Polish film with an award at the Visions du Réel Festival
The film „An ordinary country” directed by Tomasz Wolski won an award at the Visions du Réel Festival. The Polish documentary won in the category for the most innovative medium-length film. The film was co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.
Visions du Réel has been organized in the Swiss city of Nyon since 1969. At the beginning of its existence, mainly Swiss films and productions from Eastern Bloc countries were shown, which were very difficult to see by audiences from Western Europe. It is currently one of the largest documentary film festivals in Europe. This year’s edition was entirely online.
„The Ordinary Country”, which premiered at the festival, is a „found footage” film, based on materials recorded by policemen and officers of the Polish security services, who in an unusual way recorded a portrait of communist Poland. They were everywhere, trying to remain invisible. They filmed from hiding in restaurants, on the street, in stores. They overheard phone calls. They recorded interrogations, during which they blackmailed, broke the interrogated and forced them to cooperate.
Film creators
The film director, Tomasz Wolski, is a member of the European Film Academy, Polish Film Academy and the Guild of Polish Documentary Directors. He is the author of short feature films „Problem” (2020 – before the premiere) and „Daughter” (2015) – awarded at the Angers Premiers Plan (Grand Prix and audience award) and at the Feature Film Festival in Gdynia. He also directed 14 documentary films, including „Festival” (2017), „Doctors” (2011), awarded at festivals at the Los Angeles Film Festival, Palm Springs Film Festival, Flickerfest Int. Film Festival in Sydney, Krakow Film Festival, Wroclaw New Horizons, Docs Against Gravity Film Festival and many others. He is the author of photos for, among others „Doctors” and „Krzyżoków”, for which he received two Golden Frogs at the Camerimage Festival, as well as the editor of „21 x New York”, nominated for the European Film Award.
Anna Gawlita, awarded as the best producer at the Era New Horizons Festival (2008) and Krakow Film Festival (2017) is responsible for the production of the film. A member of the Polish and European Film Academy, producer and director of film Production of films directed by, among others Tomasz Wolski, Piotr Stasik and Aleksandra Maciuszek, which were awarded at the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival, Krakow Film Festival, Palms Springs Film Festival, Margaret Mead in New York, Docs Against Gravity and many others. Currently, she is finishing work on the feature debut of the visual artist Agnieszka Polska „Hura, we are still alive”. In 2018, she made her independent directorial debut – a documentary film entitled „Krzyżoki”, for which he received, among others The Golden Frog at Camerimage and the Grand Prix at Cork Film Festival in Ireland, both qualifying for the Oscar nomination.