„Once There Was a Sea…” awarded at the festival in Clermont-Ferrand

The animated documentary „Once There Was a Sea …” by Joanna Kożuch, co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, received the Student Prize in the competition of the International Short Film Festival in Clermont-Ferrand. Its edition was held from January 28 to February 5, 2022.

Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival is the most important and largest short film festival in the world. In terms of audience and the presence of film industry professionals, it is the second largest film festival in France after Cannes.

This year, 6,200 films from 55 countries around the world were submitted, 77 of which were selected for the international competition, including 51 feature films, 10 documentaries and 16 animated films. In addition to the award-winning documentary „Once There Was a Sea”, the animated short film „Five Minutes older” by Sarah Szymańska was presented in the competition from Poland. In turn, the Lab Competition section included Julia Siuda’s „Fury”, and in the Euro Connection program during the film fair – the project  „I am not here anymore” by Nawojka Wierzbowska.

„Once There Was a Sea …”

The animated documentary was inspired by the stories and fate of the last inhabitants of Mujnak, a city in western Uzbekistan. In the 1920s, Soviet planners in those areas wanted to create huge cotton plantations. A system of canals was implemented to irrigate these areas, making large rivers lose their power, which later led to the disappearance of the Aral Sea. It was actually only a salty desert. Thanks to the film, we get to know Svetlana, staring at the salty desert with her only eye, and Gulshat who runs an empty hotel. The captain records the traces of the disappearing sea, and Sergey guides the tourists along its bare, shiny seabed. They all remember the original shore of the Aral Sea, which is drying up today.

The animated documentary directed by Joanna Kożuch combines 2D and rotoscopic animation with the use of sand, and was co-produced by Anima-pol Sp. z o.o. (majority producer), Slovak plackartnyj and BFilm, TVP, EC1 Łódź and Radio and Television Slovakia. The international sales agent of the film is Miyu Distribution, and the promotion on the Polish market is handled by MOMAKIN in Łódź.