Till the 10th February 2017 you can submit films to the 15. edition of the Gdańsk DocFilm Festival on the platform filmfestivallife.com. We look forward to interesting artistic propositions. Details you can find in our Regulations.
Read moreJury of 13. Gdańsk DocFilm Festival, consisting of Magdalena Piekorz (Head), Pasquale Misuraca and Henryk Tronowicz decided that the main award "Gate Of Freedom" and a 20.000 PLN prize will go to Deep Love by Jan P. Matuszyński. The motivation: "For high artistic values and consistency of form and content. For a skillful presentation of the idea that freedom can be always found within oneself". Jury also decided to give out three honorable mentions in form of Special Awards: to "The Reaper" by Gabriel Serra Arguello (Mexico) for "disciplined storytelling and skilful use of means of film expression", "See No Evil" by Jos de Putter (Holland) for "a thoughtful and kind observation of the world of chimpanzees as well as for a "humanitarian" attidude of the apes towards the filmmakers", and "A Place for Everyone" by Angelos Rallis and Hans Ulrich Goessl "in acknowledgement of raw cinematography and merciless observation, that help us recognize Tutsi and Hutu within ourselves". Audience Award went to "The Ukrainians" by Leonid Kanter and Ivan Yasniy. This year's Jury also nominated three films for Jan Machulski Young Cinema Award. Of all Polish documentaries shown during the Festival, the chosen nominees are: Best Film: "The Macedonian" by Petro Aleksowski Best Cinematography: "Something Better to Come" by Hanna Polak Best Editing: "House Upside Down" by Adam Palenta
Read moreYesterday brought us a meeting with Magdalena Piekorz, head of the Jury, a great masterclass by Pasquale Misuraca, lots of meetings and a great portion of cinematic emotions. But today is the day everything will be known! The Awarding Ceremony will be held at 6 PM, but before that we start at 11 with "A Dream of Warsaw".
Read more13th Gdańsk DocFilm Festival has crossed the halfway mark. On Friday we showed 5 competing films, while guests gathered in Health And Safety Hall met with Jerzy Morawski, saw Krzysztof Krauze's documentaries and first half of the "Sports Films" screenings. Today we begin at 11.00 with freshly-made "The Ukrainians". After the film there will be a Q&A with the director, Leonid Kanter. But there will be more guests visiting us today - meetings with Bartosz Paduch, Petro Aleksowski and Jan P. Matuszyński will also be held. The Health And Safety Hall will host special screenings of Magdalena Piekorz's documentaries and a meeting with the director. Afterwards, we invite you to take part in the masterclass session "Ashes of Gramsci. Pier Paolo Pasolini - ideology and art" conducted by Pasquale Misuraca. Full programme can be found here.
Read moreThe first day of 13th Gdansk DocFilm Festival is now history. We wish to thank Mr. Basil Kerski, head of the European Solidarity Centre for attending our opening ceremony. We were also very happy to greet so many faithfull viewers - we hope you will be with us in the forthcoming three days of this year's festival! Today's programme consists of five films in the Main Competition, along with a teleconference with Angelos Rallis, director of "A Place for Everyone". After that, we invite you to the historical Health And Safety Hall, where special screenings and a meeting with Jerzy Morawski will be held.
