“1970” WINS IN GEORGIA

Friday night brought another triumph for Tomasz Wolski's latest film. This time the documentary won at the Batumi Film Festival in Georgia.

Batumi International Art-House Film Festival is one of the most important cultural events in Georgia. Held annually, the international festival is a place to exchange experiences and present the achievements of renowned and emerging artists from around the world. Every year the programme includes famous and popular works but also those less known and completely independent.

Polish productions have been extremely popular for several years now. Almost every time our artists come back home with some kind of award. It was no different during the recently concluded 16th edition of the festival. This time the Grand Prix for the best feature-length documentary went to the Polish filmmaker. Tomasz Wolski's “1970” convinced the jury more than Paweł Łoziński's “The Balcony Movie” shown during the same competition.

The award-winning documentary is set in the eponymous 1970, when a series of high-profile protests breaks out in communist Poland. Workers are going on strike against price increases. More and more protesters flood the streets. Things are getting tense. Meanwhile, a crisis team is being formed in the capital. Through animated sequences combined with archival recordings of phone conversations, we get to peek behind the closed doors of dignitaries' offices. Hundreds of cigarettes are smoked. Phones are ringing incessantly. Strategies to break up protesters and future repression are being planned. Propaganda activities are being devised. The protests, however, are getting out of control. We see the decision-makers' fear, confusion, and brutality. Police batons are being put to use in the streets. Shots are fired. People die. “1970” is a story of rebellion told from the oppressors' point of view.

More information about the festival and the list of winners can be found on the event's website.