“IN THE REARVIEW” WINS IN SHEFFIELD
The Polish-French-Ukrainian documentary by Maciek Hamela received the Grand Jury Award at the prestigious Sheffield Doc Fest.
Sheffield Doc/Fest is one of the most important events dedicated to documentary films in the UK. The festival has been held since 1994. Every year it is accompanied by a film fair and The MeetMarket pitching forum, as well as The Arts Talent Market. This year's 30th edition of the festival took place from June 14 to 19.
The Polish co-production absolutely captivated the international competition jury, which awarded it the top prize. The Grand Jury Award this year was decided by Kim Longinotto, Rodrigo Reyes, and Vinay Shukla.
The protagonists of Maciek Hamela's winning documentary In The Rearview are Ukrainians suspended in time and space, facing an uncertain here and now, who decide 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.
You can find a list of all the winning films here.