AWARD FOR TOMASZ WOLSKI'S NEW FILM

The documentary project The Big Chief was presented during the CineLink Industry Days events at this year's Sarajevo Film Festival. The title was one of eight productions showcased as part of Docu Talents from the East. Representatives from DAFilms were greatly impressed by Tomasz Wolski's project and granted it the Distribution Award.

Docu Talents from the East is a program aimed at filmmakers from Eastern and Central Europe, through which directors and producers of selected documentary projects can present their work-in-progress during the Sarajevo Film Festival. A series of eight-minute presentations will take place as part of the CineLink Industry Days section.

The most promising project has a chance to win the Docu Talent Award, which involves financial support of 5,000 dollars. Meanwhile, the special DAFilms.com Distribution Award, given to director Tomasz Wolski and producer Anna Gawlita, amounts to 3,000 euros. 

In The Big Chief, the award-winning Polish director once again reaches for a historical topic. In 1972, a team of French television journalists comes to Warsaw to secretly record a meeting with Leopold Trepper – a Polish Jew and the head of the legendary Red Orchestra, the most effective spy network during World War II. The French television crew manages to record over an hour-long conversation with the spy. Unfortunately, all the material is confiscated at Warsaw airport. The journalists were told it had been destroyed. After more than 45 years, it turned out that the tapes remain stored in Polish archives. The journalist who conducted the interview at the time is now an over 80-year-old celebrity and French TV star. The screening of the “destroyed” materials will not only serve as a reason to go back in time but, above all, make the first step to telling part of the story of Leopold Trepper – an extraordinary and controversial man.

You can find out more about the award here.