POLISH DOCUMENTARIES TRIUMPH AT DOKUMENTART
At the recently finished 21st edition of the European Film Festival dokumentART, Polish documentaries won five out of thirteen awards. "Argentinian lesson" was given the festival’s main award, while "Hermits" and "Tonia and her children" received two awards each.
On 20 November in Neubrandenburg the decision of the jury of 21st edition of Polish-German festival dokumentART was announced. The festival's main award - Latücht-Award of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern - went to "Argentinian lesson" by Wojciech Staroń - a film which has recently captured several festivals. The jury justified its decision, emphasising that the documentary by Staroń in an uniquely "decent and subtle form by which the film addresses one of the most important issues of humanity: our responsibility towards others. The film tells a universal story of childhood letting us get really close to the characters."
The film by Marcel Łoziński - "Tonia and her children" - was given two awards: the Award of the Foundation of the German-Polish Cooperation and Audience Award of the Polish Television. The Award of the Foundation of the German-Polish Cooperation was justified in the following way: "Together with the film director the two main characters are sitting at the table in a room that is barely lit. A brother and a sister reconstruct the life of their mother by using court documents and interrogation protocols. The communist Tonia Lechtmann got cought by the murderous machine of the persecution of Jews and later the stalinistic justice. The siblings reflect their relationship with their mother, with themselves and with the political earthquakes of the last century."
The short film by Kacper Czubak, "Hermits", also got two trophies: the "Findling" Award of the Landesverband Filmkommunikation e.V. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the Award of the Student Union Greifswald. The jury justified its decision, emphasising that "The big questions about life and death are dealt with the human confrontation of living together. The film from director Kacper Czubak has the honorable quality to patiently focus on its caracters and carefully achieves to open up the reservedness of a convinced hermit. A real find!".
Detailed information about 21st edition of the dokumentARt and the award-winning films can be found on the festival's website.