POLISH DOCUMENTARY FILMS ARE GOING TO LEIPZIG!
The majority of them not only premiered on the big screen during Krakow Film Festival, but they also left Kraków awarded. Most of the films which captivated international audiences are full-length documentaries. One of them is up for an Oscar, another has already attained success in Locarno. This year, they will be together taking Leipzig over during one of the most important festivals in the world - DOK Leipzig.
At the press conference held as part of the last year's edition of DOK Leipzig, Grit Lemke, who is responsible for the festival's programme, said that she could fill the entire short documentary competition with Polish films. Interestingly enough, Polish features prevail in this year's programme.
"Argentinian Lesson" by Wojciech Staroń - the winner of, among others, the Golden Horn at 51st Kraków Film Festival, will be competing for Golden Dove prize at the International Competition Documentary Film. The screening in Leipzig constitutes an international premiere for Staroń's film.
Paweł Kloc's full-length debut film "Phnom Penh Lullaby", nominated for a special MDR Film Prize, will also appear in the International Young Documentary Talent Competition, and stands a chance of receiving an Oscar nomination.
Marta Minorowicz's film will again take part in the International Short Documentary Competition. Last year, her "A Piece of Summer" was awarded Golden Dove in the category. This year her success can be repeated with another documentary film directed by Minorowicz - "Decrescendo". The film is also nominated for a special prize within the frame of DOK Leipzig - MDR Film Prize.
What is more, Piotr Stasik's "The End of Summer", Marta Prus's "Vakha and Magomed", Tomasz Wolski's "Doctors" and Paweł Wysoczański's "We will be Happy one Day" are going to be screened as part of the out-of-competition programme. The last two films will have their international premiere in Liepzig. It is also worth mentioning that "Doctors" were nominated for a special prize awarded by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work for the best documentary film about work-related topics.
DOK Leipzig is an event not only devoted to documentary films, but also to animation. This category as well is marked with Polish contribution. Indigenous animation in the International Competition Animated Film will be represented by Robert Proch's "Gallery" and Przemysław Adamski's "Noise".
Like every year, DOK Leipzig stands open for Polish cinematography. Ten Polish films are in the programme, six of which are in the competition - it is an exceptional number as far as the hitherto Polish representation is concerned. Another ten films are going to take part in DOK Market (as Polish Docs programme organised by Kraków Film Foundation), which constitutes undisputable evidence that Polish film - especially documentary genre -gains in strength in the international arena.
With its half-century tradition, DOK Leipzig is one of the leading events in the documentary and animated film industry. Every year DOK Leipzig presents the wide range of the newest film productions from several dozen countries from all continents. Furthermore, the festival is accompanied by various trade events, such as DOK Market, Internation DOK Leipzig Co-Production Meeting, and Dok Summit, which help establish valuable relations in the industry and gain considerable knowledge regarding film production.
54th International DOK Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film will be held from 17 to 23 October.
More at: www.dok-leipzig.de.
The newest texts with analyses and interpretations of films that are going to be presented at the festival in Leipzig, along with the interviews with the filmmakers, will soon be available at www.polishdocs.pl. If you want to know more about some of the films, the interviews with Wojciech Staroń, Tomasz Wolski, and Marta Minorowicz are already available in our "Reading Room". Please have a look!
(Translation by Agnieszka Mruk)