East Doc Platform Award for the Best post-production documentary project was given to Italian-British co-production The Train to Moscow. The jury - Simon Kilmurry (Documentary POV, USA), Heléna Fantl (La fémis, France) and Veton Nurkollari (DokuFest, Kosovo) – admitted that their decision to be rather difficult:
“… We would hope to see all the projects finished as soon as possible, but since we are a jury, we had to single out one we think stood out most. The Train to Moscow captivated us because of its unique use of personal footage that shows almost archival quality and very significant historical value. It tells about an almost utopian belief, that of communism and Soviet Union. According to the name of the presentation, we hope to see your film launched as soon as possible."
IDF awards feature also a traditional prize - Golden Funnel for the Best documentary project in development and production. Among 16 Forum workshop participants at East Doc Platform, the award went to Hanna Polak’s in-development documentary titled Zvalka. Her exceptional perseverance she proved during the 11 years in which she followed the life of a homeless girl from Moscow’s garbage dump was appreciated by Marijke Rawie who decided about the prize with two other Forum workshop tutuors, Mikael Opstrup and Claudio Pazienza.
The Train to Moscow
Il Treno va a Mosca , Italy, United Kingdom, 70 min, 35 mm, Digi Beta, Archive , Experimental, History
In the aftermath of Stalin’s death, three Italian communists engage in a trip to the Soviet Union to challenge their utopia with an 8mm camera.In 1957, Sauro, Luigi and Enzo all live in Alfonsine, a small town in Italy ruled like a miniature Soviet Union by the Italian Communist Party. As many communists in the West, they dream of the Soviet Union, and hope for the great Revolution. But with the wind of reform and self-criticism blowing through the Eastern Bloc after the death of Stalin the image of the Soviet Union as the workers’ paradise begins to crumble. They therefore decide to travel to the USSR to find out what is true and what is false in this supposed land of milk and honey. They film their entire journey with their 8mm camera. Through this invaluable personal archive, our film tells the hopes, disappointments and challenges of three young men faced with the reality of what seemed to be a utopia come true.
Zvalka
Zvałka , Poland, USA, 70 min, HD, Creative, Human Rights, Social Issues
This is an 11-year odyssey into the harsh realities of Russia's underclass, it's a homeless and poor who live at a garbage dump on the outskirts of Moscow. We follow Yula from age 11 to 22, from her childhood to her pregnancy at 16, until she is 22 and finally realizes the need to prevail and escape Zvalka. Yula's story is one of countless tales that haunt Russia's as well as the world's garbage dumps. Yula has ''been there, done that, seen it all and is done''. Most importantly, Yula's life is a story od change, of ability of the human spirit to rise up and prevail from a heap of degradation and shame.
