THE FILM BY BOBRIK AWARDED IN BULGARIA

The 12th edition of the short film festival IN THE PALACE was held from 28th June to 4th July. Among the award-winning films, there is the Polish documentary "A Visit" by Matej Bobrik.

IN THE PALACE festival, held annually since 2003 in the city of Balchik on the Black Sea, presents short films - animated, documentary and feature films that are no longer than 27 minutes.

This year, four Polish films participated in the international short film competition. Apart from "A Visit",  which was given the award for the Best Documentary Film, also "The Heat" by Bartosz Kruhlik, "Toto" by Zbigniew Czapla and "Where I Can't Be Found" by Arjun Talwar were screened. 

Giving the award to "A Visit," the jury justified its choice in the following way: In an aging society the fate of our parents and grandparents is under increasing jeopardy of being neglected and forgotten. "The Visit" is a mind-touching silent outcry and non-aggressive accusation of negligence towards our ancestors, presented in the form of a classical documentary film in its best form.

It is the first award abroad for the documentary by Matej Bobrik, made within the frames of the programme "The First Documentary" by the Munk Studio, working within the frames of Polish Filmmakers Association.

Surrounded by a magical forest, far from civilisation, the residents of a nursing home lead peaceful lives. It may seem that the only source of variety are the Sunday visits. From the early morning, the residents prepare for the arrival of their families. However,  the hope for their arrival diminishes with every passing hour. There remains nothing else to do but to believe that they got lost in  the woods  and they would probably come next week.

Matej Bobrik is known to the festival audience because of his 2009 documentary "Where the sun doesn't rush". Bobrik is the graduate of Lodz Film School, and his diploma film "Light in August" was screened at the end of May during the 54th edition of Krakow Film Festival.

You can find the full list of award-winning films at the IN THE PALACE festival here