Read moreThis year's 13th edition of Gdańsk DocFilm Festival will take place on 11-14 June, at a new venue – the European Solidarity Centre. Justyna Jaranowska talks to the festival's artistic director, Tomasz Żółtowski, about the reasons why the festival is worth visiting. Justyna Jaranowska: 24 documentaries, 4 days of artistic events, the company of cinema celebrities. What is more, the event is free of charge. It sounds really appealing. Tomasz Żółtowski: Yes, it does. This year, we want to give the documentary lovers the opportunity to participate in the festival for free. It must be admitted, though, that it was never an expensive event. Last year, a four day ticket cost PLN 35, while a daily ticket was only PLN 12. J.J.: Why such a change? T.Ż.: It is largely due to the change of venue. For many years the screenings were held at the "Neptun" and "Kameralne" cinemas on Długa Street in Gdańsk. Since the place is going to be liquidated in a couple of days and the European Solidarity Centre greeted us with hospitality, the 13th edition will be held there. It's another chapter in the history of our festival. J.J.: And it's a symbolic place, which relates to the festival's idea. T.Ż.: A place with such history, connected with the August of 1980 and the political system transformation matches the convention of the event. Many of this year's films are consistent with the the festival motto: "Dignity and Work". But I shall be honest – 24 productions out of over 250 were qualified for the festival and some of them are not directly connected with this idea. J.J.: Like the one about Wojciech Zamecznik, a famous Polish architect and author of many posters, or a carer from a nursing home who is sentenced for a murder. T.Ż.: Yes, the stories are very diverse. There are many vivid characters in the best pictures. Unstoppables by Bartosz Kowalski is an example of this. It is a story of three American football players, who train in the Seahawks Gdynia Club. Each one of them is different. It is the diversity of the characters and their passion for achieving their goal that fascinates. The film is very well edited. Its style resembles American productions. But it is not a surprise – My Will, Bartosz Kowalski's previous film was also a very distinct documentary. This is why it received a nomination for the Jan Machulski Award. J.J.: ...which is the award for the best Polish independent cinema productions. T.Ż.: During the last edition we also showed another nominee for this award – Joanna by Aneta Kopacz, which was also a Polish Oscar candidate. It is worth mentioning that this year you can see two other Oscar nominee films, both from the short documentary category: White Earth by Christian Jensen and The Reaper, a Mexican documentary by Gabriel Serra Arguello. J.J.: Do you think these are the thirteenth edition's favourites? T.Ż.: It's hard to say. There are many other movies which in my opinion deserve attention, like Deep Love – a tale of a sixty-year-old man who fights for his passion: diving, or Something Better to Come, about a girl who lives at a rubbish dump on the outskirts of Moscow. These will definitely be significant films, but the decision which one wins will be taken by the jury. Magdalena Piekorz, a renowned director who received Golden Lions award at the Gdynia Film Festival for The Welts, will be the head of this year's Jury. J.J.: It is not a secret that the festival is famous for prestigious special guests. T.Ż.: Such artists as Jan Matuszyński, Jerzy Morawski, Petro Aleksowski, Bartosz Paduch, Paweł Wysoczański and Anna Duda-Ziętek are going to visit us. We have also planned teleconferences for this year's event. We will connect with Christian Jensen or an American director, Matthew VanDyke, the author of the documentary about the struggle for independence in Syria. J.J.: There are also other attractions, apart from the main competition. T.Ż.: Yes, we are organising a number of special screenings, which will be held in a historic place – in Sala BHP (Work Health and Safety Room). We will show sports films, not only the newest ones, like Mundial. The Highest Stakes, but also pictures which were made a few years ago, like 'The End' Bus from 1971. Polish documentaries have been on the highest level for many years, so it is advisable to remind the viewers about the exquisite productions from years ago. We also want to familiarize our audience with the documentary work of the late Krzysztof Krauze. On Friday, there will be three Krzysztof Krauze in memoriam screenings. We will show some of his documentaries and our guest, Jerzy Morawski, who worked with Krauze on his scripts, will tell us more about them. Apart from that, we will have a review of Magdalena Piekorz's documentaries on Saturday. Many viewers associate her with fiction films, but the director has also made 8 documentaries. The schedule of the entire festival is tight; apart from the attractions we have already mentioned, there will be conferences and lectures on documentary cinema. J.J.: The competition will last from Thursday to Sunday, but the competitors who struggle for the Gates of Freedom award will only hear the verdict on Sunday night. T.Ż.: It needs to be added that the films also compete for a prize of PLN 20.000, which has been funded by the mayor of Gdańsk, Paweł Adamowicz. We are starting of Thursday afternoon. During the opening there will be a special screening of Virunga, a documentary produced by Leonardo DiCaprio. Screenings will be held everyday. Everything has been thoroughly described in the festival programme. J.J.: The last question: what would you say to convince the undecided to participate in your event? T.Ż.: I'll say this: many think that if something is for free, it's not worthwhile. In this case, it's the exact opposite. We're going to present fantastic films, which will later be difficult to see on the large screen. They are Oscar nominee pictures which received many awards at numerous international festivals. If someone is even slightly interested in documentaries, they should definitely come to our event. Its level will definitely be very high. I guarantee that.
