Here are four films of the Feature Length Documentary Films Competition “IMAGE OF THE WORLD - WORLD IN IMAGES" under the patronage of DISCOVERY NETWORKS CEEMEA! The rest of the competition's line-up will be announced shortly.



Forever Yours

"Forever Yours" is a film about children harmed by the randomness of the fortune, who are trying to start new lives. The documentary begins with images from a shelter home for young kids who were deprived of parental care, however Mia Halme almost instantly moves the story to homes of three different families, dynamics of which is being seriously alternated. The first, a foster one, accepts the loss of two little children who are coming back to their biological mother to try to make it work. And in the third family, also a foster one, teenage girl struggles with identity crisis, making everybody around her clueless of what to do. All the families have one thing in common - a desire to give children true love that they have never experienced.

"Forever Yours"
In this type of documentaries the filmmakers ought to carefully draw the lines between what can and what cannot be recorded on camera. Together with cinematographer Peter Flinckenberg, Mia Halme subtly engages in the life of the given family, always remembering to keep proper distance and not to put any of its members in uncomfortable circumstances. Additionally, Flinckenberg tries to heighten this “down-to-earth" documentary with a little bit of visual poetry, filming the protagonists both against the background of beautiful, quiet nature and during events perfectly symbolizing the intended themes of “Forever Yours". Just like in a scene in which a little girl leaves her fingerprints on the window of a car taking her into the unknown, thus stating her presence in the world that initially has disappointed her.

Original title: Ikuisesti sinun
Directed by: Mia Halme
Cinematography: Peter Flinckenberg, Anssi Leino

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Blinding

“Blinding" is a documentary that in a curiously artistic manner raises the theme of blindness within the modern world. Though Steve Sanguedolce is not interested in medical analysis of the problem, but a strictly humanistic one. For “Blinding" is not only a meditation on losing one's sight, that becomes a severe condition in experiencing the reality, but also an examination of blindness as a disease of modern civilization, consuming not the senses, but human souls. We all live in the culture that feeds upon the illusions, both optical and mental; in a sense we are all blind to the suffering of others, to the perversions mounting within the reality that surrounds us. Even if we do not have any problems with our physical sight, we all often live hiding behind the veils of our ambitions and dreams.

"Blinding"
“Blinding" is an exceptional film in terms of audiovisual means. Sanguedolce narrates his film partly through the use of recorded voices of a writer, ex-policewoman and ex-military pilot who talk about the intimate details of their lives and joys and sorrows of their professions, and partly with the help of a series of stylized images. Various situations, staged by the filmmaker and acted by his friends, blend with different archive materials that more or less symbolically illustrate the things that are being talked about at a given time. In terms of the visuals the documentary looks like a mix of old, scratched film, overexposed photographs and images combining too many filters. The effect is a stream-of-consciousness-like narration that gives this experimental documentary eerie overtone it uses to capture attention.

Original title: Blinding
Directed by: Steve Sanguedolce
Cinematography: Steve Sanguedolce, Mike Hoolboom, Janice Bird, Jeffrey Paull

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Hell and Back Again

Danfung Dennis chose Nathan Harris, sergeant of the U.S. Army, to be the protagonist of his documentary about the never-ending conflict in Afghanistan. But the film itself is not a political pamphlet aimed at American authorities, but a poignant observation, neutral in its tone, on the effects of the crusade targeted at Afghanistan. We get to see Harris both in active service duty and after the return to the States, physically wounded and emotionally broken for life. Dennis, though, does not allow himself to give his personal opinion. He leaves that for the sake of the viewers who have to project their own experiences, imagination and worldview onto the actions and statements of the sergeant, his wife who becomes more pessimistic every day, and his soldier friends who try to cope with their inner demons.

"Hell and Back Again"
In “Hell and Back Again" the narration shifts between two time frames - the material shot in Afghanistan and everything that was recorded after the return to America. Being his own cinematographer, Danfung Dennis films each of the realities quite differently - sometimes it is dictated by the circumstances, but for most time it serves the filmmaker as an artistic means of expression. In Afghanistan Dennis's cinematography is more dynamic, unnerving, using POV shots and putting the soldiers against the sinister background of harsh reality they try to survive in. The material shot in the States is more static and colorful at the same time, thus emphasizing Harris's confusion in the world he is not used to, and intensifying sergeant's problems with adapting and coping with the reality in which the enemies are not so obvious.

Original title: Hell and Back Again
Directed by: Danfung Dennis
Cinematography: Danfung Dennis

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Doctors

Tomasz Wolski was permitted to shoot in areas of hospital mostly hidden from the public - cardiac surgeons cabinets, operating theatres, consultation rooms in which doctors make the most important decisions concerning the patients' lives. The documentary that was created out of such material does not need any additional commentary - it is enough just to observe how these people, who experience the fine line between life and death each single day, cope with the gigantic responsibility that the society has put on them, and also with economy and statistics that are on the way to alter their professions. “Doctors" are full of subtle humor, because everybody deserves to release the stressful emotions from time to time, but above all it is a documentary that helps to understand better the things that were always abstract, surreal and totally underappreciated.

"Doctors"
There are moments in which Tomasz Wolski tries to make his documentary more atmospheric, i.e. by swooping with the camera through the aseptic, empty hospital corridors that serve each day as a stage for pain and suffering. Nevertheless, Wolski, here both director and cinematographer, does not cross the line of exaggeration. The most important thing is the opportunity to observe the doctors from one of Krakow's hospitals at work, hence Wolski tries to show many different aspects of their lives: telling jokes and scolding younger colleagues; irritated because of patients' lack of awareness and reflecting on their professions; moments of great hope and utter despair. Although Wolski at times shows some “bloody" details, his cinematography does not invade their jobs, usually going out of the way and letting the images be the ultimate commentary.

Polish title: Lekarze
Directed by: Tomasz Wolski
Cinematography: Tomasz Wolski



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The Feature Length Documentary Films Competition "IMAGE OF THE WORLD - WORLD IN IMAGES" is organized for the fourth time, under the patronage of DISCOVERY NETWORKS CEEMEA.

The aim of the competition is to appreciate documentary films as a creative interpretation of reality. The jury focuses on the visual and aesthetical part of a movie and judges the achievements in the area of film images, awarding best cinematographers among those selected to the competition.