NATALIA KONIARZ'S “SILVER” TRIUMPHS AT SLAMDANCE FESTIVAL
Natalia Koniarz's "Silver" has been awarded the Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize at this year's Slamdance festival, where it received its American premiere. It's yet another significant triumph for a film that, following a string of accolades garnered in Kraków and Ji.hlava, both confirms and anticipates its formidable standing on the global map of documentary cinema.
The prize awarded at Slamdance carries special weight. The festival has long occupied a distinctive position within the global landscape of independent cinema, consistently championing uncompromising auteur voices. It is here that filmmakers who now help define the face of contemporary cinema were first recognised. The festival's alumni include Bong Joon-ho, Christopher Nolan, Lena Dunham, Rian Johnson, Ari Aster, and Sean Baker.
This American accolade marks the latest stage in the film's impressive festival journey. At the Krakow Film Festival, "Silver"collected the Silver Horn, the FIPRESCI Award, the Maciej Szumowski Award, the prize for Best Cinematography, the Best Producer award, the Audience Award, and a recommendation for the European Film Awards. This remarkable run was further affirmed at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival in the Czech Republic, where the film secured three prizes in the Opus Bonum competition: Best World Documentary Film, Best Documentary Film in the Visegrad Region, and once again Best Cinematography – the latter recognising the work of Stanisław Cuske.
The film's festival odyssey is far from over, however. In the coming months, Silver is set to screen in competition at the IDFF Artdocfest in Riga, followed by the 24th FIFDH — the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights in Switzerland – and subsequently at the Czech One World International Human Rights Film Festival, the largest festival dedicated to human rights cinema in the world. The film has also received a nomination for the Eagle – the Polish Film Academy Award in the Best Documentary category.
"Silver" takes viewers deep into Cerro Rico, the oldest silver mine in Bolivia – a site marked by centuries of violence and exploitation. In this underground world of silence and darkness, we discover reality through, among others, the perspectives of a boy, an experienced miner, and a woman. A crucial element of the film lies in the striking, tactile cinematography by Stanisław Cuske, which allows the viewer to almost physically feel the claustrophobic confines of the mine and the emotional weight of the miners’ extremely hazardous work. The story of Cerro Rico’s past becomes a key to understanding its present – a place the local community refers to as 'the mountain that devours people'.
All of this ensures the film strikes a powerful chord with audiences worldwide – commanding attention through both its formal artistry and the sheer force of its subject matter, whilst prompting reflection on the history of violence, the legacy of colonialism, and the contemporary mechanisms of exploitation.
The film's cinematography is the work of Stanisław Cuske, who has also made his mark in narrative filmmaking, having collaborated with Łukasz Żal on Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest and Chloé Zhao's Hamnet. The film was edited by Yael Bitton, an outstanding French film editor, whilst Marcin Lenarczyk was responsible for sound design. The film is a Polish-Finnish-Norwegian co-production. The Polish producer is Maciej Kubicki (Telemark), the Norwegian producer is Torstein Grude Ruwê Yuxinawá (Piraya Films), and the Finnish producer is Ilkka Vehkalahti (IV Films). The executive producer is the world-renowned director Paweł Pawlikowski.
International festival distribution is handled by KFF Sales.
You can read more about the festival and the remaining award-winning productions here.