Read moreWe received information that, due to an unexpected illness, Klaus Schmutzer will be unable to join the Jury of 13. Gdansk DocFilm Festival. His place will be taken by Pasquale Misuraca, whom we are happy to introduce as a new member of Jury. Misuraca, born in 1948 in Siderno, Italy, studied sociology at the University of Rome and published literary and scientific essays and books: "Scientific rationality and political rationality" (Editori Riuniti 1977), "Actuality of Kafka" (L’Astrolabio 1983), "The Transition" (Universitas 2009), "Secular gospel according to Feliciano" (Universitas 2012), "The Creative Life" (Universitas 2013). Alongside his work as a director, he has worked as an adviser for TV and radio, written and produced for television and given guest lectures about sociology of knowledge and documentary and film. Among his films are: "Angelus Novus" (Cannes 1987), "The Sophists" and "Aristotle: Ethics" (Multimedia Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences 1989), "I have no words" (Berlin 1992), "Pasolini’s Ashes" (Marseilles 1995), "Self-portrait: Kafka, Gramsci, Hitchcock, Pasolini" (Locarno 1995), "Retrato del Padre Esteban Gumucio" (Santiago de Chile 1999), "Vittorio De Sica: Self-portrait" (Rai Tv 2001), "Leonardo Sciascia: Self-portrait" (Einaudi 2002), "Videodiary of a King Prisoner" (Rotterdam 2006). Official website: www.pasqualemisuraca.com
Read moreTHURSDAY 11.06.2015 ECS MAIN COMPETITON 14.00 – Starting Point| Poland | dir. Michał Szcześniak | 2014 | 26 min. 14.30 – Honey on Wounds| Great Britain | dir. Iulia Stoian | 2014 | 30 min. 15.00 – Shepherd’s Song| Armenia| Poland | dir. Vahram Mkhitaryan | 2014 | 30 min. 15.30 – I’ll send you a postcard| Poland | dir. Anna Duda-Ziętek | 2014 | 54 min. Q&A with Anna Duda-Ziętek , the director, after the screening 17.00 – I am Kuba| Norway | dir. Åse Svenheim Drivenes | 2014 | 56 min. Teleconference with Åse Svenheim Drivenes, the director after the screening 19.00 – OFFICIAL FESTIVAL OPENING SPECIAL SCREENING 19.15 – Virunga| Great Britain, Congo | dir. Orlando von Einsiedel | 2014 | 100 min. MAIN COMPETITON 21.00 – White Earth| USA | dir. Christian Jensen | 2013 | 20 min. Teleconference with Christianem Jensenem, the director, after the screening FIRDAY 12.06.2015 ECS MAIN COMPETITON 11.00 – Object| Poland | dir. Paulina Skibińska | 2015 | 14 min. 11.15 – Gates of the Lamb| Lithuania | dir. Audrius Stonys | 2014 | 44 min. 12.00 – One Man Show| Poland | dir. Jakub Piątek | 2014 | 53 min. 13.00 – Tough Cookies| Austria | dir. Ruth Kaaserer | 2014 | 80 min. 14.30 – A Place for Everyone| Belgium | dir. Angelos Rallis, Hans Ulrich Goessl | 2014 | 60 min. Teleconference with Angelosem Rallisem, the director, after the screening SPECIAL SCREENINGS SALA BHP KRZYSZTOF KRAUZE IN MEMORIAM 16.15 – He tripped, died, drowned | Poland | dir. Krzysztof Krauze | 1994 | 57 min. 17.15 – Counterintelligence | Poland | dir. Krzysztof Krauze | 1994 | 27 min. 17.45 – Department IV | Poland | dir. Krzysztof Krauze, Jerzy Morawski | 1996 | 53 min. Q&A with Jerzy Morawski, a scriptwriter and director who worked with Krzysztof Krauze SPORTS FILMS 19.30 – ‘The End’ Bus | Poland | dir. Mariusz Walter | 1971 | 27 min. 20.00 – The Swordsman| Poland | dir. Bogdan Dziworski | 1980 | 12 min. 20.15 – Mundial. The Highest Stakes| Poland | dir. Michał Bielawski | 2012 | 96 min. SATURDAY 13.06.2015 ECS MAIN COMPETITION 11.00 – Ukraininans| Ukraine | dir. Leonid Kanter, Ivan Yasniy | 2015 | 86 min. Teleconference with Leonid Kanter, the director, after the screening 13.00 – TOTART or Reason Regained| Poland | dir. Bartosz Paduch | 2014 | 76 min. Q&A with Bartosz Paduch, the director, after the screening 14.45 – See no Evil| Holland | dir. Jos de Putter | 2014 | 72 min. 16.00 – House Upside Down| Poland | dir. Adam Palenta | 2014 | 19 min. 16.20 – Not Anymore: A Story of Revolution| Syria, Turkey, USA | dir. Matthew VanDyke |2013 | 15 min. Teleconference with Matthew VanDyke, the director, after the screening 17.00 – The Macedonian | Poland | dir. Petro Aleksowski | 2013 | 46 min. Q&A with Petro Aleksowskim, the director, after the screening 18.15 – Something Better to Come| Denmark, Poland | dir. Hanna Polak | 2014 | 95 min. 20.00 – Deep Love| Poland | dir. Jan P. Matuszyński | 2013 | 84 min. Q&A with Janem P. Matuszyńskim, the director, after the screening SPECIAL SCREENINGS SALA BHP MAGDALENA PIEKORZ FILMS’ REVIEW 14.00 – Girls from Szymanów| Poland | dir. Magdalena Piekorz | 1997 | 29 min. 14.30 – Find, see, bury| Poland | dir. Magdalena Piekorz | 2001 | 26 min. 15.00 – The view of Krakow| Poland | dir. Magdalena Piekorz | 2013 | 59 min. A Q&A with Magdalena Piekorz after the screenings MASTERCLASS 17.30 – 19.30 SPORTS FILMS 20.00 – Papa Stamm| Poland | dir. Krzysztof Rogulski | 1978 | 57 min. 21.00 – You’ll be a legend, man | Poland | dir. Marcin Koszałka | 2012 | 77 min. SUNDAY 14.06.2015 ECS MAIN COMPETITION 11.30 – Dream of Warsaw| Poland | dir. Krzysztof Magowski | 2014 | 107 min. 13.30 – Super-Unit| Poland | dir. Teresa Czepiec | 2014 | 20 min. 14.00 – The Reaper| Mexico | dir. Gabriel Serra Arguello | 2013 | 30 min. 14.30 – Jurek| Poland | dir. Paweł Wysoczański | 2014 | 73 min. Q&A with Pawł Wysoczański, the director, after the screening 16.15 – Unstoppables| Poland | dir. Bartosz M. Kowalski | 2015 | 73 min. 18.00 – 13. GDFF AWARDING CEREMONY 19.00 – SCREENING OF THE WINNING MOVIE
Read moreYou can now watch the new Gdańsk DocFilm Festival official teaser.
Read moreWe are very pleased to announce that this year's Gdańsk Doc Film Festival Grand Prix is founded by Gdańsk City President, Mr. Paweł Adamowicz, and will amount to 20.000 PLN.
