This week Krakow Film Festival Industry 2024 hosted a presentation of 10 new Polish & Ukrainian documentary projects at the post-production stage, preceded by the Doc Lab Poland: Doc Lab Go workshop. The purpose of the presentation was to source potential distributor, sales agent and buyer interest as well secure a festival premiere and other core slots in the doc calendar.
CHILD OF DUST by director/producer Weronika Mliczewska (Ya Man Studio)
Fifty years after the Vietnam War, Sang – a discriminated-against child of the war – wants to heal from his trauma and meet his newfound American father, but in doing so he places in jeopardy his family life back at home.
“This journey started for me eight years ago when I was based in America after studying abroad and many travels,” director Mliczewska told the professional audience at Krakow. “I was [in] Vietnam for quite some time and I had these questions in my mind. Where do I belong? Where is my home? Where do I fit in this world? And that was the moment when I met people who were asking these [same] questions for over 50 years. These questions were the centre of their identity issue. They are called Amerasians. They are children of American soldiers that served in the Vietnam War and had contact with the local Vietnamese women through rape or sometimes even love affairs. All of them also call themselves ‘children of dust.’ Dust that settled after the war. But also, no matter how much you try to sweep it, it always remains in the corners.”
Mliczewska’s film follows protagonist Sang as he wrestles with the prospect of meeting the father he never thought he would encounter.
“He was always saying that his dream is to meet his father,” the director continues. “He was crying and I was like, ‘why do you still cry?’ It wasn’t only him. All of the Amerasians were so emotional about this childhood trauma. And then I realized that it’s not a question of the past, but it’s still in the present for them. This long-term legacy of the war is just one layer of this story that has so many universal things, because the cultural aspect is that in Vietnam the father is everything. Without a father, you are nobody. You are not respected, you’re treated like half-human. So the quest to search for the father is actually a journey of finding oneself and this is the only thing that kept my character Sang alive and going.”
Mliczewska is confident of delivering her 90-minute €390,000 budget Polish/Swedish/Vietnamese/Czech co-pro (€90,000 still to be raised) by January 2025. Confirmed partners are the Polish Film Institute, Ginestra Film AB, the Swedish Film Institute, Clubhouse Films Ltd and Lonely Production. At Krakow she is looking for further financing, festivals and broadcasters.
DOS MUNDOS by Jarosław Migoń. Producer: Marcin Pietuch of Fabryka Dekoracji
After the death of his wife, virtuoso violinist Zbigniew Paleta returns to an empty home on the outskirts of Mexico City. Unexpectedly, Zbigniew receives an offer to perform again with the legendary band El Tri, with whom he ended his collaboration nearly 30 years ago. Seeing a chance to return to the grand stage, the virtuoso embarks on a sentimental journey through the places that shaped his Mexican identity. He reaches out to those who, back then, when martial law was in force in Poland, took the place of his loved ones. With his violin, he sets out to work through his losses, renew old friendships, and possibly play his last concert in front of a large audience, the synopsis reads.
“Dos Mundos means two worlds,” said director Migoń. “Two worlds is a rhetorical [term] that signifies a contrast between two different realities. My protagonist is complex. In this case, the situation of an 80-year-old Polish musician fills all aspects of the ‘dos mundos’ definition.”
“When I planned to film the story of Zbigniew Paleta, I wanted to understand his state of mind. We met after his wife died. I noticed his daughters who are very famous Mexican actresses. I found out that in 1998 he was awarded for the best film soundtrack by the Mexican Film Academy, which is like the Mexican Oscars. I discovered that his violin can be heard in The Secret Garden of Agnieszka Holland, Three Colours White by Krzysztof Kieslowski and Damage by Louis Malle. I couldn’t imagine that as a classical violinist he played with the most famous rock band in Mexico, El Tri.”
Lonely and missing his Polish homeland, but realising that everything he loves keeps him in Mexico, Paleta accepts an invitation to play in an El Tri 55th anniversary concert in front of 20,000 people, but “someone else’s mistake destroyed his dreams,” Migoń warns.
Filming is finished in Mexico and the filmmakers are preparing for both a Polish shoot and offline editing. The film has been this far financed using the filmmakers’ own funds, they reveal, and so they are now looking to reach the €418,000 budget via further financing and co-pro deals. At Krakow, producer Marcin Pietuch is also looking to secure broadcaster, sales agent and festival interest.
