"Deep Love" Wins the 36th Moscow IFF
Deep Love
Deep Love, a film directed by Jan P. Matuszyński and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, received the top prize in the Documentary Film Competition at the 36th Moscow International Film Festival.
Silver St. George Award for Deep Love
The lineup of this year’s edition of the ‘Free Thought’ international documentary film competition consisted of eight films from around the world. The winner of the Silver St. George award for best documentary at the 36th Moscow IFF was Deep Love, a Polish production directed by Jan P. Matuszyński and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. The competition films were judged by international jury members Shean McAllister, Amir Labaki and Alina Rudnitskaya.
Deep Love
Asia is a diving instructor who is passionate about working under water with disabled people. Her life partner Janusz, an experienced diver, suffered a stroke three years ago. Unable to pursue his passion, Janusz has lost his will to live. Together with his friend Artur, he plans an excursion to one of the most dangerous diving spots in the world: the Blue Hole in Dahab. Asia knows that taking up diving again is Janusz’s way of getting his pre-stroke life back. Will Asia support Janusz in making his dream come true, despite the danger that deep-sea diving poses for a disabled individual? How will Janusz, paralyzed ever since his stroke, rise to the challenge?
A Film Supported by the Polish Film Institute
Deep Love was produced by Otter Films, HBO and Cor Leonis Production, and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. The Moscow award marks yet another award for Matuszyński’s film, following the Silver Horn award for Best Feature Documentary Film at the 54th Krakow Film Festival. Deep Love was also presented at the second edition of Docs to go!.
Awards for Films Co-Financed by the Polish Film Institute
Previous editions of the Moscow International Film Festival also brought a number of awards for films co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. In 2013, the winner of the documentary film competition was Ojciec i syn (Father and Son), a film by Paweł Łoziński. In 2011, Urszula Grabowska, the lead actress in Feliks Falk’s Joanna, received the Silver St. George Award for Best Actress, while the film itself received the Award of Russian Journalists and the Award of Russian Film Clubs. In 2010, Jan Kidawa-Błoński was recognized as Best Director for his work on Różyczka (Little Rose), while Borys Lankosz’s Rewers (Reverse) was voted best film in the festival’s ‘Perspectives’ section. In 2009, Mała Moskwa (Little Moscow), a film by Waldemar Krzystek, received the festival’s audience award.
Moscow IFF
The Moscow International Film Festival is considered to be one of the key film events in the world. The director of the festival is Russian actor-director Nikita Mikhalkov. This year, in addition to Deep Love, Moscow audiences had an opportunity to see Krzysztof Skonieczny’s Hardkor Disko in Main Competition, Lech Majewski’s Psie Pole (Field of Dogs) in the ‘Heavenly Euphoria’ section, and a retrospective of films by Krzysztof Zanussi.
Further details about the festival are available at www.moscowfilmfestival.ru.
Paulina Bez
Translated by Karolina Kołtun