The national award ceremony in Lithuania takes place 6^th of June. With many categories and a lot of nominations attached. I take a look at the ones for Best Documentary that has a very strong line-up. 

I had seen four of the five but got a link to the fifth Mončys. emaitis iš Paryiaus (Re. Linas Mikuta, Prod. Jurga Gluskinienė), a well-made classical (good cinematography, fine mix between archive, shots from France and Lithuania including interviews with his sister and sons) bio about the interesting Antanas Moncys, who performed his sculpturing art in – primarily – Paris but kept his cultural roots in his works, being a samogitian, i.e. from a region in the North-East of Lithuania. Shame on me who has been to Lithuania so many times, being ignorant about Moncys, but now I know about a great artist working from wood and at the next voyage I will try to visit the museum dedicated to him in Palanga.

No further intro needed to  Mr. Landsbergis. Sugriauti blogio imperiją (Re. Sergei Loznitsa, Prod. Uljana Kim)that I saw at IDFA, where it received the main award and where the protagonist, professor Landsbergis, was present to talk to the audience after the screening for more than an hour. Charisma is the word. What a man!Read more here: http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/4991/

And I am getting sad to write about  Pavyzdingas elgesys (Re. Audrius Mickevičius, Nerijus Milerius, Prod. Rasa Miškinytė), such a great film (English title: Exemplary Behaviour), read all about it here: http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/4648/ The sadness comes from knowing Audrius M. and his long preparation for a film that he could not see finished himself, he died in 2017.

And ”The Jump” by Giedré Z, an international film success, loads of festivals and awards already, an amazing achievement by the director, who has been present at so many festivals to meet the audience and has taken care of the national distribution herself.  Šuolis (Re. Giedrė ickytė, Prod. Giedrė ickytė, Uldis Cekulis) Read more: http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/4125/

Švelnūs kariai (Re. Marija Stonytė, Prod. Giedrė ickytė) – ”Gentle Warriors”, a debut of the young talented director with Giedre Z. as producer. I saw it being pitched, I saw a very promising rough cut but have not seen the final film that also has had a fine distributed in Lithuania. 

Filmed by Kimi Morev and Marusya Syroechkovskaya 

Edited by Qutaiba Barhamji

Sweden, Norway, France, Germany, 103 mins., 2022

With the subtitle … a message from a silenced generation here is the director’s personal statement:

”On the 24th February 2022, Putin and his government expanded his cruel and devastating war on Ukraine. 

I fled Moscow as the ensuing crackdown on opposition voices inside Russia increased to drown us all out. 

Honestly, I was scared for my wellbeing amidst the establishment of a new law against “fake” news (even calling the war in Ukraine a “war” or expressing disagreement with it now means the threat of up to 15 years in prison); people being getting arrested, beaten, and tortured (not only while protesting but one can also get arrested just standing on the street); the police coming for you at your house; those against the war finding a “Z” graffitied on their door… 

There is a website created by the so-called Committee for the Protection of National Interests with a constantly updated list of “traitors –enemies, cowards and runaways”, from whom, according to Putin, society must cleanse itself: “Any people, and even more so the Russian people, will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and simply spit them out, like a midge that accidentally flew into the mouth”. 

Putin is brilliant at isolation, gaslighting. He excels at separating and dividing. He is the poster image for an abusive relationship, but this relationship you cannot leave. I can only agree with a fellow filmmaker Erika Lust with her portrayal of Putin as a great example of a destructive and exploitative patriarchal mindset – violent and oppressive, abusing power and violating human rights in the name of greed. 

By allowing Putin to stay in power for so many years, allowing him to methodically destroy Russian civil society unchecked as he shut down independent press, and any possible horizontal ties between people all these years, we, the Russian people, fertilized the ground for this terrible war. 

We didn’t stand up for ourselves, or when we tried, our voices were not loud enough. 

However, there is no point and no use in self-pity. Our responsibility now is to not stay silent, to keep doing whatever we can to stop this violence by any possible means. And to offer a narrative to the endless stream of Russian lies and propaganda. 

There are no doubts Ukrainian people will win this war and Ukraine will rebuild itself. But I can’t see how Russia will be able to move forward. Putin has taken care of that. 

So, for the moment, I am a citizen of nowhere, somewhere, anywhere except Russia…and although this love story was born on the ground sown by an autocratic government, it is a love story that could happen wherever voices are silenced. 

March 24, 2022

Filmed by Kimi Morev and Marusya Syroechkovskaya 

Edited by Qutaiba Barhamji

Sweden, Norway, France, Germany, 103 mins., 2022

Kimi passed away on the night of November 4th, 2016. 

