THE FILM "WHEN I AM A BIRD" AWARDED IN SLOVENIA
The jury of this year's edition of the Slovenian Festival of Migrant Film appreciated the film "When I Am A Bird" by Monika Pawluczuk, and awarded it with a Special Mention. The festival was held in Ljubljana from 12th to 20th June.
Held in the capital of Slovenia, the Festival of Migrant Film had its fifth edition this year. The jury of the competitive section, consisting of: Jurij Meden, Varja Močnik and Ognjen Radivojević emphasises that all of the competition films were very unique and therefore it was difficult to choose just one winner. This is why, in addition to the main award, the jury decided to give two special mentions.
One of the films which won a Special Mention was the short documentary made by Monika Pawluczuk and produced by Wajda Studio, "When I Am A Bird." The jury appreciated how "with great visual subtlety and deep respect for the fates of the individuals portrayed, the film offers a penetrating insight into places that we as the viewers would most likely never get to see otherwise."
The film "When I Am A Bird" is set in a Thai village next to the border with Burma. MuLa – the film's protagonist - is a member of the Kajan tribe, and her neck is decorated by the characteristic golden circlets. Her life was not easy, she had to leave her home country Burma and look for shelter in Thailand while her only daughter remained abroad. MuLa earns a living selling souvenirs to the tourists, however, the family's financial situation is very difficult.
In the competitive section of the festival, there were ten documentary films, including two Polish productions - apart from "When I Am A Bird" by Monika Pawluczuk, also "Abu Haraz" by Maciej J. Drygas competed for the awards. The jury decided to give the main award of the festival to the Australian film "The land between" by David Fedele.
You can find more information about the festival on its website .