CAMBODJANA by Michal J. Owerczuk. Producer Agata Modzelewska of Imagine Media
“Back in 2018, we were building an English school in Cambodia. During my free time, I visited one of the famous (or infamous) killing fields, a grim reminder of the Khmer Rouge regime, one of the most brutal totalitarian regimes in the history, responsible for the genocide of more than two million innocent people,” director Owerczuk told the professional audience at Krakow FF.
“Despite watching films like The Killing Fields or Angelina Jolie’s First They Killed My Father, I realized that nobody ever said how and when this madness had ended.” Nor indeed the effects on soldiers within the United Nations peacekeeping mission then in Cambodia, some of whom were Polish.
“What was meant to be the journey of a lifetime, for many quickly turned into a nightmare as the Khmer Rouge disrupted the process, leading once again to mass murders of the civilian population. When they attacked the UN troops, it wasn’t special forces who had to face them, but a logistics team, an accountant, a mechanic, an engineer, and Christoph, a cadet field cook who was only 21 back then.”
The synopsis further reads how “Cambodjana explores the dark sides of human nature by immersing viewers in a ‘Heart of Darkness’ journey set at the historical crossroads of Cambodia, revealing in archived footage the brutal yet true and universal image of war. It’s the first feature documentary ever exposing the largest and most obscured UN mission in history, involving 46 countries.”
The film is at late production stage with two-thirds of the €300,000 budget in place. Producer Agata Modzelewska confirmed that she is looking for partners from other countries that took part in the mission, such as France, Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands, “who can help us with post-production, including the reconstruction of VHS footage and sound design.” She is also seeking out distribution and festival opportunities. “We believe in this project because since the end of the mission, there has been almost nothing about it in the media. Cambodjana is the first film about these events,” she underlined.
WOMEN OCCUPIED by Tetiana Hanzha and Zoia Volk. Producers: Zoia Volk (Zova Films) and Oksana Ivantsiv
Ukrainian director Tetiana Hanzha and co-director Zoia Volk pitched their highly disturbing and poignant project about three woman, Liudmyla, Andrea and Sabina from Ukraine, Germany and Bosnia, who struggle to heal from the trauma of wartime sexual violence while regaining their power and dignity.
“4,000 civilian Ukrainian women are being held in Russian captivity and occupied territories. There are multiple cases of sexual violence and rape. This does not happen randomly. It’s a war strategy by Russia to humiliate people and break their spirit,” said director Hanzha. “The trauma of sexual violence does not affect [just] the woman herself, but also her family. This strategy was also used in Bosnia in the 1990s and during World War 2.”
Co-director Volk told why she needs to make the film. “My personal motivation is because I experienced rape myself back then. I felt ashamed and didn’t feel safe to share my story with anyone. For me and Tanya [Tetiana] it is very important to create the safe space for their women. That they can share their story, that they can feel accepted, they can feel heard, and hopefully, through that, other women who watch the film can heal.”
The three lines within the film span 80 years, incorporating the Ukrainian and Bosnian conflicts and going back as far as WW2 as they tell the story of a German woman who was raped by invading Soviet soldiers and who transmitted her pain to her daughter who in turn passed it to her grand-daughter Andrea. Andrea still suffers from transgenerational trauma.
“The Bosnian and German stories give us an understanding that after 30 and 80 years you can still feel the effects of the sexual violence,” Volk added. “The humiliation and pain are being transmitted from one generation to other, but if women face the trauma and process it, there is a chance for healing.”
The production is €38,000 short of its €290,000 budget. Delivery is expected for April 2025 and the team are looking to secure financing, festivals, broadcasters and a sales agent at Krakow FF Industry.
WHAT THE… HEN! by Joanna Deja. Producer: Justyna Kluczewska, Maciej Ostatek (Raban)
Producers Kluczewska and Ostatek presented their story of Łukasz Puczko, Poland’s only constructor of super‐realistic biomechanical hybrid puppets. A nomad by nature, travelling internationally to festivals performing with his puppets, he settles in the village of Solniki where he decides to build his dream studio. But When a 4‐hectare industrial poultry farm is to be built less than a kilometre away from the village, the puppeteer gets involved in local activism and undertakes to attract media attention and raise awareness about the pressing issue of industrial farming. But as the pandemic continues he suffers a creative block.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine he, like so many Polish folk, opens his door to refugees, one of whom is the teenage Sabrina. Initially reserved, Sabrina gradually immerses herself in the studio, spending hours assisting Łukasz in solving construction challenges until she becomes his indispensable assistant. Through this collaboration, she unexpectedly uncovers her own talent and passion for puppetry. Together, they embark on a journey across European puppetry festivals, forging a remarkable partnership.
