wed 31.08. >>> 1:50 PM | 7:25 PM
Thu 01.09. >>> 1:50 PM  | 7:25 PM

More can be found at: www.documentary.org/docuweeks2011 and www.oscars.org.


“Phnom Penh Lullaby” is a story about Ilan Shickman wholeft Israel dreaming of a new life. He now lives in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with his Khmer girlfriend, Saran, and their two young daughters, as he tries to make ends meet as a street fortune-teller. Ilan works at night, near bars frequented by prostitutes and drug dealers. He decides to place the older, 2-year-old daughter with Saran's family in the countryside, but the family doesn't want to care for Marie for free. Ilan and his family have to return to Phnom Penh, and he still must decide about Marie's future. Phnom Penh Lullaby is about people entrapped in their lives as they struggle to realize the dream of a happy, loving family.

More about the film you can read here.

Paweł Kloc studied Law at the Warsaw University. He worked for HBO and At Entertainment Ltd as a producer and director. He directed commercials, music videos and tv programs. He was awarded for Nationale Nederlanden commercial at the Euroshots festival and for his short feature “Dos Sombras” at the RealHeart festival in Toronto. He has also an Eave graduate. “Phnom Penh Lullaby” is his first feature lenght documentary film produced with his production company Parallax.