He wasn’t just my lover and husband, he was also my best friend, my dreamy soul mate. But he was giving up — on his future, dreams, his looks even…he was sinking more and more into self-destruction, and it was hard for me to see how the person I love so much destroys himself. He didn’t accept any help from anybody, it was impossible to get through to him, and the only thing I could do was just to be with him. 

How do you keep someone who does his best to disappear? I wanted to be there for him, but the whole situation hurt me a lot as well. Then my camera provided me the distance I needed, making everything looked not real. Maybe filming for me became the same as drugs became for Kimi—an escape from reality, from everything that didn’t work out for us. This experience made me think about the nature of film as a medium that captures time and keeps everything and everyone in one collective space. It reminded me of watching old wartime newsreel footage and realizing that although these people died a long time ago, somehow, they are still here, alive in the footage. Was it maybe the way to save Kimi? Or maybe I could save him if he somehow becomes music? Maybe scanning Kimi’s body with the sonification app VOSIS and turning it into music is also a way of keeping him and letting him stay for as long as possible. In the end, music and his poems are is what left of him. 

I also wanted to save the time, space, and things that formed me and Kimi as we were growing up, and HOW TO SAVE A DEAD FRIEND is also a tribute to films of Gregg Araki and Harmony Korine; artwork of David LaChapelle; to lots and lots of music: from post-punk and grunge to emo and witch house; to Windows Movie Maker transitions, early web aesthetics, and internet forums – back when the internet wasn’t yet controlled by corporations and censored by the government, when it was a place where you could freely express yourself and find belonging, occupying your dial-up for hours. 

How do you find a language for the film that spans 12 years and wasn’t meant to become a film while it was shot? The idea was to give a feeling of how it was to grow up in the 00s, to dive into sunny summer days and kaleidoscope of formats, pulsating visuals, and sounds coming from all directions. 

As time passes, as we see a chain of similar New Year addresses by presidents, the winter dark days take hold, isolating people from each other in their apartments. Our immediate outside world, once so enticing now becomes more and more violent, with less music and fewer friends around. Colors become muted, less saturated; cuts become longer. And Kimi is fading away into the darkness. 

When you lose someone close — someone who knew you well — part of your story disappears along with him. All that is left to do is to pick up the remaining memories before they turn to digital dust. 

It was sunny in Prague. It was the first time for me to be able to follow the One World Festival as I have always been (with pleasure) linked to the East Doc Forum of IDF (Institute of Documentary Film) that runs (almost) parallel. I enjoyed the privilege it is to be a juror, watching films and asked to pick what you and fellow jurors find are the best. On our way to the cinema at the FAMU film school Hungarian colleague Enikö Gyureskó and I were stopped by young Ukrainians with very little English understanding asking for directions. And at the FAMU the screenings, we attended also had Ukrainian and Belarussian students, who had arrived a couple of weeks or days before. They are young and are being helped. Hope the best for them!

It was sunny in Prague. We watched 10 films, three of them were directly connected to the elections in 2021. One was “Candidates”, another “First Time Voters” and a third one had the long title “Points for the President aka Attempt at Contrarevolution”. The three did not make this juror happy, content-wise first of all, depicting a homophobic, xenophobic and racist society. The latter goes back to the Velvet Revolution and Vaclav Havel – it seems there is nothing left of his “truth and love” approach and vision. The director Martin Kohout puts a focus on a lot of funny bizarre moments in the election campaigns and there was a lot of laugh in the cinema. “Czech dark humour” was the answer, when I asked the festival people WHY. Yes, but when the laughing shadows for the political dark situation? Maybe I am too serious but I was shaken by what I saw and heard. So much more today after Orban’s strong victory in the neighbouring country.

Nevertheless there are and has always been strong filmmakers with a humanistic approach and sense of Cinema in Czech Republic and Slovakia. Let me point at two films of fine quality among the ten we saw; they were not awarded: Vera Lackova’s emotional “How I became a Partisan” with the director as the main character searching for the fate of her great-grandfather AND Linda Jablonska´s “Leaving Beginnings Behind”, following four women from they leave a youth custody centre to enter “the real world”, a film shot over many years, social with warmth and understanding.

And now to the two films awarded, I have copied the text from the website of the festival:

The Czech Competition category is a traditional part of the festival. The jury making the decision about the best Czech documentary is made up of representatives of international film festivals. This year’s members comprised Danish consultant and documentary film critic Tue Steen Müller, Enikö Gyureskó, who is the coordinator of the best-known Hungarian documentary film festival Verzió, and Maryia Trafimava, and activist and collaborator for the Watch Docs Belarus festival.

The Czech Competition Jury Award for the Best Film was presented to director Martin Mareček’s film Out In Force. The jury agreed that this winning film manages to create an impressive experience that stays with the viewer for long after watching the film. It makes one wonder about its topic in a non-deductive, non-partial way and it evokes strong emotions. The jury appreciates the arc of the storytelling and the thoughtful attention to the character development also because the film was shot over many years, and with patience. The jury members add: “We are pleased to see that because of the much controversial nature of the main protagonist, there is a respect for all the characters, and that the director gives a deeper look to the protagonist’s personality.”

The Czech Competition Jury Special Award went to director Helena Třeštíková’s film René – The Prisoner of Freedom. In its reasoning, the jury said: “What is the meaning of it all? I think this is what we all try to find out, is it not? This is the theme of many documentaries. It takes time to get close to an answer to the question and if you are like the protagonist of this film, many personal complications are brought to the screen. Doesn’t our society often let down unique and complicated people on their way to finding their purpose in life? It needs a great director with a unique eye and a lot of patience to understand the ups and downs of this very charming and special person.”

https://www.oneworld.cz/2022/festival

 

The East Doc Platform Award went to the Polish project The World is not (a) Mine by Natalia Koniarz about inhabitants working in inhuman conditions mining metals on the Cerro Rico mountain. The Ukrainian project Up in the Air by Oksana Syhareva has three awards including HBO Max Award. The documentary follows a young Ukrainian aerial gymnast with ambitions to open his own modern circus studio, while fighting his possessive mother, who is his trainer and a head of the circus studio. The awards were handed on March 31 at the Gallery of Art Critics during the East Doc Platform Partner Awards Ceremony and during the One World & East Doc Platform Closing Ceremony. The 11th edition of the East Doc Platform, the largest co-production, funding and distribution platform tailor-made for Central and East European documentaries, took place from March 25 to March 31 at the French Institute in Prague. See the awarded projects and juries statements.

East Doc Platform Award

The Institute of Documentary Film announces the main EDP prize – East Doc Platform Award associated with the financial support of 5 000 € for the best project in development and production. The granted financial support will help the filmmakers in further development of their documentary film. The East Doc Platform Award 2022 jurors were: Hanne Biermann (Deckert Distribution), Fatma Riahi (Al Jazeera Documentary Channel) and Alex Szalat (Docs Up Fund).

The award goes to The World is not (a) Mine (dir. Natalia Koniarz, prod. Maciej Kubicki, Poland)

Jury statement: “We were happy to see a very high quality among the projects being pitched, so it was particularly difficult for us to select just one of them. But it is especially the very cinematographic approach of showing the vastness of a place that seems to have been abandoned by the rest of the world, contrasted with the incredible narrowness of the shafts of the highest mine in Bolivia, that immediately caught our attention. Natalia Koniarz’s project promises to be a parable about nothing less than the meaning of life, about our interaction with nature, but most importantly about how we treat each other. Therefore, the jury is very pleased to hand the East Doc Platform Award 2022 to The World is not (a) Mine.”

East Doc Platform Award Special Mention

goes to Last Letters of My Grandma (dir. Olga Lucovnicova, prod. Frederik Nicolai, Belgium, Moldova, Netherlands) 

“For its high cinematic language and the richness of its story, linking the past and present, the jury also decided to give a special mention to the project Last Letters of My Grandma.”

Current Time TV Director’s Award

goes to the Institute of Documentary Film

The statement of Kenan Aliyev, the Executive Director of Current Time TV, reads: “This is a difficult, but important moment to recognize and celebrate documentary films. It’s difficult, because we all know that Ukrainian families and children are suffering from bombardment from Russian forces, hunger, family separation, displacement, and fear as we speak. Much of our attention is there, in Ukraine, as it should be.

It’s also an important moment though, because it reminds us of the necessity and power of documentary film. We won’t be so naive as to say ”never again,” because a monstrously destructive land war that we thought could never again happen is, indeed, happening again. But this doesn’t negate the urgent need to bear witness: we must document the violence, we must tell the stories of the heroes, and we must honor and preserve the memory of the victims.

For this reason, tonight’s award is presented to the Czech Institute of Documentary Film. IDF marked its 20th anniversary last year, but because of the pandemic, we didn’t have the opportunity to recognize it. It seems fitting to recognize it this year, at this time of war, because of its mission to support documentary film, a mission whose importance is affirmed every minute that this violence continues. Current Time is dedicated to supporting independent voices, so tonight we honor the Czech Institute of Documentary Film for its dedication to ensuring that the voices that support freedom, justice, independence, and peace are heard.