“It’s not a movie about any puppeteer but about a mind-blowing one,” said Kluczewska. “An uplifting comedy about a beautiful relationship between [Łukasz] and a Ukrainian teenager. [He] finds a partner in crime and finishes the hen. Sabrina makes her dream comes true, and they set off on an international journey through puppeteer festivals.”
The 80-minute film will be ready for delivery January 2025, confirmed Ostatek. “We don’t need money so it’s good news,” he said, telling how the €255,000 is fully realised. “We are looking for an optimal host for our world premiere, and sales agents.”
ISABELLA by Joanna Janikowska. Producer: Anna Gawlita (Kijora Film)
In Joanna Janikowska’s Sardinia-based feature doc, Isabella, a 91-year-old fortune-teller, lives in an abandoned village and fights for its survival. But she has not much time left, as her own prophecy says she will die at the age of 93.
The synopsis tells how Isabella’s solitary life is often disrupted by visitors seeking her prophecies. But those who expected a quiet old lady are in for a surprise. She is despotic, impatient and has a bawdy sense of humour. And after helping her guests, she puts them to work. They clean and barricade vacant buildings or help Isabella write her autobiography.”
“Through scenes from Isabella’s daily life that show her encounters with the visitors and the topics that she discusses with them, we will slowly discover the actual reason behind Isabella’s decision to never leave the village and to save it at any cost,” said Janikowska. “In the past, Isabella was a victim of domestic abuse and a mother of four children. One of them, her daughter Rita, suddenly became very ill and severely disabled. Providing her all the necessary care became Isabella’s biggest life struggle. So when Rita passed away, Isabella dedicated the village to her memory. So now as the village embodies her child’s spirit, she will never leave it and will do everything she can to bring it back to life. This way her seemingly hopeless struggle turns into a performative act in defence of the memory of her daughter, of the village and of herself.”
Producer Anna Gawlita (whose A Year in the Life of the Country by Tomasz Wolski world premieres at Krakow FF 2024) is looking to raise a further €190,000 to reach the €328,000 budget on the 72-minute film, which will be ready March 2026. Isabella has received support from Creative Europe and the Polish Film Institute, and is partnered with Italian production outfit Domus Film.
HOW TO PLAY A WAR by Anna Chasova. Producer: Tetiana Pavliuk (View Lab)
Debutant director Chasova and producer Pavliuk pitched their vital project about life during the ongoing war waged by Russia on Ukraine. The Kharkiv Puppet Theatre is preparing a performance based on Brecht’s play ‘Mother Courage’, but on the day of the premiere, the walls of the theatre are filled not with applause but with the echo of the first rocket explosions.
“For us, this is an important story about the artists of our city and I’m proud to be a producer of this unique story which started six months before full-scale invasion,” said Pavliuk.
From the first day of Russia’s full‐scale invasion of Ukraine, the theatre crew, along with their families and friends, lived in the theatre, whose chief set designer is Natalja (60). However, they not only hid from the merciless shellings, they continued to help the civilians who remained in Kharkiv.
“After 115 shooting days and the full review of material, we are ready to start our rough cut, And now we are looking for partners, especially from Germany because our story is connected to German heritage, and we are looking for funding that will help us complete the film,” said Pavliuk. “Our budget is very small (€63,990) but realistic because in the context of the Ukrainian economy it’s enough to complete this story.”
“I want to tell this intimate story about a community of artists who decided to help those in need in difficult times,” added Chasova of her film that she hope to deliver December 2024. “I’m proud to introduce you this story about courage: about ‘Mother Courage’, about Kharkiv’s courage and about the courage of one woman. This film begins with the war in art and ends with art in war. For a long time I was looking for an answer to the question – why did we all stay in Kharkiv? – until I finally realized that our love is much stronger than our fear.”
