"At the Edge of Russia" Awarded

Koniec Rosji (At the Edge of Russia) by Michał Marczak is among the winners of the Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto, one of the world’s top documentary film events.


May 6 brought the awards ceremony, where the HBO Documentary Films Emerging Artist Award went to Michał Marczak for his film Koniec Rosji (At the Edge of Russia). After a win at the Visions du Réel festival in Nyon, this marks yet another key award for Marczak’s film.

 

At the Edge of Russia is the story of 19-year-old soldier Alexei who begins his military service at a remote border post in northern Russia. This is one of many border posts guarding the vast uninhabited areas of Russia along the Arctic Ocean. There are six soldiers at the watchtower. Each one has been there long, perhaps too long. Some of them have sad secrets. It is difficult for them to return to the real world and to their own past. It is easier to continue their absurd duty of guarding the snow-covered distant northern frontiers of their homeland, located hundreds of miles from the nearest inhabited village.

 

In addition to At the Edge of Russia, three other Polish documentaries screened in competition at this year’s Hot Docs festival: Poza zasięgiem (Out of Reach) by Jakub Stożek, Phnom Penh Lullaby by Paweł Kloc, and Takie życie (That’s Life) by Daniel Zieliński.

 

Further details about this year’s award winners available at www.hotdocs.ca.

 

Source: www.polishdocs.pl.

 

Translated by Karolina Kołtun

09.05.2011