Documentary Features Competition 2023 Line-up

Friday October 20th, 2023

THE ECHO

©Radiola Films

In the remote village of El Eco that exists outside of time, the children look after the sheep and their elders. When the frost and drought punish the land, they learn to understand death, illness and love with every action, word and silence from their parents. It is a story about the echo that clings to the soul, about the certainty of shelter provided by those around us, about rebellion and vertigo in the face of life. A story about growing up.

Original title: El Eco
Polish title: Echo
Director: Tatiana Huezo
Cinematographer: Ernesto Pardo
Produced by: Radiola Films
Country and year: Mexico, Germany, 2023

INSIDE MY HEART

Reality and fiction merge in this film about – and featuring – professional actors with intellectual disabilities, which explores the heart-rending tensions between what its spontaneous stars want and are able to do, and what they are allowed to do. Inside My Heart is a film that moves between the magic of an opera and the depth of a documentary. The frequently endearing scenes about human limitations leave no viewer unmoved. And so it gradually becomes clear why Saskia Boddeke is drawing attention to how people with disabilities are patronized. With this story, the idiosyncratic director also poses timely questions about the need for laws and regulations.

Original title: Het zit in mijn hart
Director: Saskia Boddeke
Cinematographers: Ruzbeh Babol, Reinout Steenhuizen
Produced by: Witfilm
Country and year: Netherlands, 2022

IT'S ONLY/NOT ONLY A BODY... OR A SHORT FILM ABOUT FREEDOM

Love thyself. This is the life credo of Zosia - a photographer, traveller and free spirit. Going round the world in her camper, she uses photography to make other women feel comfortable with nakedness and teaches them how to love their own bodies. In front of her lens stood women with a history of eating disorders and a lack of acceptance of their appearance. Zosia does not have her own permanent place on Earth and has been on the road since she dropped out of school at the age of 18. And although freedom is her priority, loneliness and longing for love may sometimes jeopardize her travelling plans.

Original title: To tylko/aż ciało... albo krótki film o wolności
Director: Michał Hytroś
Cinematographer: Michał Hytroś
Produced by: Michał Hytroś
Country and year: Poland, 2023

KING COAL

A lyrical tapestry of a place and people, King Coal meditates on the complex history and future of the coal industry, the communities it has shaped, and the myths it has created. The director of the film reshapes the boundaries of documentary filmmaking in a beautiful and deeply moving immersion into Central Appalachia where coal is not just a resource, but a way of life, imagining the ways a community can re-envision itself. The film transcends time and place, emphasizing the ways in which everyone is connected through an immersive mosaic of belonging, ritual, and imagination. Emerging from the long shadows of the coal mines, King Coal untangles the pain from the beauty, and illuminates the innate human capacity for change.

Director: Elaine McMillion Sheldon
Cinematographer: Curren Sheldon
Produced by: Cottage M, Drexler Films, Fishbowl Films, Requisite Media
Country and year: USA, 2023

THE LAST SEAGULL

Bulgarian “seagull" Ivan, has been escorting wealthy foreign ladies at Sunny Beach resort for 40 years. He’s getting old and tired. His greatest asset seems to be his EU passport when trying to get the attention of Russian ladies. But even they start questioning Ivan’s status as a possible provider. The pandemic does not make the work any easier. No tourists means no money. Ivan would like to settle down and reconnect with his son in Ukraine who does not answer his calls – until spring 2022 arrives.

Director: Tonislav Hristov
Cinematographer: Orlin Ruevski
Produced by: Making Movies, Soul Food, UpNorth Film
Country and year: Bulgaria, Finland, Norway, 2023

SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD

A story about the power of sisterhood, the beauty of all bodies and the cleansing power of saunas. An Estonian candidate for an Oscar^® and European Film Awards, this film takes the audience on a journey deep into the life-giving forest. A group of women gather in a traditional sauna to relax, sing and cook together, but above all, to share their deepest secrets, thoughts and draw strength from togetherness. In the heated, intimate space of the sauna, they let go of their fears and shame, regaining their energy for life. This universal story, which was filmed over eight years, also shows the phenomenon of Estonia’s UNESCO-listed smoke sauna.

Polish title: Siostrzeństwo świętej sauny
Director: Anna Hints
Cinematographer: Ants Tammik
Produced by: Alexandra Film, Kepler22 Productions, Ursus Parvus
Polish distributor: Against Gravity
Country and year: Estonia, France, Iceland, 2023

A STILL SMALL VOICE

Director Luke Lorentzen’s A Still Small Voice follows Mati, a chaplain completing a year-long hospital residency, as she learns to provide spiritual care to people confronting profound life changes. Through Mati’s experiences with her patients, her struggle with professional burnout, and her own spiritual questioning, we gain new perspectives on how meaningful connection can be and how painful its absence is.

Director: Luke Lorentzen
Cinematographer: Luke Lorentzen
Produced by: Hedgehog Films, Jewish Story Partners, Spark Features
Country and year: USA, 2023