Read moreSelection committee chose 24 films from more than 250 submissions. In the main competition we will see: 1. "DEEP LOVE" dir. Jan P. Matuszyński (Poland) 2013 84 ' 2. "UNSTOPPABLES" dir. Bartosz M. Kowalski (Poland) 2015 73 ' 3. "THE MACEDONIAN" dir. Petro Aleksowski (Poland) 2013 46 ' 4. "THE UKRAINIANS" dir. Leonid Kanter, Ivan Yasniy (Ukraine) 2015 86 ' 5. "A HOUSE UPSIDE DOWN" dir. Adam Palenta (Poland) 2014 19 ' 6. "SHEPHERD'S SONG" dir. Vahram Mkhitaryan (Armenia, Poland) 2014 30 ' 7. "I AM KUBA" dir. Ase Svenheim Drivenes (Norway) 2014 56 ' 8. "I'll SEND YOU A POSTCARD" dir. Anna Duda-Ziętek (Poland) 2014 54 ' 9. "GATES OF THE LAMB" reż. Audrius Stonys (Lithuania) 2014 44 ' 10. "SEE NO EVIL" dir. Jos de Putter (Netherlands) 2014 72 ' 11. "HONEY ON WOUNDS" dir. Iulia Stoian (UK) 2014 30 ' 12. "NOT ANYMORE: A STORY OF REVOLUTION" dir. Matthew VanDyke (Syria, Turkey, USA) 2013 15 ' 13. "TOTART, OR REASON REGAINED" dir. Bartosz Paduch (Poland) 2014 76 ' 14. "JUREK" dir. Paweł Wysoczański (Poland) 2014 73 ' 15. "OBJECT" dir. Paulina Skibińska (Poland) 2015 14 ' 16. "STARTING POINT" dir. Michał Szcześniak (Poland) 2014 26' 17. "TOUGH COOKIES" dir. Ruth Kaaserer (Austria) 2014 80 ' 18. "A PLACE FOR EVERYONE" dir. Angelos Rallis, Hans Ulrich Goessl (Belgium) 2014 60 ' 19. "ONE MAN SHOW" dir. Jakub Piątek (Poland) 2014 53 ' 20. "SUPER-UNIT" dir. Teresa Czepiec (Poland) 2014 20 ' 21. " DREAM OF WARSAW" dir. Krzysztof Magowski (Poland) 2014 107 ' 22. "SOMETHING BETTER TO COME" dir. Hanna Polak (Poland, Denmark) 2014 95 ' 23 "THE REAPER" dir. Gabriel Serra Arguello (Mexico) 2013 30 ' 24. "WHITE EARTH" dir. Christian Jensen (USA) 2013 20'
Read moreAn outstanding Polish director Magdalena Piekorz will head the jury debates at this year's Gdańsk DocFilm Festival. The remaining members of the jury are: a German film and television producer Klaus Schmutzer and a Gdansk journalist who specializes in film, Henryk Tronowicz. Magdalena Piekorz Born in 1974 in Sosnowiec. Screenwriter, director, doctor of cinematic arts. Graduate of the University of Silesia's Radio and Television department in Katowice.The movies to which she owes her first success were shot both in Poland and abroad, in places like Bosnia or the United States. She received various prestigious awards for her works, such as Brązowy Lajkonik (The Brown Lajkonik) for the movie "Dziewczyny z Szymanowa" ("Girls of Szymanów") at Krakow Film Festival in 1998, Grand Prix of the Euroshorts Festival for "Przybysze" ("Newcomers") in 1999 in Warsaw. She received the Golden Lions of the XXIX Gdynia Film Festival for her first feature film, "Pręgi" ("Stripes"), based on the writing of Wojciech Kuczok. The movie received an Oscar nomination in 2005. Her movie "Senność" ("Somnolence"), made in 2008, earned her the award of Złoty Klakier (The Golden Clapper) for receiving the longest round of applause at the XXXIII Gdynia Film Festival, as well as awards from both the New York Polish Film Festival and the Seattle Polish Film Festival. She's also been making successful theatre plays for a few years now. Her biggest achievements in that field are the musical "Oliver!" produced in Teatr Rozrywki ("The Theatre of Entertainment") in Chorzów and "Hotel Nowy Świat" ("The New World Hotel"), played at The Polish Theatre in Bielsko-Biała. In 2014, she directed a feature film "Zbliżenia" ("Close-ups") and a documentary "Widok Krakowa" ("The sight of Krakow"), in which the outstanding