"Joanna" Awarded in Leipzig

November 2 marked the awards ceremony of the 56th DOK Leipzig Film Festival. Among films awarded at this year’s festival was Joanna, a film directed by Aneta Kopacz and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, which received the Prize of the Youth Jury.

“Joanna is not afraid of death, but of leaving her family behind. Strong emotional pictures let us clearly feel that there has been a particularly strong bond between mother and son […]. The camera provides an understanding of the psychic situation of the people in the film, while respecting their privacy at the same time. The film has deeply moved us, so that we will keep it in our memories for a long time. It teaches us that one should never give up, however tragic the circumstances are, and always battle on,” reads the jury statement.

Award for Joanna

Joanna previously received recognition in the Magic Hour Competition at the 10th Planete+ Doc Film Festival in Warsaw, and most recently received the prestigious Silver Eye award at the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival.

Polish Films in Leipzig

The lineup of this year’s edition of the DOK. Leipzig film festival featured a total of twelve Polish films – seven documentaries and five animated films. In addition to Joanna, the documentary competition sections screened Dziennik z podróży (A Diary of a Journey) by Piotr Stasik, Kiedy będę ptakiem (When I Am a Bird) by Monika Pawluczuk, and Deep Love by Jan P. Matuszyński. Out-of-competition screenings included Niewiadoma Henryka Fasta (The Love Equation of Henryk Fast) by Agnieszka Elbanowska, Ojciec i syn (Father and Son) by Paweł Łoziński and Matka 24h (Mother 24/7) by Marcin Janos Krawczyk. Four of the Polish animated films screening in Leipzig were shown in competition: Ziegenort by Tomasz Popakul, Zmysły prysły (Lost Senses) by Marcin Wasilewski, and, premiering in Germany, Łaźnia (Baths) by Tomasz Ducki and Kochanie (Darling), a German-Polish co-production directed by Izabela Plucińska. The out-of-competition lineup featured Ab Ovo, a film by Anita Kwiatkowska-Naqvi.

A complete list of films awarded in Leipzig is available at: www.dok-leipzig.de.

Press release

Translated by Karolina Kołtun