POLISH DOCUMENTARIES AT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS IN OCTOBER

If you thought that the end of summer holidays also meant the end of the festival season, you were wrong. The real festival fiesta begins in autumn, especially for fans of documentary cinema. The events' film programs will also include numerous Polish productions. Check out which of our documentaries will be screened in Leipzig, Riga, or Mexico City.

October is filled to the brim with festivals right from the beginning. We will get to see Julia Pełka's “Fat Kathy” (Europe Film Festival U.K.), Michał Edelman's “Last Knights of the Right Side”  and Marta Skiba's 'Under the Sky" (FEST - New Directors/ New Films Festival in Portugalii), Andrzej Cichocki's “A Little Bit of Paradise” (“Autumn in Voronet” International Film Festival in Romania), or two screenings of Maciej Cuske's “Whale from Lorino” (International Festival of Ethnological Film! in Serbia and Arctic International Film Festival "Golden Raven" in Russia). The documentary set on the Chukchi Peninsula will also be screened in the second half of October at the Innsbruck Nature Film Festival in Austria.

It's also going to be a good month for Paweł Łoziński. The first October screening of “The Balcony Movie” will take place in Luxembourg during the CinEast Central and Eastern European Film Festival. Viewers attending Germany's DOK Leipzig (read more about this competition screening here) and the Czech Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival will also get to watch this documentary. Łoziński's previous pandemic film – “Masks and Men” – will also enjoy three screenings. This short documentary will be screened at the DocsValencia International Documentary Film Festival in Spain (along with “Butterfly's Dream” by Jarosław Szmidt), and the Message to Man International Film Festival in Russia, whose attendees will also see “We Have One Heart” by Katarzyna Warzecha. In turn, Łoziński's film has been included in the company of three other Polish films at the West Lake International Documentary Festival in China. The local audience will see “It's My Birthday” by Jacek Borcuch, “Dad You've Never Had” by Dominika Łapka, and “A Little Bit of Paradise” by Andrzej Cichocki. 

Borcuch's film is also going to be featured at the Riga International Film Festival, while the one by Andrzej Cichocki will find its way to the Kaohsiung Film Festival in Thailand and the Tehran International Short Film Festival in Iran.

“Rust”, directed by Rafał Matecki, will also enjoy several screenings in October. The documentary will be shown to audiences at the Bendfilm Festival and Princeton Environmental Film Festival in the US, the Kadoma International Film Festival in Japan, and the Alexander Trauner Art/Film Festival in Hungary.

The All Living Things Environmental Film Festival will be held in India in the middle of the month with “Fat Kathy” by Julia Piełka in its competition. This is also when the 16th Edition of the International Documentary Film Festival of Mexico City, DocsMX, will begin. In two different competitions, viewers will see “Butterfly’s Dream” by Jarosław Szmidt and “Tell Me More” by Martyna Peszko. 

Weronika Jurkiewicz's documentary will enjoy two screenings this month. “The Vibrant Village” will be shown to jurors and the audience of The Calvert Journal Film Festival in the UK and the Shnit Worldwide Shortfilmfestival. Katarzyna Warzecha's “We Have One Heart” will also be competing for prizes at the latter festival. 

At the end of October, the 2nd edition of Her Docs festival will open, featuring the moving documentary "Papa" by Maryia Yakimovich. You can read more about the festival here. One of the oldest film festivals in the world – Seminci – Valladolid International Film Festival begins on a similar date. The program includes the international premiere of Diana and Krzysztof Kadłubowski's “Balcony Concert” and “Walk With Angels” by Tomasz Wysokiński. You can read about these screenings here.

The current list of festival screenings can be found here.