Beware of Mr. Baker!, Colombianos, Letter, Love – Festival’s best films
JURY VERDICTS
INTERNATIONAL MUSIC DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION DocFilmMusic
Having seen all the competition films, the DocFilmMusic Jury consisting of: Petr Zelenka – the chairman (the Czech Republic), Jeroen Berkvens (the Netherlands), Andy Markowitz (the UK) has decided to award:
GOLDEN HEYNAL for the Director of the Best Film – Jay Bulger, the director of BEWARE OF MR. BAKER (USA).
In documentaries about music and musicians, you want a film that showcases talent on both sides of the camera – that tells a compelling story with cinematic skill. Among the DocFilmMusic competitors, the jury felt the movie that most closely matched this criteria was Beware of Mr. Baker directed by Jay Bulger. In profiling the drummer, Ginger Baker, Bulger has a compelling main character, to be sure. In many ways the story is a cliché – the rock star from the 60s who abused himself and everyone around him. In this case, the film does not try to rehabilitate its subject, to make us love or forgive him. Ginger Baker is a brilliant musician and a complete asshole, and Beware of Mr. Baker shows us both sides clearly.
Most of all, in keeping with the independent spirit of this festival, we wanted to recognize this achievement by a first-time director who was not even a filmmaker before this movie, but who found a story he wanted to tell and talked his way into doing it. The film has flaws and some of the self-indulgence that can come with a first time filmmaker, but it is also made with confidence, humor, and verve, with stylized touches that illuminate what was already a very wild ride.
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Having seen all the competition films, the International Documentary Competition Jury consisting of: Sergey Dvortsevoy – Chairman (Russia), Marion Döring (Germany), David Fisher (Israel), Veton Nurkollari (Kosovo), Jerzy Zieliński (Poland) has decided to award:
GOLDEN HORN for the Director of the Best Film: forTora Mårtens, the director of COLOMBIANOS (Sweden, Finland).
With the camera always ready to catch the right moment and the right place, with an intimate yet never embarrassing approach, with a unique access and a lot of respect for the characters, the filmmaker Tora Mårtens and cameraman Erik Vallsten follow the protagonists to deliver a universal message of coming to terms with how much family members can care for each other – and of understanding that we barely have control over our own lives and very limited responsibility towards others. Set against the problem of drugs and alcohol addiction, this family drama unfolds, leaving us thinking not only about Pablo, Fernando and their mother but also about ourselves.
SILVER HORN for the Director of the Best Medium-Length Documentary: for Marat Sargsyan, the director of THE FATHER (Lithuania).
This portrayal of a controversial man avoids any attempt of judgment on the part of the filmmaker and relies on the impact of the images.
SILVER HORN for the Director of the Best Feature-Length Documentary: for Marcel Łoziński, the director of FATHER AND SON ON A JOURNEY and Paweł Łoziński, the director of FATHER AND SON (Poland).
Is sharing the same profession between a father and a son a curse or a blessing? And can a film be used to reconcile this and other family matters? Two famous filmmakers, a father and a son, embark on a journey in search of answers to these and other questions: their filmmaking skills, the tool in their hands and the road in front of them, a source of inspiration. The result is a unique cinematic experiment and a testament to their mutual love, despite the complexity of their relationship.
SPECIAL MENTION:
A WORLD NOT OURSdirected by Mahdi Fleifel (UK, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon).
Having seen all the competition films, the International Short Film Competition Jury consisting of: Andrzej Jakimowski – Chairman (Poland), Igor Kovalyov (Russia), Maike Mia Höhne (Germany), Sourav Sarangi (India) has decided to award the following prizes:
TO THY HEART, directed by Ewa Borysewicz (Poland) – for capturing the complexity of emotions using simple means in a very distinctive, personal way.
Don Quichote Award to the film TIRED OF BEING HANDSOME,directed by Léo Marchand and Anne-Laure Daffis (France).
In the spirit of Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot”, Anne-Laure Daffis and Léo Marchand ‘s poetic western is a metaphor for man’s struggle to find a meaning in the meaningless. The two protagonists of opposite personalities long for paradise – in this case Mexico- hoping to find a better life. But until then, they have to find a reason for their existence, not realising that everything will start again from the beginning. Great actors and well composed cinemascope images tell us this minimalist ic though surprising poem, which is a mirror of our own existence and its meaning.
It’s a very deep, personal and touching portrayal of a generation born and maturing, not only musically, in the beginnings of free Poland.
For taking an analytical look at the inhabitants of a Warsaw housing complex. It’s a brutal, full of aggression story about an escape from the margins of society into the territory of the ‘normals’.
A DIARY OF A JOURNEY, directed by Piotr Stasik
Set in the countryside, it’s a malleable story about a growing up buy sunk deep in his own complexes.
TO THY HEART, directed by Ewa Borysewicz
An interesting account of growing up and initiation set in a Polish town.
KILLING AUNTIE, directed by Mateusz Głowacki.
The film intrigued us with its form and able play with convention which skilfully balances between black humour, grotesque, and a crime story. Among many good productions, this one attracted our attention with its freshness and an unusual approach to the subject.
HBO DEVELOPMENT AWARD for the film project LOVE XXXXL directed by Joanna Frydrych (Poland).