54. KRAKOW FILM FESTIVAL – DOCS TO GO!

The third edition of DOCS TO GO!, an initiative of Krakow Film Foundation and Polish Film Institute aimed at promotion of most interesting Polish documentaries in their final edition / rough cut/ postproduction phase took place on May 29th. Below we present Michal Kucharczyk’s coverage.

During a three hour presentation of DOCS TO GO! organized within 54. Krakow Film Festival directors and producers of documentary films met with representatives of film industry: festivals organizers and distributors. The majority of presented films were in final production phases, and some were already completed. DOSC TO GO! is an opportunity to present pieces and trailers of film projects, share ideas behind them, and establish cooperation.

This year, Polish projects were characterized by high production standards as well as by telling unusual and touching stories, often based beyond Polish borders. Core of this representation belongs to music films: Ethiopiques – the revolt of soul (dir. Maciej Bochniak), Nusrat. The last prophet of music (dir. Tomek Wysokiński, Armand Urbaniak), Battle of throne (dir. Kuba Maciejko), The internal ear (dir. Magdalena Gubała, Szymon Uliasz), The sound of nature, the nature of sound (dir. Jacek P. Bławut), and partly Czech Swan (dir. Aleksandra Terpińska) and The queen of spades (dir. Agnieszka Zwiefka). As all makers unanimously admit, topics of the movies go beyond music.

The films will take us on a trip through musical world of Ethiopia, where communist regime took power in 1974; they will tell the story of music culture of Pakistan sufis, or hip-hop underground in Poland. There are also stories of a few protagonists: a group of elder Czech ladies determined to dance Swan Lake routine, Jeph Jerman, an American hermit and musician, reveals the secrets of sounds of nature that surround us. We can also get to know the story of Mikołaj Trzaska, known to larger audience from his compositions for Wojciech Smarzowski’s films (The Dark house, Rose, Traffic department, The mighty angel).

The queen of spades tells the story of a little girl who lives in Romany community somewhere in Poland. Denisa is deaf and because of lack of professional pedagogic care can no longer talk in an understandable manner. She expresses her emotions by dancing to an imaginary rhythm. One day she finds a box with Bollywood movies that become an inspiration to her and are a reflection of the world so different from the one she lives in.

Another film in production has little to do with music, but there is an important box element in it as well. The director (and partly the protagonist) of Agfa 1939, Michał Wnuk, wants to solve the mystery of photographs and film reels from WWII period. The clues lead him to his grandfather, a surgeon who worked in German army. Gradually, the case no longer concerns his family, but this does not diminish his determination. He wants to find the photographed people and hear their stories. He still needs a fourth of planned budget to do this.

Several producers put their trust in Polish documentalists: Wajda Studio, Pokromski Studio, Chilli Productions, Rabarbar, Telemark, Colab Pictures, Balabusta and Magic Production. The projects are supported by PISF and HBO Europe. The last step is finalizing postproduction, and distribution in Poland and beyond. Now we can keep our fingers crossed for the films that most likely we will be able to see in cinemas next year.

Michał Kucharczyk