This is a monetary award in the amount of 2500 Euros. And I’m asking the IDF to direct this small contribution from American people to Ukrainian filmmakers that are documenting the war and human tragedy that must end. Thank you.”

HBO Max Award

HBO Max, the General Partner of the Institute of Documentary Film, awards one of the projects selected to the East Doc Platform 2022 the HBO Max Award worth € 2 000. The award is presented by Hanka Kastelicová, the Executive Producer of Documentaries HBO Max. This award does not constitute any co-production or distribution deal and doesn’t bind the granted director/producer to sell any rights for the film to HBO in exchange for the award.

The award goes to Up in the Air (dir. Oksana Syhareva, prod. Nataliia Pogudina, Ukraine)

Czech TV Co-production Award

Markéta Štinglová, Manager of International Content Projects Centre of the public broadcaster Czech TV, the General Media Partner of the Institute of Documentary Film, announces the winner of the Czech TV Co-production Award. The award presents a financial investment of 150 000 CZK and a subsequent co-production deal. The jury consists of the Czech TV representatives: Markéta Štinglová, Manager of International Content Projects Center, Petr Morávek, Head of Production Department Documentary and Educational Programmes, and Věra Krincvajová, Chief Editor of Documentaries, Film Center.

The award goes to The Wife of (Estonia, USA, France)

Cut thru the Noise Award

The award is given to one of the Ex Oriente Film participating teams that makes the most progress over the course of the workshop in terms of their fist-package preparation. Shortlist of candidates will be suggested by the workshop lead tutors. Winning project will be selected by Diana Karklin, sales & acquisitions manager of Rise and Shine World Sales and by Mirjam Wiekenkamp, founder and manager of international projects at NOISE PR. Awarded team will receive tailor-made consultancy on the project´s release, distribution and sales strategy.

Awarded project: Up in the Air (dir. Oksana Syhareva, prod. Oksana Syhareva, Nataliia Pogudina, Ukraine)

The statement reads: “We very much enjoyed the projects we got to choose from and want to thank you all and Ex Oriente. The project that will receive the Cut thru the Noise Award – a tailor-made consultancy trajectory focusing on distribution and publicity – stood out because of its high cinematic quality, a strong choice of characters and an absolutely engaging narrative. We understand that the filmmaking process has radically changed, but we are convinced that this film will be completed in the best way possible and we are happy to support it. Our award goes to Up in the Air by Oksana Syhareva.”

Ex Oriente Fine Cut Award

The Ex Oriente Film project selected by the workshop lead tutors receives rough cut consultations with renowned film editor in value of 1 500 €.

The award goes to Shut the Fuck Up! (dir. Taisiia Kutuzov, prod. Stephane Siohan, Olga Beskhmelnitsyna, Ukraine, France)

“It’s not easy being young. It’s not easy to be brave. It’s even harder to be young and brave in a small town. Well-known American psychologist Phillip Zimbardo is touring the world with his next social experiment called the Heroic Imagination Project, which explores courage in everyday life. Courage, he says, is not the preserve of those who do not feel fear. Zimbardo teaches that courage can be learned. The protagonist of the film we have chosen to honour is courageous. His actions change the order of a world gripped in prejudice and corruption. An aggressive and unjustifiable war has now intervened in his life. A war that aims to destroy everything our young hero has fought for over the years. That must not happen. And it won’t. We also commend the filmmaker for her courage and talent. We want to help her testimony to be seen and heard by the whole free world and to support our young hero and his country. The prize goes to the project Shut the Fuck Up! by director Taisiia Kutuzova. Glory to free Ukraine.”

The Golden Funnel Award

The award for the most significant development within the workshop is granted to one Ex Oriente Film workshop participating team awarded 1 000 €. The financial support should help the filmmakers in further development and international promotion of their documentary film. Project is selected by the workshop lead tutors Mikael Opstrup, Iikka Vehkalahti, Filip Remunda and Ivana Pauerová Miloševičová.

The award goes to Runaway (dir. Marika Pecháčková, prod. Pavla Klimešová, Vít Klusák, Czech Republic)

“It has been our pleasure to spend the last year working with all of you talented filmmakers. The Golden Funnel award is given to the project, which has made the most significant development within the course of the workshop. Choosing just one has been a difficult decision to make, because all of you worked hard.

