“IN THE REARVIEW” WINS IN HAMBURG
Maciek Hamela's film still has more awards waiting for it. His documentary has now received high praise at Filmfest Hamburg. The production received the Friedrich Ebert Foundation's Political Film Award.
Filmfest Hamburg was first held in 1992. Over 3000 domestic and international film productions have been screened there to date. The event has continued to grow over the years, and along with it the audience. Every autumn, the festival is attended by more than 45,000 people. It's both the audience and industry members.
This year's program featured Maciek Hamela's film. In the Rearview received one of the festival's most significant awards.
Russia begins its invasion of Ukraine. Suspended in time and space, facing an uncertain here and now, a group of people decides to abandon what's most precious to them and without hesitation get into a dusty van on foreign plates. The car covers thousands of kilometres, serving various functions: a waiting room, a hospital, a shelter, and above all, a space for confessions and admissions, which the fellow travellers start to share naturally. In The Rearview is a collective portrait composed of the experiences of people who have one goal: to find a safe haven. In the van, their temporary asylum, differences of gender, age, skin colour, physical ability, origin, identity, views, or beliefs fade away altogether. In the Ukrainian and Polish titles (Zvidky kudy, Skąd dokąd), “where from” (звідки / zvidky) and “where to” (куди / kudy) are also routine questions asked when passing through numerous checkpoints scattered all across Ukraine.
A list of all awarded films can be found here.