Polish poet Adam Zagajewski tells us about his city. Klaus Schmutzer Born in 1950 in Reichenbach Vogtland / Germany 1969 A-level exams 1970-1972 Production Assistant for GDR Television in the area of dramatic art 1972-1978 study of production at the Konrad Wolf University for Film in Potsdam-Babelsberg and head of department to the management of the University 1978-1981 Vice Chairman of the International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Short Film 1981-1984 study of political science 1984-1991 Vice Secretary of the GDR Association of Filmworkers since 1991 Manager of the Berlin Association of Filmworkers since 1991 Producer and Production Manager for á jour Film 1998.2003 Speaker of the Association of German Cinema 1996-2006 Member of the Colleg of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg 2010-2012 Member of DEFA-Foundation Movie and TV Productions (choice): Movies: „Central Station Leipzig“ (1993) Documentary for cinema directors: Marianna Kiss, Andreas Honegger „Faith Love Hope“ (1994) Documentary for cinema director: Andreas Voigt „Big Broad World“(1997) Documentary for cinema director: Andreas Voigt „The Mine – Franz Fühmann“ (1998) Documentary for cinema director: Karlheinz Mund „Zone M“ (2000) Super 16 mm/Blow up / 100 min. director: Dr. Eduard Schreiber „Invisible – Illegal in Europe“ (2004) Documentary for cinema director: Andreas Voigt „Hitlerkantate“ (2004/2005) Feature Film director: Dr. Jutta Brückner Co-production of SAXONIA Media Leipzig and WDR/arte „Po-lin“ (2008) documentary 35 mm / 90 min. director: Jolanta Dylewska Co-Production with BoMedia / Poland “Kategorie C” (2008) documentary 35 mm / 90 min. director: Franziska Tenner Resumption of the long-term documentary about the children of the village Golzow, directed by Barbara and Winfried Junge. This film series started in 1961 and, including 18 films, is the oldest long-term documentary in the international history of film. „The Tale of Uncle Willy from Golzow“ (1996) 35 mm / 145 min. „Here you got my life – Marieluise from Golzow“ (1997) 35 mm / 141 min. „Why do you bother about my life – Elke from Golzow“ (1997) 35 mm / 141 min. „Brigitte and Marcel – Ways of Living in Golzow“ (1999) 35 mm / 110 min. „One Man like Dieter – Golzower“ (2000) 35 mm / 115 min. „Jochen – a Golzower from Philadelphia“ (2001) 35 mm / 115 min. „Actually, I wanted to become a forester – Bernd from Golzow“ (2003) 35 mm / 142 min. Henryk Tronowicz Born in 1936. Film critic and publicist. He studied political economy and journalism at the University of Warsaw, also he attended the Course of Film's History and Theory at the Polish National Film, Television and Theater School in Łódź. His articles have been published in Warsaw periodicals: „Współczesność” and „Literatura”. He was member of editorial staff in film trade papers: „Filmowy Serwis Prasowy”; weekly „Ekran”; monthly „Kino”. In years 1979 -1981 and 1984 -1985 he edited „Gazeta Festiwalowa”, an organ of management of the Polish Film Festival in Gdańsk. Since 1992 he is connected with editorial staff of „Dziennik Bałtycki”;. He lives in Gdańsk. Published books: * „Film Czechosłowacki w Polsce”; (Warsaw 1984) * „Lucjan Bokiniec”; (Gdańsk 2011)
Read moreFor the second time Gdańsk DocFilm Festival will be held in European Solidarity Centre. We would like to invite you for the 14th edition of the Festival on 23-26 June 2016 - www.ecs.gda.pl
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