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Paweł Łoziński, Poland, 2009, 58 minutes
This multiple award-winning film gives us a rare and personal glimpse into the life of an oncology clinic, where patients go to receive their chemotherapy treatment, or “chemo.” People sit in pairs during the treatment, talking to their counterparts. The patients are of all ages and from all walks of life, thrown together for no other reason than they share the reality of cancer. We see their faces in intimate close-up and listen to their conversations with each other. Life for them is in the moment so there is little small talk. Their conversations fill the time before the session is over and bring us a snapshot of ordinary lives interrupted by an incomprehensible force. A startling and beautiful film.
Winner, DOXA Feature Documentary Award
Prix Europe Award for TV Documentary, Berlin
Silver Hobbyhorse, Krakow Film Festival, Poland
Director’s biography
Paweł Łoziński was born in 1965 in Warsaw and is a director, scriptwriter and producer of documentary and fiction films. He earned a degree from the Film Directing Department of Łódz Film School. His documentary films include Birthplace (1992), The Way It Is (1999), Sisters (1999), Between the Doors (2004), Wygnańcy (2005), Kitty, Kitty (2008) and Chemo (2009). Łoziński has won prestigious awards at festivals in Bornholm, Paris, Leipzig and Krakow.
» Website
Preceded by:
Mother
Jakub Piatek, Poland, 2009, 11 minutes
In a small town in the Polish hinterland, a family is busy getting ready for a little girl’s First Communion. The camera, however, pays close attention to the face of an old woman who seems not to be taking part in the celebration. Her thoughts are elsewhere as her life is filled with waiting. Soon she will embark on the long journey to spend one hour with her son who sits across the country in a Polish jail. It is when mother and son meet, that we see the woman come to life as she does what she can to take care of her son for their brief time together.
» Website
Where the Sun Doesn’t Rush
Matej Bobrik, Poland, 2009, 18 minutes
Time in this mountain village in Slovakia goes by with its own lazy rhythm. Its blissful tranquility is occasionally interrupted by the announcements of the Funeral Society on the local radio, which broadcasts outdoors throughout the town. Announcements are sometimes accompanied with up-tempo folk music. This beautiful short film is a peek into the daily lives of a few of its inhabitants — doing housework, toiling on the farms and having a drink at the local inn. The camera moves to the rhythm of their lives, takes in the fabulous landscapes and studies the picturesque details of a slowly waning world.
» Website
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