"WHEN THE WIND BECOMES SILENT" TRIUMPHS IN SLOVENIA
Mateusz Gołębiewski's film has caught the eye of the jury at the International Sport Film Festival in Slovenia. The documentary was crowned the festival's best production.
International Sport Film Festival Slovenia is an international event dedicated to sports-themed films – ranging from documentaries to feature films and shorts. Its primary aim is to promote the universal values of sport, such as fair play, ethics, and the strength of the human spirit. The festival bridges the sporting and film communities, celebrating inspiring stories from the world of sports.
The winning documentary When the Wind Becomes Silent by Mateusz Gołębiewski chronicles the extraordinary rivalry between two javelin throwers – Polish athlete Janusz Sidło and Norwegian competitor Egil Danielsen. Their duels in the 1950s drew crowds to stadiums. The most significant of these encounters took place during the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, which culminated in one of the most unexpected finals in sporting history. During the competition, the Polish athlete achieves a remarkable result, placing him in the first place. However, just before the event concludes, he decides to help his main rival. This unexpected gesture costs him the Olympic gold medal. The film focuses on reconstructing the circumstances that led to what many historians describe as “the most beautiful example of fair play in Olympic history”. When the Wind Becomes Silent is not merely a tale of sporting rivalry at the highest global level, but also a portrait of Europe divided by the Iron Curtain. Through the use of unique archive footage, the director reveals the atmosphere of the era but as well as how money, big politics, and social pressure influenced athletes.
You can find out more about the festival here.