"BROTHERS" WINS BEST FILM AT 58TH DOK LEIPZIG

Bracia (Brothers), a documentary film directed by Wojciech Staroń and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, received the Golden Dove Grand Prize of the 58th DOK Leipzig IFF, which closed on November 1.

Bracia (Brothers) Voted Best Film in International Competition Long Documentary

The lineup of this year’s International Competition Long Documentary and Animated Film featured a total of twelve documentary films from around the world. Jury members Min-chul Kim, Ulla Simonen and Jasmila Zbanic recognized Wojciech Staroń’s film for “its extreme poetry and great cinematography.” In the jury statement, the winner of the Golden Dove was described as follows: “In a world struggling under major crisis we see a film that absorbs its viewer; [the] spectator becomes a part of the film.”

At the 58th DOK Leipzig IFF, Wojciech Staroń’s Bracia (Brothers) also received the Ecumenical Jury Prize from jury members Roza Berger-Fiedler, Lucia Cuocci, Jakob Hoffmann, Houda Ibrahim, and Christof Wolf. As the jury statement reads: “Scenes of great closeness and sometimes funny arguments convey the strong connection between the brothers.”

The DOK Leipzig festival also brought the MDR Film Prize for an Outstanding Eastern European Film for Czarodziejska góra (The Magic Mountain), an animated documentary film also co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. The jury called Anca Damian’s latest film “a work that impressively bears witness to how the medium [of] film is able to repeatedly reinvent itself.”

Polish Award Winners in Leipzig

In recent years, Polish films have often been featured in the DOK Leipzig lineup, not only in competition but also at the festival’s sidebar Co-Production Forum. Polish films that have received awards at DOK Leipzig to date include Do bólu (Till It Hurts) by Marcin Koszałka, Kawałek lata (A Piece of Summer) by Marta Minorowicz, Na północ od Kalabrii (North of Calabria) by Marcin Sauter, Vodka Factory by Jerzy Śladkowski, Joanna by Aneta Kopacz, and Chemia (Chemo) by Paweł Łoziński. In 2011, the Silver Dove award went to Wojciech Staroń’s Argentyńska lekcja (Argentinian Lesson), while Kołysanka z Phnom Penh (Phnom Penh Lullaby) by Paweł Kloc received special mention in the Young Talents Competition. In 2014, Efekt domina (The Domino Effect) by Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski received the top prize in DOK Leipzig’s German Competition at the 57th edition of the festival.

Further details are available on the festival website: www.dok-leipzig.de.

Translated by Karolina Kołtun