The winners of the 2nd LET’S DOC Youth Documentary Film Festival have been announced. Until May 5th, the films can be watched on VOD Warszawa!
Young people have selected the best documentaries from the Young Docs 10+ and Young Docs 14+ competitions. During the closing gala of the 2nd LET’S DOC Youth Documentary Film Festival, audience awards, the ECFA award, the European Film Club – Warsaw Film Nest award, and a special award from the Director of the Andrzej Wajda Center for Film Culture, funded by Non Stop Film Service, were also presented. Until May 5th, they can be watched on the VOD Warszawa platform. Selected titles are available with accessibility features for the visually and hearing impaired – translated into Polish Sign Language or enriched with audio description. Some films can be watched for free.
The jury consisting of Nina Jach, Aleksander Niewęgłowski, and Iwo Rajski awarded the LYNX AWARD in the Young Docs 10+ category to the film “Happy New Year” directed by Sebastian Mulder.
In the Netherlands, as in many other countries, millions of euros worth of fireworks go up in smoke at the end of the year. For animals, this New Year’s Eve celebration is a true nightmare. What does this light and sound spectacle look like from their perspective? The film uses an observational form to show the tension, stress, and fear experienced by animals from the first bangs during the day to the deafening spectacle at midnight and a few hours later. No commentary is needed; the images and sounds speak for themselves, and the message is loud and clear – even louder than the fireworks. The film presents a new perspective that is not often used in films about animals and confirms that setting off fireworks on New Year’s Eve is not the best way to celebrate this special day. It also helps us understand the fear experienced by animals, for which we are very grateful to the director – the jury justifies its choice.
Special Mention in the same category was awarded to the film “Extraordinary Mona” directed by Sarah Van Dale.
Mona is extraordinary: she has a huge imagination that helps her function in the world. Mona, like her brother, is also on the autism spectrum. However, Mona is an extrovert, and her brother is rather an introvert. They see the world very differently. Therefore, Mona decides to take an important and significant step in her life: she moves from special education to regular education. She has to say goodbye to her classmates and meet new friends. A new, exciting world opens up to her, but it can also be stressful. Some people do not understand the spectrum and its diversity or that it is not a disease. Everyone on the autism spectrum is different, bothered by different things, and good at different things. We appreciate the cinematography and the sound layer that shows how people on the spectrum perceive the world – reads the verdict.
The jury consisting of Helena Myszkorowska, Krystyna “Tina” Szuszkiewicz, Joanna Piotrowicz, and Weronika Knot awarded the LYNX AWARD in the Young Docs 14+ category to the film “My Sister” directed by Mariusz Rusiński.
Zuzia is a sensitive and artistically talented teenager. Her brother is the director of this film, who uses the camera to observe how his younger sister struggles with drug addiction. But he not only focuses the lens on her; he also keenly but tenderly examines the relationships in his family and asks what led them all to this situation. Because “My Sister” is an intimate portrait of co-dependency and family entanglements that influence our decisions, consciously or unconsciously. It is a film that tells a story of love and disappointment, a lack of contact with oneself, and conflicts that are hard to resolve. But it is also, at times, a humorous story about very different points of view. We were moved by the authenticity emanating from this film. We felt that we were inside this story, which the best documentaries can make possible. We were positively surprised by the portrayal of the main character as a sensitive, passionate person. The director did this in an incredibly warm way, with empathy and tenderness. The camera was a remedy and form of therapy for the whole family and helped to reunite them. This film is much more than a story about drug addiction – the jury justifies its choice.
Special Mention in the same category was awarded to the film “The Last Song from Kabul” directed by Kevin Macdonald and Ruhi Hamid.
The melodies went silent when the Taliban took over Afghanistan. Playing music became forbidden, and even punishable by death. Young girls who play together in a music school have to face its closure. This means their world will be destroyed – music is everything they have. The film shows their heroic story and escape from Afghanistan to Portugal, where they will try to rebuild their shattered lives and start playing music again. The film shows a serious problem of human and children’s rights violations and women’s dependence on men. Although the story is very sad, watching the heroines’ pursuit of their dreams gives us hope. We liked the music created by these young women, which turned out to be their salvation. We are glad that such an important issue was addressed in this film; it motivates us to fight for a better future for women, just as the heroines of this film do every day – the verdict reads.
The ECFA jury consisting of Tanja Tlatlik, Joanna Żak, and Chloë van Baar awarded their prize to the film “Neurotypical” directed by Maija Hirvonen.
After watching a film about Greta Thunberg, teenage Aida feels inspired. She also wants to make the world a better place and take matters into her own hands. Aida is neuroatypical, which means that daily functioning can be a bit more complicated for her than for her peers. She feels that many adults do not sufficiently understand the situation of people on the autism spectrum, which means they do not give them equal opportunities, for example, in school. So she decides to speak out and, with the support of her mother, organizes demonstrations outside the Finnish parliament. Her goal is to inform and educate so that people with special needs can live better lives. Thanks to her determination, energy to act, and positive attitude, more and more people join Aida, whose voices can finally be heard. We want to award a film about young Aida, who won our hearts with her confidence, outlook on life, and motivation to raise awareness about neuroatypical people. The documentary presents various layers of this topic. Aida – daughter and her mother navigate through chaotic but loving everyday life and the challenges of having, as they say, “different brains.” The film’s style is observational and gives viewers time to get to know the characters on their terms without being intrusive or moralizing. The director managed to create an intimate family story that breaks stereotypes about families from less privileged backgrounds. Moreover, the film criticizes a system that unfortunately cannot fully support families with different needs – the verdict reads.
The European Film Club – Warsaw Film Nest jury consisting of Natalia Kałwa, Weronika Kosińska, Konstancja Black, and Ina Małachowska awarded their prize to the film “We Are Fire” directed by Karen Vazquez Guadarrama.
The main character of the film is a young artist, a cartoonist, who uses her art to rebel against the increasingly dangerous reality for women in Mexico. With ten femicides a day, it is one of the most dangerous places for women in the world. Mar Mar Maremoto shares her illustrations online to create a space of hope and solidarity. But how can this translate into increased safety on the streets of Mexico? Wanting to challenge macho norms in her country, Mar talks to women affected by violence, who try to change society through self-defense and political demonstrations. “They wanted to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds,” the women shout. This is a film that stays with us, a film that impressed us formally, represents our values, makes us feel understood, and makes us feel the strength of sisterly resistance – the jurors justify their choice.
The Special Award of the Director of the Andrzej Wajda Center for Film Culture for a Polish film participating in the Festival – funded by Non Stop Film Service – was awarded to the film “My Sister” directed by Mariusz Rusiński.
The Director of the Wajda Center has certain tasks to fulfill with this award. It is an award intended to honor producers and executive producers of documentary films who take great effort and risk, believing in the value of Polish documentary cinema for young audiences. In this year’s verdict, I would like to highlight the documentaries produced by Munk Studio as part of the “First Documentary” project and award the producers of the exceptional film “My Sister” directed by Mariusz Rusiński. We give an honorary award to Munk Studio and a tangible award to the executive producer of the film, Jakub Kopeć, because without their close cooperation, this film would not exist. We hope that the tangible award, a voucher for production services worth PLN 10,000 funded by Non Stop Film Service, will inspire the producer to create another film for young audiences – says Joanna Rożen-Wojciechowska, Director of the Andrzej Wajda Center for Film Culture.
The LET’S DOC audience award went to the film “We Are Fire” directed by Karen Vazquez Guadarrama.
The 2nd LET’S DOC Youth Documentary Film Festival runs until May 5th on VOD Warszawa:
