The Millennium Docs Against Gravity Festival, taking place in seven cities in Poland from Friday to May 19 and then online from May 21 to July 3, has grown exponentially in the last few years. In fact it is now, as the people behind it proclaim, the largest film festival in Poland.
Artistic director Karol Piekarczyk explains, “There is a culture of watching films and of watching films with subtitles in Poland. There are a lot of arthouse cinemas, in comparison to the U.K. for example. Even in small cities.”
Piekarczyk has worked for the festival for the past seven years and this edition will be his fourth as artistic director. He sees his job as “reminding everyone that our priority is and has always been the audience. However, we are a documentary festival, and whether we like it or not, audiences mainly choose films based on topic. We as programmers focus more on the quality.
Artistic director Karol Piekarczyk explains, “There is a culture of watching films and of watching films with subtitles in Poland. There are a lot of arthouse cinemas, in comparison to the U.K. for example. Even in small cities.”
Piekarczyk has worked for the festival for the past seven years and this edition will be his fourth as artistic director. He sees his job as “reminding everyone that our priority is and has always been the audience. However, we are a documentary festival, and whether we like it or not, audiences mainly choose films based on topic. We as programmers focus more on the quality.
- 5/8/2024
- by Murtada Elfadl
- Variety Film + TV
The Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival is coming off a successful — and at times turbulent — 26th edition, wrapping “amidst an explosive ambiance with episodes of violence and intolerance.”
In a post-festival report, TiDF says 66,000 spectators and visitors participated in the event this year, an increase of 16 percent over 2023. The festival ran from March 7-17 in Greece’s second largest city, nestled in a gulf of the Aegean Sea.
“This year’s TiDF hosted a great number of premieres, exciting talks and special events, and welcomed the internationally acclaimed artist Dimitris Papaioannou,” the festival noted in its report. “Moreover, it bestowed honorary Golden Alexanders to the Academy Award-winning Spanish filmmaker Fernando Trueba and the Greek film director, screenwriter, author and translator Panayotis Evangelidis.”
TiDF hosted more than 300 in-person screenings at several venues, as well as showcasing 133 documentaries through the festival’s online platform. The concurrent Agora film market played host to the...
In a post-festival report, TiDF says 66,000 spectators and visitors participated in the event this year, an increase of 16 percent over 2023. The festival ran from March 7-17 in Greece’s second largest city, nestled in a gulf of the Aegean Sea.
“This year’s TiDF hosted a great number of premieres, exciting talks and special events, and welcomed the internationally acclaimed artist Dimitris Papaioannou,” the festival noted in its report. “Moreover, it bestowed honorary Golden Alexanders to the Academy Award-winning Spanish filmmaker Fernando Trueba and the Greek film director, screenwriter, author and translator Panayotis Evangelidis.”
TiDF hosted more than 300 in-person screenings at several venues, as well as showcasing 133 documentaries through the festival’s online platform. The concurrent Agora film market played host to the...
- 3/29/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Iranian filmmaker Farahnaz Sharifi’s My Stolen Planet won the Golden Alexander at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival today, automatically qualifying the film for Oscar consideration.
The film, which held its world premiere at the Berlinale last month, combines the director’s memories with fragments of 8mm film recorded by others to examine the vitality of Iran before the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The Golden Alexander win comes with a €12,000 prize.
Jurors called My Stolen Planet, “A well-crafted and moving first-person essay that brilliantly confirms that every political reality has a subreality and that resistance comes in many forms, not least among them in the private realm.” My Stolen Planet also won the the Fipresci Award as the Best Documentary of the International Competition. [Scroll for full list of winners]
The Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival awards ceremony.
Forest, directed by Lidia Duda, claimed the Silver Alexander and a €5,000 prize. Jurors described that film as, “An observational portrait...
The film, which held its world premiere at the Berlinale last month, combines the director’s memories with fragments of 8mm film recorded by others to examine the vitality of Iran before the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The Golden Alexander win comes with a €12,000 prize.
Jurors called My Stolen Planet, “A well-crafted and moving first-person essay that brilliantly confirms that every political reality has a subreality and that resistance comes in many forms, not least among them in the private realm.” My Stolen Planet also won the the Fipresci Award as the Best Documentary of the International Competition. [Scroll for full list of winners]
The Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival awards ceremony.
Forest, directed by Lidia Duda, claimed the Silver Alexander and a €5,000 prize. Jurors described that film as, “An observational portrait...
- 3/17/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Iranian filmmaker Farahnaz Sharifi’s “My Stolen Planet,” an intimate family portrait of life during Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution, won the Golden Alexander at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival on Sunday, bringing a close to an emotional and politically charged week in Greece’s second city.
