"DAUGHTER" AND "HORSE RIDERS" WITH AWARDS IN ARMENIA
At One SHot International Short Film Fessival, which ended a few days ago, two of the awards went to Polish productions. "Horse Riders" received a special mention, and "Daughter" turned out to be the best short film.
One Shot festival in Armenia was founded in 2003 to promote independent cinema there. During the festival, films are presented in special sections and three competitions: "One Minute - One Shot", "Short Movies" and "Cinema Without Border".
This year's festival program also includes Polish productions. Two Polish documentaries - "The Family" by Patrycja Widłak and the awarded "Horse Riders" by Anna Gawlita and the fictional film "Daughter" by the Belarusian director Mary Tamkovich competed for the awards.
In the award-winning story, the main character is a father who has to deal with his daughter's traumatic experiences. What can you do when the system fails, even stands in the way of justice, and throws accusations the wrong way? A film made with very simple means with a social and realistic twist, exceptionally topical in the context of the #MeToo campaign and the public debate on women's rights.
In turn, the action of the other documentary takes place in a certain village near Opole. This is where the celebration of Easter Sunday takes place. People gather in front of the church, but horses also crowd here. It is a traditional element of the celebration of holidays, which consists of prayers, to have a horse tour around the nearby buildings, accompanied by passionate singing sprinkled with alcohol. Enigmatic editing and black-and-white photos reflect the sublime atmosphere of the festival, in which the sacred meets the profane in a bizarre race. Its patron is a small figure of the Risen Christ. Horse Riders celebrated in this way is a custom typical for the south of Poland. During the thirty-five-kilometer route, the inhabitants pray and sing devotional songs. During stops, they rest, eat and drink vodka. The state of exhaustion and intoxication is mixed with the state of religious exultation. Sacred and profane.
More information about the Armenian festival can be found here.