Doker 2021 The Winners
The Doker festival in Moscow ended last night. I managed to watch and write about 8 of the films, one short and seven features shown in the main competition. I am a fan of the festival that I have visited once as a juror, and been a juror online (with deliberations via email!) at the first edition of the festival in 2015. Of the flms I saw (online, links from the organizers), 3 of them I have written about, 2 others I have seen but they did not reach the blog in a written form. First the jury’s motivation (the jury: Nikolaus Geyerhalter (Austria), Jordana Berg (Brazil), Maya Kuzina (Russia)):
We had the chance to see 11 films that impressed us in many ways and showed us once again how important documentary film is, especially in the present, in order to better understand ourselves and the challenges of our society. For example, that equality, tolerance and dignified coexistence of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation, are unfortunately not yet a matter of course everywhere. Or how complex the path to unemployment and retraining can be. One film that impressed us with the humorous observation of its protagonists and which we understand in the broadest sense as a homage to cinema, we would like to mention here: A Special Mention goes to the film “Long Shot” by VLADIMIR GOLOVNEV. We admire Vladimir’s perseverance, enthusiasm and care for the film culture in Russia, and hope to see more of his films in the future.
And here comes the winners with quotes from what I wrote about the films :
BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
HER MOTHERS by Asia Dér & Sári Haragonics (Hungary)”Oh, I Iove that film because it gets so close to the couple Virag and Nora that you can really sense their love to each other and the small and bigger crisis they experience, when they, a lesbian couple, succeed in adopting a girl, two and a half years old, Meli(ssza) and start bringing her up…” http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/4937/
BEST DIRECTOR
A NEW SHIFT by Jindřich Andrš (Czech Republic)” it is good because of the miner Tomas, who becomes the IT programmer Tomas. The director has followed Tomas for four years in his struggle to get a new education – his doubts, his warm realitionship to his children, his dating to find a new partner, his café talks with friends, his passion for Banik Ostrava, the football team he supports… » http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/4933/
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
DIRTY FEATHERS by Carlos Alfonso Corral (USA – Mexico) Cinematographer – Nini Blanco. Of course it should have this award because of the astonishingly beautiful b/w images that portray the outcasted characters close to Mexico in the US.
BEST EDITING
HER MOTHERS by Asia Dér & Sári Haragonics (Hungary) Editor – Flóra Erdélyi
SPECIAL MENTION
LONG SHOT by Vladimir Golovnev (Russia) Agree with the jury’s words above – here is a talented homage to Cinema!
THE AUDIENCE AWARD
THE WAR OF RAYA SINITSINA by Efim Graboy (Israel) ” The debutant Efim Graboy works brilliantly with several layers and in different styles and it all comes well together in the good story that Raisa, 94 years old, but strong and not afraid to say her opinion or show her emotions, delivers to Fima, the name she uses for the director… http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/4939/
Information on the winners in the short film competition, see