Using both the director’s personal archives and 8mm recordings of strangers’ lives, the film — which world premiered in the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama strand — uses an essayistic style to present the joy and vitality of life in Tehran in the 1970s, in contrast with the oppression imposed on the Iranian people by the country’s hardline regime.
The jury praised “My Stolen Planet” as “a well-crafted and moving first-person essay that brilliantly confirms that every political reality has a sub-reality and that resistance comes in many forms, not least among them in the private realm.”
In a pre-recorded video, Sharifi heralded the award...
Using both the director’s personal archives and 8mm recordings of strangers’ lives, the film — which world premiered in the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama strand — uses an essayistic style to present the joy and vitality of life in Tehran in the 1970s, in contrast with the oppression imposed on the Iranian people by the country’s hardline regime.
The jury praised “My Stolen Planet” as “a well-crafted and moving first-person essay that brilliantly confirms that every political reality has a sub-reality and that resistance comes in many forms, not least among them in the private realm.”
In a pre-recorded video, Sharifi heralded the award...
- 3/17/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The 26th edition of the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival (TiDF) kicks off today (March 7) with 12 features screening in international competition.
Several titles are making their world premiere at the festival including Johatsu - Into Thin Air from Andreas Hartmann and Arata Mori about the thousands of people who disappear in Japan each year.
Also playing is Sundance award-winner A New Kind Of Wilderness from Silje Evensmo Jacobsen. The Norweigan film, which won the grand jury prize in documentary, follows a family living in the wild who are forced to confront contemporary society after a tragic event.
Fellow Sundance-award winner Nocturnes...
Several titles are making their world premiere at the festival including Johatsu - Into Thin Air from Andreas Hartmann and Arata Mori about the thousands of people who disappear in Japan each year.
Also playing is Sundance award-winner A New Kind Of Wilderness from Silje Evensmo Jacobsen. The Norweigan film, which won the grand jury prize in documentary, follows a family living in the wild who are forced to confront contemporary society after a tragic event.
Fellow Sundance-award winner Nocturnes...
- 3/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
Berlin-based Rise and Shine World Sales has acquired international rights to Lidia Duda’s documentary “Forest,” which will have its world premiere at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.
Previously noticed at Ji.hlava, where it picked up the New Visions Award. Duda’s film focuses on a Polish family living right next to the oldest European forest, trying to create a safe haven for their children. But soon, they start noticing refugees stranded in the wilderness, unwelcome both in Poland and Belarus.
“From the beginning, we felt a strong connection to the story,” Rise and Shine manager Anja Dziersk says.
“The encounters of the family with the refugees, in the midst of the forest, bring world politics down to a very personal experience. It reflects on all of us: ‘What would I do in the same situation?’ Lidia Duda manages to create a film which is subjective yet highly relatable.”
The Polish director – also behind “Fledglings,...
Previously noticed at Ji.hlava, where it picked up the New Visions Award. Duda’s film focuses on a Polish family living right next to the oldest European forest, trying to create a safe haven for their children. But soon, they start noticing refugees stranded in the wilderness, unwelcome both in Poland and Belarus.
“From the beginning, we felt a strong connection to the story,” Rise and Shine manager Anja Dziersk says.
“The encounters of the family with the refugees, in the midst of the forest, bring world politics down to a very personal experience. It reflects on all of us: ‘What would I do in the same situation?’ Lidia Duda manages to create a film which is subjective yet highly relatable.”
The Polish director – also behind “Fledglings,...
- 2/15/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
The 26th Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival has revealed the lineup of the International Competition section, which includes “A New Kind of Wilderness,” winner of the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema – Documentary section of Sundance Film Festival. Thessaloniki Documentary Festival runs from March 7-17.
The films participating in the section have their world, international or European premiere at the festival.
The films compete for a number of awards, accompanied by monetary prizes. Among them are the Golden Alexander award, accompanied by a 12,000 euro prize, and the Silver Alexander award, accompanied by 5,000 euros.
The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival is an Oscars qualifying festival and the film that wins the Golden Alexander award will automatically be eligible to submit for Academy Awards consideration in the documentary feature category.
The documentaries that will participate in the International Competition section are as follows. (Descriptions supplied by the festival).
“A New Kind of Wilderness”
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen,...
The films participating in the section have their world, international or European premiere at the festival.
The films compete for a number of awards, accompanied by monetary prizes. Among them are the Golden Alexander award, accompanied by a 12,000 euro prize, and the Silver Alexander award, accompanied by 5,000 euros.
The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival is an Oscars qualifying festival and the film that wins the Golden Alexander award will automatically be eligible to submit for Academy Awards consideration in the documentary feature category.
The documentaries that will participate in the International Competition section are as follows. (Descriptions supplied by the festival).
