"REFUGIADO" WINS CÓNDOR DE PLATA AWARDS

Pod ochroną (Refugiado), an international co-production directed by Diego Lerman and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, received three Cóndor de Plata awards of the Argentine Film Critics Association.

This year marked the 63rd edition of the Argentine Film Critics Association’s [Asociación de Cronistas Cinematográficos de la Argentina (ACCA)] annual awards, presented in over twenty categories.

Pod ochroną (Refugiado) Recognized in Argentina

Refugiado (Polish title: Pod ochroną), a co-production between Argentina, Colombia, Poland and France, received a total of three Cóndor de Plata awards: Best Film, Best Original Screenplay (Diego Lerman and María Meira), and Best Actress (Julieta Díaz). Argentina’s Oscar candidate Wild Tales, a film by Damián Szifrón, received a total of seven awards.

World Premiere in Cannes

Refugiado is often described as an urban road movie and unique type of family thriller. The film tells the story of concealed domestic violence as seen through the eyes of a child. Seven-year-old Matias is the victim of the conflict between his mother and father and does everything in his power to save the world he knows. The film had its world premiere at the 67th Cannes International Film Festival, screening in Directors’ Fortnight.

Adventures in Argentina

“We first went to Argentina in 1999, while working on our documentary El Misionero. That’s also when our son Janek was born. Our ties with Argentina turned out to be so strong that we went back nine years later and made another documentary: Argentyńska lekcja (Argentinian Lesson). It was about this time that the feature co-productions also started,” says Wojciech Staroń.

It was during production of Argentyńska lekcja (Argentinian Lesson) that Staroń met the director of Refugiado. “Diego Lerman’s producer has Polish roots, so we got in touch. At first we were planning to make a documentary film about Gombrowicz, but our cooperation quickly developed into working on Refugiado,” says Małgorzata Staroń.

A Film Supported by the Polish Film Institute

Refugiado was directed by Argentinian director Diego Lerman, director of award-winning films such as The Invisible Eye, Meanwhile, and Suddenly. Wojciech Staroń was the film’s director of photography. Małgorzata Staroń (Staron-Film) is the film’s Polish producer. Distribution in Poland is handled by the New Horizons Association. The film was co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

Translated by Karolina Kołtun

24.06.2015