This year, at IDFA International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam, three films developed as part of the DOC LAB POLAND program: "Lessons of Love" by Małgorzata Goliszewska and Katarzyna Mateja, "Sonny" by Paweł Chorzępa and "The Whale from Lorino" by Maciej Cuske are the only three Polish documentary films in the festival competitions.
Three further film projects participating in DOC LAB POLAND 2019 - „The Pawnshop", "Miss of Poland " and „No Hero at All" will be presented at the POLISH DOCS PRO SHOWCASE organized by the Krakow Film Foundation.
On this occasion DOC LAB POLAND together with Polish Docs and HBO Europe hosts a Guests Meet Guests cocktail on Sunday November 24th at 6 p.m. in
The "Lessons of Love" will have its world premiere at festival in the competition section First Appearance.This is the story of a 67-year-old, attractive woman who, after years of unhappy marriage, decides to start a new life and gain control over it. The hero of "Sonny" also wants to change his life for the better. As an eighteen-year-old, he has just left the orphanage and came back to his father. They have to answer a lot of difficult questions, but maybe they will be able to improve their relation. Director Maciej Cuske in the film "The Whale of Lorino" takes viewers to one of the most inaccessible and most difficult places to live on Earth - the Chukchi Peninsula. The movie shows how the ancient tradition of whale hunting binds representatives of the local community.
„Miss of Poland ”, dir. Jan Shostak and Jakub Jasiukiewicz was awarded during the Krakow Film Festival. Władysław Ślesicki Film Foundation - the organizer of DOC LAB POLAND funded the award which covers the costs of participation in the industry section of the IDFA festival. The director of the movie is also the main character. She is a rebellious visual artist from Belarus. She made a lot of people really surprised, when she has decided to become miss of Poland. This year is her last chance to win because of her age. The film is the opportunity to present her view on the organization this kind of events.
As one of the organizers of study visits for Polish documentary filmmakers, the Foundation also co-financed the Łukasz Kowalski film project participation. Documentary tragicomedy „The Pawnshop” presents a couple of eccentric businessmen running the largest pawnshop in Silesia. Their financial situation becomes dramatic, love begins to die, they have nothing else to do but fight for survival. The third film presented in POLISH DOCS PRO SHOWCASE is „No Hero at All" by Michał Kawecki. This is a documentary story about the unusual athlete, for whom toxic relations with the family are a greater obstacle to winning Olympics than the lack of arms and legs.
