POLISH FILMS AWARDED AT MILLENNIUM DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY
The Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival award gala was held yesterday. There are also Polish filmmakers among the winners of this year's hybrid edition of the festival.
Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival is one of the largest documentary film festivals in Poland. It's also the only film festival in Europe that takes place simultaneously in several different cities (Warsaw, Gdynia, Wrocław, Katowice, Bydgoszcz, Lublin and, since 2020, Poznań).
A double honourable mention went to Paweł Łoziński for his latest documentary – “The Balcony Movie”. The production was awarded in both the international and Polish competition. The director asks several bold questions in his film. Can anyone be a film protagonist? Can you fit the entire world in a single frame? Director Paweł Łoziński watches people from his balcony. They walk by smiling, sad, thoughtful, staring at their phones, both young and old. Residents of the neighbourhood, casual visitors, ordinary passers-by. The author approaches them, asks questions, talks to them about their lives and how they're doing. Standing there with his camera for over 2 years, he created a place for dialogue, a secular confessional where everyone can stop and tell others about themselves. Every person carries their own riddles and secrets. They can't be easily labelled and life can't be imagined. “The Balcony Movie” is a radical return to the early days of cinema, when it was people who approached the camera. Perhaps one just needs to stop and stay a while to see more?
This year, for the second time in the festival's history, awards were handed out in the Polish competition. The title of the best Polish documentary went to the creators behind the film “Bucolic”. Karol Pałka shows the lives of two protagonists on the screen. Danusia and her daughter Basia live somewhere on the outskirts of the world, in harmony with nature, its rhythm and laws, among animals and the spirits of the dead. Their enclave guarantees a sense of calm and security, but also makes them long for other people. Bucolic is a parable about people who live differently. A sensitive observation which gives rise to curiosity and the want to come closer.
Several awards went to Kuba Mikurda's film “Escape to the Silver Globe”. The documentary received the Studio Cinemas Association Award in the Polish Competition. The Smakjam Award for the Best Production in the Polish Competition went to Daria Maślona, the film's producer, while its director received the Chopin’s Nose Award. One of the special mentions was also given to “The Last Generation” by Mikołaj Borowy.
A complete list of winners and verdicts can be found here.