During the workshop, the director was looking for a way to talk about something that is kept quiet in “better families” out of politeness. She revealed that silence kills. She therefore decided to break the silence and establish an intimate dialogue within the family, of which the author becomes an organic part. She seeks wisdom in trauma. He masters psychological principles, and so the film brings hope that in trauma, apart from destruction, we can all find wisdom and a way out. For all this he has found an original cinematic language. We award the prize to an auteur who will not emotionally drain us, but inspire and uplift us. The Golden Funnel Awards goes to Marika Pecháčková – Runaway.”

Pitch the Doc Prize

The Pitch the Doc Prize is given to boost the progress of the credited project, providing it with dedicated curation and support in building international recognition and visibility. Consultation is held by an expert associated with Pitch the Doc, and takes place within 6 months of the Prize announcement, provided that the project is successfully validated on the Pitch the Doc platform.

The award goes to Pianoforte (dir. Jakub Piątek, prod. Maciej Kubicki, Poland)

“As Pitch the Doc we would like to contribute to boosting the international recognition of the project, which in current terrible circumstances reminds us that passions, emotions and talents may be engaged in shared human heritage. It shows us that there are values common for people from various parts of the world, despite their differences in cultures, origins and personalities. The Pitch the Doc Prize goes to Pianoforte.”

DAE Pitch Talent Encouragement Prize

Documentary Association of Europe is bringing to East Doc Platform the DAE Pitch Talent Encouragement Prize. The award consists of two free memberships for 12 months, valued at 100 € each and a bespoke mentoring session with a DAE member, depending on the needs of the project team.

The award goes to 5 Pills Away (dir. Karolina Domagalska, prod. Katarzyna Slesicka, Anna Stylinska)

DocsBarcelona Award

In cooperation with DocsBarcelona, one of the projects presented at the East Doc Forum is selected for the Speed Meetings at the 2022 DocsBarcelona. The meetings will be arranged previously depending on financers and projects preferences. The award enables the filmmakers to additionally present their project to the international decision makers and thus soon follow up on and broaden the deals and cooperation initiated at East Doc Platform. The project is selected by Mikael Opstrup.

“Making a character driven documentary is about turning events into a story while staying true to what happened to the characters. When these events concern childhood trauma for the director the bumpy creation process gets even tougher and more difficult. Combining emotional closeness with artistic distance is not easy.

How the result of this journey will appear on the screen I find very difficult to predict with this film but the recordings are very strong and the personal effort from the director even more so.

The Docs Barcelona Award goes to From 0 to 8 (dir. Danilo Cekovic, prod. Mario Adamson, Sergio C. Ayala, Sweden, Serbia).”

DOK Leipzig Accelerator Award for DOK Co-Pro Market

“The DOK Leipzig Accelerator Award for DOK Co-Pro Market for fast forward participation in the 18th DOK Co-Pro Market. The project will have the chance to present itself to international decision makers in tailor-made one to one meetings.

The award is given to Baltic UXO by Alexandra Belinski & Agne Dovydaityte and produced by Dagne Vildziunaite and Agne Dovydaityte for its unconventional visual approach to exploring a little known environmental threat in the Baltic and northern seas. Using exquisite cinematic language, the project shines a light to the dumping of tons of unexploded ordenances in the waters. What was perceived as a quick solution to dispose of harmful weapons after WW2 has become a long lasting danger to the sea and the communities living in its surroundings.”

Baltic UXO (dir. Agne Dovydaityte, Alexander Belinski, prod. Agne Dovydaityte, Dagne Vildziunaite, Lithuania)

DOK Leipzig Accelerator Award for DOK Preview Training

The statement: “The project is invited to present itself at the DOK preview presentation highlighting the best late stage projects from different training initiatives ready to hit the International market.

We are happy to award the prize to Pianoforte by Jakub Piatek and produced by Maciej Kubicki. An intriguing coming of age story driven by empathy, dreams and hope, which will compel audiences to root for the Young pianists and follow them on their journey to achieve their dreams.”

The award goes to Pianoforte (dir. Jakub Piątek, prod. Maciej Kubicki, Poland)

Sunny Side of the Doc Prize

The 33rd edition of the international marketplace for documentary and narrative experiences to be held online and in La Rochelle from 20 to 23 June is delighted to provide industry support and two complimentary accreditations to the creative team behind one project presented in the framework of East Doc Forum 2022. #StorytellingMatters This shared conviction will be the central theme to all Sunny Side of the Doc events in 2022, helping bring to light people, stories and actions which question, engage and impact globally.

The award goes to Dakar Sistaz (dir. Jakub Šmíd, Barbora Chalupová, prod. Zuzana Kučerová, Czech Republic)

The East Doc Platform is organized by the Institute of Documentary Film in association with One World Film Festival.