ON MY OWN TERMS by Tadeusz Chudy. Producer: Marta Wierzbicka (Smart Films)
Director Chudy, a fan of boxing, tells the story of the youngster Paweł, himself a boxer, and his half-sister Julka, living in an orphanage looking for stability and determined to confront life’s challenges. They share the same mother but have two different fathers.
Things seem to look up when Julka inherits an apartment but in order to be the true owner she must pay off the debts incurred by her father.
“In the second act of the film, the siblings will finally move out of the orphanage. We observe Paweł struggling with an injury that may end his career,” explains Chudy. “Julka faces problems when she quits school, starts partying and gets pregnant. We accompany her when she experiences the trauma of losing the baby on the same day he was born. But we end on the positive note as we see Paweł continue to study journalism and developing his boxing career. And Julka going back to school and finally find a job. We see how the love between siblings gives them strength to overcome problems despite the past. Our characters believe that there is always another day and the sun will shine again.”
Producer Marta Wierzbicka confirmed that the Polish Film Institute and Polish National Television are partners on the 60/75-minute project that has a mooted delivery date of February 2025 and which is €30,000 shy of its total €165,000 budget. At Krakow, she is looking for sales representation, a festival premiere and post-production finance support.
THE WORLD IS NOT (A) MINE by Natalia Koniarz. Producer: Maciej Kubicki (Telemark)
Producer Kubicki outlined both to the Krakow professional audience and to Business Doc Europe the benefits of investment in his new feature project. The documentary will tell the stories of Juvenal (13), Hoper (40) and Claudia (25) who are enslaved to the Cerro Rico Mountain, the oldest silver mine in Bolivia, where 8 million miners have lost their lives since the 16th century. Deprived of any labour rights, abandoned by the state, treated as cheap labour, they earn just enough money not to starve to death.
“The film has a strong, emotionally gripping narrative and immersive experience that is likely to resonate with audiences [who will be] drawn into the deeply human stories and the emotional journey of the protagonists. The film also offers profound insights into the history and current realities of mines, educating viewers about important global issues,” he says.
“Through dynamic, visual and choral editing we attempt to express this vicious cycle the miners are prisoners of, while they struggle to barely make a living by risking their lives every day, so as to be able to sell the fruits of their labours to international corporations,” Kubicki adds.
The producer further explains the driver his protagonists’ misery. “Without silver, there would be no nanoparticles, no car engines or Tesla cars, children’s toys, computer keyboards, telephones, cameras…And finally, there would be no AI without silver because silver has been used to create a nerve cell that resembles a human biological nerve cell. The element made of nanowires will make it easier to imitate the neural networks of the human brain.”
“Natalia has a unique vision and the ability to tell powerful, human-centric stories that resonate on an emotional level,” Kubicki continues. “In this case, she spent a long time documenting life outside and inside the Cerro Rico. Sometimes in very difficult and dangerous situations. Living among the miners and the children seemed to her the most honest way to capture this ongoing reality from an authentic point of view. By gaining their trust, respect, and friendship, she created materials that could translate into a real cinematic experience.”
HIGH ENOUGH by Mikołaj Janik. Producer: Andrzej Pałka
High Enough is a documentary comedy‐drama about Arek ‘Parasite’, an artist and activist. ‘Parasite’ is his nickname because his work focuses on recreating paintings that he finds in a dumpster. Like a modern Don Quixote, Arek rides his bike through the Polish Tatra Mountains on a quest to find a lost century‐old fantastical painting that was big as a soccer field. In the meantime he must navigate a difficult relationship with a very critical mum, forcing the audience to ask: is Arek just a boy who has never grown up, or have we all forgotten that fighting for what matters to us is really important in life?
“The humour in the movie is generally coming from the contrast between the character and the environment,” says director Janik. “He’s a really clumsy person, but also really determined and, in my opinion, brave. I think that High Enough is not only about searching for the painting, it’s more about searching for oneself in relationships, about the process of emancipation [and] about leaving home [even if] it’s late leaving home.”
“We have already completed over 40 days of shooting and we plan to create an animation that would explain how the painting was made and got lost,” said producer Pałka. “Currently we are mostly looking for distributors, sales engine agents and broadcasters. We would also love to meet with animation companies and festival representatives.”
“Thank you very much and aim high,” Pałka signed off.
