“KOKA” WINS AWARD AT VISIONS DU REEL
The documentary by Aliaksandr Tsymbaliuk received the Special Youth Jury Award at the prestigious Swiss festival.
Visions du Reél has been organised in the Swiss city of Nyon since 1969. In its early days, it mainly featured Swiss films and productions from the Eastern Bloc, as they were very difficult for Western European audiences to see. Today, Visions du Reél is one of the largest documentary film festivals in Europe.
Koka by Aliaksandr Tsymbaliuk appeared in the International Medium Length & Short Film Competition, and it was in this section that it received the Special Youth Jury Award.
The film unfolds somewhere along the coast of the Bering Sea. A father and son are making a living from fishing in a community that seems suspended outside of time. The film brings us closer to both protagonists, capturing the harsh conditions of life and the rigorous education in equal measure, softened only by paternal love and the carefree spirit of the younger protagonist.
The list of all awarded films can be found here.