"The Last Day of Summer", dir. Piotr Stasik
The 11th edition of the International Documentary Film Festival "Flahertiana" in Perm, Russia, came to an end. The winners were announced and Polish documentary films are yet again among the best
Piotr Stasik's film "The Last Day of Summer" repeated last year's success of Paweł Loziński's "Chemo" at the festival in Perm receiving the "Silver Nanook" Award for the best short film. "The Last Day of Summer" is a look at modern Russia through the observation of everyday life of cadet school students in Penza, 700 km away from Moscow. The director focuses on several characters, portraying how the time in school affects their lives, how they change, and what their desires are. The school is seen as a serious establishment, which in some way puts an end to carefree childhood.
"(...) While staying at my parents' house in the countryside, I looked for books to read. Instead, I ended up finding my old diaries. I was surprised because it turned out that the last entry was written when I was 8 years old. Two weeks later I found myself in Penza - 700 km from Moscow. Provincial Russia looks like Poland 20 years ago. I felt like I had returned to my childhood. By chance I came across a school for cadets. I saw boys marching in rows dressed in military uniforms. The youngest were 7 years old and the oldest were 17. Finding my diaries and seeing this school brought back to my childhood memories and I decided to make the film. Out of 400 high school students, I chose five heroes for the film. The youngest is 8 years old, and the eldest is 17. In each of them I discovered a part of myself in previous years. Through the camera, I saw what their normal day looked like. This is how the film came about, on one hand it is a trip back in time to my childhood, and on the other it is the story of the uneasy fate of modern Russia", said the film's director.
On hearing the news, Piotr Stasik said that he was "very happy, especially because the film was shot in Russia". Distinguished for cinematography, the film also received Golden Frog at PLUS CAMERIMAGE Festival.
Another Polish documentary honoured in Perm was Jakub Stożek's "Out of Reach", receiving the FIPRESCI Jury prize. "Out of Reach" is a story of two teenage girls, Karolina and Klaudia, who were raised for most of their lives without a mother. Due to the complex family situation the sisters had to learn how to be more responsible and independent than their peers. They make an impressively mature decision to get in touch with their mother and rebuild family relations.
The International Documentary Film Festival "Flahertiana" in Perm appears to be the most interesting presentation of documentary films in Russia today. The Flahertiana festival is named after the man hailed as one of the founding fathers of documentary film, Robert Flaherty (1884-1951), an American director renowned for "Nanoon of the North" (1922).
The 11th International Documentary Film Festival "Flatheriana" took place in Perm from the 11-17th of October 2011. For more about the festival visit: www.flahertiana.ru.
Source: polishdocs.pl