Three Polish films with awards at the festival in Locarno
Co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, „The Hamlet Syndrome” directed by Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski received the Grand Prix and the „Boccalino d’Oro” award for the best documentary film during the Film Critics Week at the International Film Festival in Locarno. „The Fledglings” by Lidia Duda received the Marco Zucchi Prize. In addition, the jury’s special mention for the first film was awarded to the picture „Love Dog” (dir. Bianca Lucas). The 75th edition of the festival was held on 3-13 August, 2022.
The Locarno Film Festival is one of the oldest film festivals in the world, next to events in Cannes, Venice and Karlovy Vary. In turn, Semaine de la Critique is an independent section, organized since 1990 with the Swiss Association of Film Critics.
In addition to the awarded films, this year also shows such productions from Poland as: „My Neighbor Adolf” (dir. Leon Prudovsky) – in the Piazza Grande section, and a short animation „Misaligned” (dir. Marta Magnuska) – in the Pardi competition di Domani. In addition, three Polish producers, Marta Lewandowska (Friends with Benefits Studio), Dawid Szurmiej (Studio Agart) and Kuba Kosma (Heart), took part in the Match Me program.
„The Hamlet Syndrome”
The documentary directed by Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski, who are also the authors of the script, premiered at the Krakow Film Festival, where it won a number of awards, including Golden Hobby Horse for the best Polish film or a jury award in a documentary competition. At the festival in Locarno, it will be presented as part of the Semaine de la Critique. The cinematographer for the film is Piotr Rosołowski. Marcin Lenarczyk and Jarosław Sadowski were responsible for the sound, and Agata Cierniak was responsible for the editing. The film was produced by Magdalena Kamińska and Agata Szymańska (Balapolis)
In the description of „The Hamlet Syndrome”: A young Ukrainian theater director goes deep into the country in search of a contemporary Hamlet. Her art becomes the beginning of creating an intriguing portrait of the young generation of Ukrainians, marked by the war and numerous political upheavals.
„The Fledglings”
This feature-length documentary directed by Lidia Duda will be shown as part of the Semaine de la Critique section. The authors of the photos are: Wojciech Staroń and Zuzanna Zachara-Hassairi, Krzysztof Ridan was responsible for the sound, and Anna Bławut-Mazurkiewicz (Aura Films) was responsible for the production. The painting, co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, was co-produced with TVP S.A., the Mazowieckie Institute of Culture and LunaFilm.
Full of fantasy and character Zosia, insecure, sensitive Oskar, independent but shy Kinga – they start learning in a boarding school for blind and partially sighted children. They are like fledglings. They are 7 years old and too young to leave their family home. In such difficult times as separation from their parents they try to help each other … This is a film about the life lesson of “flying” and about what allows us to survive each new day, even if the world around us collapses.
„Love Dog”
This micro-budget film, which will be shown in the competition of the first and second feature films (Concorso Cineasti del presente), was directed by Bianca Lucas. This is her first feature film. It was made in the summer of 2020 and in the winter of 2021 in Mississippi, United States. The author of the photos is Józefina Gocman. The film is about sadness, trauma and the ideological breakdown of identity, both personal and collective. It’s a picture about learning to live among the ghosts of our past – about mourning, love and a broken heart.
The film’s description: After finishing work on an oil rig in Texas, John returns to his hometown in Mississippi, where he will finally be confronted with mourning over the death of his girlfriend. Ineffectively trying to drown out his pain, he discovers that grace and healing come on time, through unlikely soul encounters.