Polish Films at 56th DOK.Leipzig

Seven Polish documentary films and five animated films in the festival lineup, and a further ten films at the DOK.Market; Poland’s film presence at this year’s edition of the DOK.Leipzig festival promises to be truly impressive.

October 28 marks the launch of the 56th edition of the DOK.Leipzig film festival. This year’s edition brings seven new Polish documentary films to Leipzig audiences.

Films Co-Financed by the Polish Film Institute Screening in Competition

Dziennik z podróży (A Diary of a Journey) by Piotr Stasik and Joanna by Aneta Kopacz will screen in the International Documentary Film Competition, while Kiedy będę ptakiem (When I’m a Bird) by Monika Pawluczuk is in the lineup of the International Short Documentary Competition. The Leipzig screenings will mark the international premieres of all three films. Meanwhile Deep Love, a film by Jan P. Matuszyński, will have its world premiere at DOK.Leipzig, screening in the festival’s Young Cinema Competition. All films mentioned above have been co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

The festival’s out-of-competition International Documentary Programme features 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. The DOK.Leipzig screenings mark the international premiere of Niewiadoma Henryka Fasta (The Love Equation of Henryk Fast), and the German premiere of the two latter films.

Polish Animated Films in DOK.Leipzig Lineup

The world of Polish animated filmmaking will have an equally strong presence at the DOK.Leipzig festival. Four Polish films were selected for screening in this year’s competition: Ziegenort by Tomasz Popakul, Zmysły prysły (Lost Senses) by Marcin Wasilewski, and, screening for the first time in Germany, Łaźnia (Baths) by Tomasz Ducki and Kochanie (Darling), a Polish-German film by Izabela Plucińska. The out-of-competition animated film lineup will feature Ab Ovo, a six-minute film by Anita Kwiatkowska-Naqvi. It might be worth noting that one of Poland’s animated filmmakers has already enjoyed great success in Leipzig; in 2007, Tomasz Ducki received the Golden Dove award for Best Animated Film for Life Line, a film produced by Hungary’s MOME.

Polish Films Awarded in Germany

Polish documentary films have also enjoyed success at previous editions of the Leipzig festival. In 2008, Marcin Koszałka’s Do bólu (Till It Hurts) received the Golden Dove Award. In 2009, Paweł Łoziński’s Chemia (Chemo) received the MDR award, while 17 sierpnia (17 August) by Aleksander Gutman received special mention in the short film competition. The 2010 edition of the festival brought even more awards for Polish films; the Golden Dove award went to Vodka Factory, directed by Jerzy Śladkowski, a Polish filmmaker based in Sweden, while the top prize in the short film category went to Kawałek lata (A Piece of Summer) by Marta Minorowicz. At the 53rd DOK.Leipzig festival, Marcin Sauter’s Na północ od Kalabrii (North of Calabria) received the Ecumenical Jury Prize and the trade unions’ ver.di prize. In 2011, Wojciech Staroń’s Argentyńska lekcja (Argentine Lesson) received the Silver Dove award, while Kołysanka z Phnom Penh (Phnom Penh Lullaby) by Paweł Kloc received special mention in the Young Talents Competition.

DOK.Market

Ten Polish films have been invited to participate in DOK.Market, DOK.Leipzig festival’s film market. The films are: Self(less)-Portrait by Matej Bobrik, Ojciec i syn w podróży (Father and Son on a Journey) by Marcel Łoziński, Będziesz legendą, człowieku (You’re Gonna Be a Legend, Man) and Zabójca z lubieżności (Lust Killer) by Marcin Koszałka, Madame Tyson by Edward Porembny, Miłość bez ustawki (I Love a Hooligan) by Kamil Król, Inny film (The Odd Movie) by Brygida Frosztęga-Kmiecik, Miłość (Love) by Filip Dzierżawski, Wszystko jest możliwe (Everything Is Possible) by Lidia Duda, and Marionetista (The Man Who Made Angels Fly) by Wiktoria Szymańska.

DOK.Incubator

Two Polish documentary works in progress will also be presented at DOK.Leipzig. This year’s edition of the DOK.Incubator workshop will feature Życie motyla (Life of a Butterfly) by Piotr Bernaś, a film about modern-day gladiators, their arena and bloodshed, and about the deliberate self-destruction of a radical rebel and world champion in fighting. Birdwatching, a project by Katarzyna Trzaska, produced by ZYGIZAGA Films, has been selected as one of 35 projects to screen at the DOK.Leipzig Co-Production Meeting. The film is set in Poland’s Biebrza National Park, where ornithologists from around the world gather for a week of water-fowl hatching.

Further details about the lineup of the 56th DOK.Leipzig Film Festival are available at: www.dok-leipzig.de.

Source: www.polishdocs.pl.

Translated by Karolina Kołtun