Docudays UA: results

Winners of the Tenth Inter­national Festival of Docu­men­tary Film on Human Rights Docudays UA were announced in the Red Hall of the Kyiv House of Filmmakers on March 27. German documentary about life of juve­nile delinquents Beyond Wriezen (directed by Daniel Abma) received the Audience Award. Special student jury awarded the first prize to a witty and bright Latvian film The Documentarian (di­rected by Ivars Zviedris and Inese Klava).

Generally, the films competed in three main competitions: DOCU/LIFE, DOCU/RIGHT, and DOCU/SHORT.

The winner in the DOCU/SHORT categorie became the film Pouters (directed by Paul Fegan, Scotland). Ducumentary The Girld from the South (directed by Jose Luis Garcia, Argentina) won the first prize in the category DOCU/RIGHT. Jury of the art competition DOCU/LIFE awarded the first prize to Lithuanian documentary Conversation on Serious Topics (directed by Giedre Beinoriute).

Most personal prize of the festival has been established in commemoration of the friend and producer of the festival Andrii Matrosov. Organizers award it to a film, where they see love more than in other films. It is nice that this year this special prize was awarded to a Ukrainian short film directed by Oleksandr Techynsky Sirs and Misters.

This year the festival’s slogan was “There is a Choice!” with a special focus on protecting freedom of speech and peaceful assembly, free access to information and the right for free experession of one’s views. In the period between March 22 to 27 Kyiv became a meeting place of filmmakers, human rights activists, journalists, and activists from all over Ukraine, as well as Europe and the former Soviet Union members. Competition and out-of-competition programs included films that have been awarded first prizes at such prestigious film forums as Dundance, Berlin International Film Festival, IDFA, and Hot Docs.

Special event as part of the “Dzyha Circle” – premiere screening of the restored version of the film made by the genius of early Ukrainian and Soviet cinematography Dzyha Vetrov The Eleventh Year (1928) with musical accompaniment by Anton Baibakov closed the festival.