Eliza Kubarska's Film Awarded at Hot Docs

Badjao. Duchy z morza (Walking Under Water), photo by David Kaszlikowski

Badjao. Duchy z morza (Walking Under Water), a film directed by Eliza Kubarska and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, received the Special Jury Prize at the 21st Hot Docs festival in Toronto, Canada – one of the world’s most prestigious and North America’s largest documentary film festival.

Badjao. Duchy z morza (Walking Under Water) is a story about the last days of the Badjao tribe of Borneo who live in harmony with nature and are renowned for their exceptional diving skills. The film’s plot focuses on the story of an experienced diver and his young nephew.

A Film Produced with Support from the Polish Film Institute and Documentary Fans

Co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, the film is a creative collaboration between director Eliza Kubarska and producer Monika Braid, as well as documentary film enthusiasts who helped finance the film through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.

Polish audiences will have an opportunity to see Badjao (Walkig Under Water) at the Planete+ Doc festival, where the film is set to have its Polish premiere, screening in the festival’s Main Competition. Audiences will have an opportunity to see Eliza Kubarska’s documentary in Warsaw, Wrocław and Bydgoszcz.

Hot Docs

Hot Docs is the largest documentary film festival in North America and one of the key events on the world stage of documentary filmmaking. In addition to showcasing documentary films from around the world, Hot Docs features the Doc Shop film market and pitching forum, as well as various conferences, panel discussions, and workshops. This year’s Hot Docs audiences had an opportunity to see 197 documentaries from 43 countries in the festival’s twelve sections. Badjao. Duchy z morza (Walking Under Water) screened in the festival’s International Spectrum feature documentary competition. This year’s edition of the festival marked almost 2,500 submitted projects.

The trailer for Eliza Kubarska’s documentary is available at: www.vimeo.com.

Further details about the 21st Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival are available at: www.hotdocs.ca.

Marta Sikorska

Translated by Karolina Kołtun