POLISH SHORT FILMS FEATURED IN THE 5X5 SECTION AT DOK LEIPZIG
DOK Leipzig has announced the programme for this year’s edition. As in previous years, alongside its competitions, the festival will also present a range of special sections, including “5×5 Shorts from the East” – a selection of five short films from five Eastern European countries. Alongside films from Armenia, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Ukraine, the programme will also feature works from Poland. The screening will take place on 31 October at the Polish Institute in Leipzig.
The Polish selection comprises five films made between 2012 and 2016: three animated films and two documentaries.
The first animation is “A Documentary Film” (2015) by Marcin Podolec. In this seven-minute film, the director portrays a father whose adult children have left the family home. Another animated film is “Afternoon” (2012) by Izabela Plucińska, which offers a two-voiced reflection on a moment when a woman and a man meet. The final animation in the selection is “The Incredibly Elastic Man” (2013) by Karolina Specht. It tells the story of a man born without a definite shape, who can adapt himself to other people’s form. Over time, however, his willingness to conform begins to give way to a desire to rebel.
The documentary selection includes “Close Ties” (2016) by Zofia Kowalewska, which portrays an elderly couple growing old together. Behind their relationship lies a painful past: their nearly 45-year marriage was interrupted by an eight-year separation, when the husband left his wife for his lover. The second documentary is “The Whistle” (2012) by Grzegorz Zariczny. Its protagonist, Marcin, lives with his mother in a small town near Kraków. While she hopes he will find a stable job and start a family, he is pursuing his ambitions as a referee at amateur football matches.
In addition to the five Polish films, the programme will also feature “Black Hole” (2024), a Polish co-production directed by Gor Arushanyan. Produced by the Łódź Film School, this documentary short follows Adam, a young artist who creates his work on the walls of apartment blocks in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.
The “5×5 Shorts from the East” programme is supported by KFF Sales.
More information can be found here.