“A New Kind of Wilderness”
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen,...
- 2/12/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Lidia Duda’s “Forest,” currently in development, emerged victorious at Ji.hlava Film Festival, picking up its first-ever New Visions Award for the most promising European project.
The trophy comes with post-production services valued at €15,000 and €5,000, courtesy of Upp and Soundsquare, respectively.
Polish doc – set to premiere in 2024 – also won #Docs Connect Taskovski training award, with Mike Crane’s “Recording Mary” singled out among this year’s U.S. projects.
Berlinale chief Carlo Chatrian and fellow jurors producer Michael Rogosin and New Horizons’ artistic director Ewa Szabłowska praised its ability to tackle one of the contradictions of the contemporary world, “where the aspirations for heaven on Earth are confronted with the harsh reality of Europe nowadays.”
It marks yet another success for Duda, an established filmmaker whose well-received “Fledglings” about visually impaired children premiered at Locarno earlier this year, scoring the Marco Zucchi Award.
Now, she will focus on a...
The trophy comes with post-production services valued at €15,000 and €5,000, courtesy of Upp and Soundsquare, respectively.
Polish doc – set to premiere in 2024 – also won #Docs Connect Taskovski training award, with Mike Crane’s “Recording Mary” singled out among this year’s U.S. projects.
Berlinale chief Carlo Chatrian and fellow jurors producer Michael Rogosin and New Horizons’ artistic director Ewa Szabłowska praised its ability to tackle one of the contradictions of the contemporary world, “where the aspirations for heaven on Earth are confronted with the harsh reality of Europe nowadays.”
It marks yet another success for Duda, an established filmmaker whose well-received “Fledglings” about visually impaired children premiered at Locarno earlier this year, scoring the Marco Zucchi Award.
Now, she will focus on a...
- 10/29/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Indonesian thriller ‘Autobiography’ and Mexican documentary ‘Sanson And Me’ among line-up.
Australia’s Adelaide Film Festival (Oct 19-30) has unveiled its first line-up since shifting from a biennial to an annual event, including 12 titles in competition.
This year’s event comprises 129 films, of which 22 world premieres, from more than 40 countries.
The competition features include Indonesian thriller Autobiography, which scooped a Fipresci prize at the weekend after playing in the Horizons strand of the Venice Film Festival. The debut feature of film critic-turned-director Makbul Mubarak is about a young man who keeps house for a retired general, finding himself torn between...
Australia’s Adelaide Film Festival (Oct 19-30) has unveiled its first line-up since shifting from a biennial to an annual event, including 12 titles in competition.
This year’s event comprises 129 films, of which 22 world premieres, from more than 40 countries.
The competition features include Indonesian thriller Autobiography, which scooped a Fipresci prize at the weekend after playing in the Horizons strand of the Venice Film Festival. The debut feature of film critic-turned-director Makbul Mubarak is about a young man who keeps house for a retired general, finding himself torn between...
- 9/12/2022
- by Sandy George
- ScreenDaily
Premiering at this year’s Locarno Film Festival, Lidia Duda’s Fledglings is an entrancing look at a trio of seven year olds who bravely travel far from home to board at a school for the visually impaired. Forced to rely only on themselves, their teachers — and most importantly one another — Zosia, Oskar and Kinga spend their days mastering everything from handrails to utensils, to spelling words and playing the piano. Not to mention navigating often overwhelming emotions. (At least for the creative Zosia and sensitive Oskar, whose developmental disabilities can sometimes stress the besties out. Kinga, on the other […]
The post “Without the Consent of our Child Protagonists We Would Not Have Made the Film”: Lidia Duda on her Locarno-Premiering Doc Fledglings first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Without the Consent of our Child Protagonists We Would Not Have Made the Film”: Lidia Duda on her Locarno-Premiering Doc Fledglings first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 8/12/2022
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Premiering at this year’s Locarno Film Festival, Lidia Duda’s Fledglings is an entrancing look at a trio of seven year olds who bravely travel far from home to board at a school for the visually impaired. Forced to rely only on themselves, their teachers — and most importantly one another — Zosia, Oskar and Kinga spend their days mastering everything from handrails to utensils, to spelling words and playing the piano. Not to mention navigating often overwhelming emotions. (At least for the creative Zosia and sensitive Oskar, whose developmental disabilities can sometimes stress the besties out. Kinga, on the other […]
The post “Without the Consent of our Child Protagonists We Would Not Have Made the Film”: Lidia Duda on her Locarno-Premiering Doc Fledglings first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Without the Consent of our Child Protagonists We Would Not Have Made the Film”: Lidia Duda on her Locarno-Premiering Doc Fledglings first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 8/12/2022
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
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