POLISH (CO-)PRODUCTIONS WIN THREE AWARDS AT DOCSBARCELONA INDUSTRY
Excellent news from Barcelona. Polish documentary projects and co-productions have received three awards at DocsBarcelona Pro, the industry section of DocsBarcelona. This year’s winners were announced on 13 May during an awards ceremony held at Casa Montjuïc in Barcelona.
The FipaDoc Award went to Words We Never Say, directed by Agnieszka Zwiefka and produced by the director together with Izabela Igel. The Polish-Bulgarian-German-Spanish co-production was presented as part of the Speed Meetings format. The film tells the story of a mother and daughter standing on opposite sides of a growing political conflict. Against the backdrop of the rise of the far right, the protagonists embark on a journey through Poland, Europe and the United States, restaging their past disagreements within the space of a film studio.
The East Doc Platform Award was presented to Diary of Experiences by Dorota Roś, a Polish-Czech production produced by Zofia Kujawska / Telemark. Selected for the Public Pitch section, dedicated to documentary projects in development or production, the film follows Konrad, who loses his voice after laryngeal cancer surgery and works on an AI-based device designed to help him speak again. Over time, his attempt to regain his voice becomes a journey towards reclaiming intimacy, belonging and identity.
The third distinction, the Music Library Award, went to About a Boy and the Building / Four Winters in Edificio Cuba by Aleksandra Maciuszek. Presented in the Rough Cut Pitch section, aimed at films in the final stage of editing, the project is a co-production between Poland, France, Cuba and Spain, directed and produced by Maciuszek. The film spans ten years in the life of Yeison, his family and his friends, whose everyday existence unfolds in a Havana tenement building threatened with demolition. It is a story of growing up, community and Cuba after the era of Fidel Castro’s rule.
For 28 years, DocsBarcelona Pro has remained one of the key meeting places for documentary filmmakers from Europe and Latin America. Located at the heart of the Mediterranean, the platform enables creators to develop projects, build international connections, seek financing and introduce new ideas to the world of non-fiction cinema.
Photo source: Business Doc Europe.