Three Polish productions in the Hot Docs Festival program
Co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, the films „Between Us” by Dorota Proba, „Dani Karavan” by Barak Heymann and Łukasz Konopa as well as „Tell me more” by Martyna Peszko were included in the program of the Hot Docs Festival in Toronto. The largest documentary film festival in North America takes place from April 29 to May 9, 2021.
The World Showcase category will present the film „Between Us” directed by Dorota Proba with cinematography by Weronika Bilska. Its producers are: Ewa Jastrzębska, Jerzy Kapuściński, Wojciech Marczewski and Karolina Mróz and they represent the Polish Filmmakers Association, Munk Studio and Wajda Studio. The image was presented at the Krakow Film Festival, and at the Millennium Docs Against Gravity, where it won two awards: the Best Polish Film Award and the Audience Award.
Is there a recipe for a successful relationship? Can love withstand the test of time? Three couples, which differ in terms of their age, experience and the relationship’s duration, reveal their fears and dreams related to their life together in front of the camera. Dorota Proba approaches her protagonists with great sensitivity, and they respond with total frankness. The result is a very intimate and warm film, not without some difficult questions, surprising answers, intense emotions and humor, just like life itself.
Artscapes
The Artscapes section includes the Israeli-Polish co-production „High Maintenance”. It will be the international premiere of the film directed by Barak Heymann and Łukasz Konopa, who is also the cinematographer. The Polish co-producer is Vision House Productions.
The hero of the document is Dani Karawan, an 87-year-old Israeli author of monumental outdoor sculptures, who has created nearly 100 environmental installations all across the world. He has won some of the most prestigious international art awards and is constantly asked to speak or lecture about his groundbreaking work. Yet Karavan is far from satisfied. His advanced age is starting to catch up with him. In breaks between medical examinations, Dani travels to say goodbye to his beautiful works scattered all over the globe, including France, Korea, Poland, Portugal and Israel. It is a film about an exceptional artist, a man full of joy of life, but also easily angry, whose all works deal with the subject of memory (people and events in the immediate history), and who himself is currently struggling with the threat of memory loss.
Shorts
In turn, the Shorts section will feature the film „Tell Me More” directed by Martyna Peszko, who is also the author of the script and cinematography. It will be its American premiere. Olga Kalagate was responsible for editing, Mateusz Adamczyk and Martyna Peszko for sound, and Natalia Grzegorzek was the producer of the film.
Barbara (67) has been suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis for five years. She is bedridden. Once a year, when Barbara’s husband goes on vacation, the person responsible for taking care of her becomes her daughter – Martyna (36). She cooks, feeds, cleans and nurses her mother. Because of the loss of muscle control, Barbara is only able to communicate by moving her eyes. She looks left for „yes” and right for „no”. Letter after letter Martyna deciphers words, sentences, and meanings. They both long very much for those conversations sensing that the end is near.
Industry Conference
The festival is accompanied by industry events. One of them is Industry Conference, which will be held on May 3 to 7 online and free of charge. The full conference program is available at: hotdocs.ca/i/ind-program