Unusual film stories about women within the frames of the documentary film series ” World Stories. Women’s world.”
World Stories is a permanent non-competing section of the Krakow Film Festival, which transports the viewers to the most distant corners of the world. This year, the protagonists of the documentary films are women, mothers, daughters, wives and their struggle with the often confusing fate. In these stories, women’s strength comes to the fore, as well as the irreplaceable solidary support in the struggle with hardships of the world.
Within the frames of the series, we get acquainted with diverse stories of female protagonists from Iran, Nicaragua, Israel, Hungary, Australia and the American prairie. Among them, there are warriors, rebels, but also women for whom the fate turned out to be unkind. They share the dreams of freedom and happiness against all odds, emphasizes Krzysztof Gierat, the Director of the Festival.
“Lili” is a shocking story about how trauma can affect three generations of women. The daughter of the eponymous protagonist sets out on a journey throughout three continents to discover family secrets and to confront her loved ones with the dramatic past. The film presents an emotional study of a woman – a mother who abandoned her own child. Are we able to look at her without judging her?
Kosher Beach, dir. Karin Kainer 
Ninosca, dir. Peter Torbiörnsson 
The Unseen , dir. Behzad Nalbandi
The eponymous protagonist of the next film in the section, “Ninosca” also abandons her children. Amazingly, the film camera accompanies her for over 40 years, observes her childhood in a small village in Nicaragua, watches her as she enters adulthood, and finally escapes from a violent relationship. In pursuit of freedom and sense of dignity, full of strength and determination, she tries to find a better life in Europe.
“Kosher Beach” is a quiet place on the coast of Tel Aviv, separated only by a fence from the rest of the world. This is where women can bathe freely without the presence of men, except for the male lifeguards who watch over their safety. A group of orthodox Jewish women finds a peaceful space on this beach, away from social and family problems and hermetic communities. Faced with the threat of the beach being closed by the rabbis, the women unite and decide to fight for it.
The protagonists of the film “Glitter & Dust,” with their passion and determination, entered the world of rodeo, so strongly dominated by men. Four girls face the image and the myths of the Wild West, and free themselves from the conservative stereotypes. In the world which once belonged only to their fathers and brothers, they prove that the words “you ride like a girl” are not an insult, but a compliment.
The list closes with the most interesting film as far as form is concerned. “The Unseen” is a bitter animated documentary film about several women living in the centre for the homeless in Tehran. Their voices in the mouths of animated cardboard characters give irony and distance to the extremely sad story, creating moving and intimate portraits of the protagonists. They exist in a raw, cardboard world without any documents or records. Invisible.
Opowieści ze świata. Świat kobiet
“Glitter & Dust”, reż. Anna Koch, Julia Lemke, 91’, Niemcy, 2020
“Kosher Beach”, reż. Karin Kainer, 62’, Izrael, 2019
“Lili”, reż. Peter Hegedus 75’, Australia, Węgry, 2019
“Ninosca”, reż. Peter Torbiörnsson, 104’, Szwecja, 2020
“The Unseen”, reż. Behzad Nalbandi, 61’, Iran, 2019
There will be no lack of fascinating stories about women in other sections and competitions of the Krakow Film Festival. One of them is the story about murderesses doing their time in an Iranian prison for the murders of their fathers, husbands, brothers and cousins, shown in the film “Sunless Shadows” by Mehrdad Oskouei, which will be presented in the international documentary film competition. Another example is the document “The Fat Front” in (dir. Louise Detlefsen), telling about young Scandinavian women leading the body-positiv movement, which we will see as part of the “Focus on Denmark” section.
The partner of the series is the radio TOK FM.