Awards at 8. PLANETE DOC FILM FESTIVAL

The 8th PLANETE DOC FILM FESTIVAL - one of the most important documentary film festivals in Europe, held from May 6-15 in Warsaw and from May 6-8 in 21 other Polish cities during the DIGITAL PLANETE DOC WEEKEND- has come to an end.

The festival's international jury consisting of Katarzyna Kozyra, Paul Sturz and Guillermo Rossi have decided that the main prize of PLANETE DOC -MILLLENNIUM AWARDand €8000 in prize money will go to Nikolaus Geyrhalter's Abendland.Members of the jury were greatly impressed with the film's stark and powerful criticism of excessive technology and security measures employed in European cities.
The Millennium Award Jury has also selected Thomas Imbach's Day is Done for an Honorable Mention, writing in the verdict that: "the filmmaker has navigated the huge gap between the outside world and inner space, creating a poetic experimental documentary that bases on raw emotions and quiet power."

International Jury consisting of Martichka Bozhilova, Esteban Bernatas and Valery Balayan have decided that the
MAGIC HOUR AWARDfor middle-length feature film and €4000 in prize money will go to to Alamar by Pedro Gonzáles-Rubio for "giving the audiences a magic hour through presenting basic human values and their roots".The Magical Hour Jury's Honorable Mention went to Eva Küpper's What's in a Name "for its powerful depiction of the problem of identity in a world that stretches the borders of self-awareness into eternity."

The CANON CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARD, which was presented for the first time this year, along with €4000 in prize money went to Jacqueline Zünd's Goodnight Nobodyfor "its atmosphere, artistic coherence and the risk involved in working just out of the shadows.”The Jury also selected Pedro Gonzálesa-Rubio's Alamar and Nikolaus Geyrhalter's Abendland for Honorable Mentions.

The AUDIENCE AWARD and €2000 in prize money went to Armadillo by Janus Metz, a powerful depiction of the senseless military actions in Afghanistan.

The AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AWARD for a film on environmental issues along with €3000 in prize money went to Precious Life by Shlomi Eldar. „The film shows the protagonists' inner struggle and allows us to go beyond the ideological, political and religious divisions. The message that 'life is precious' is delivered in a clean, convincing manner that employs no emotional blackmail."

An Honorable Mention was given to the film Barzakh by Mantas Kvedaravicius.„The film presenting the skin-deep back-to-normal life in Chechnya, where people are still being kidnapped and tortured, takes on a poetic form that allows us to penetrate into the minds of the characters portrayed and to show us what cannot be seen - their fears and beliefs that allow them to live on."

Jury consisting of Martyna Wojciekowska, Katarzyna Radzikowska and Maciej Muskat have decided that the

GREEN WARSAW AWARD and €3000 in prize money for a film on environmental issues will go to Joe Berlinger's Crude. The Real Price of Oil. „The filmmaker has found an inspiring means to show us that passion and determination can lead to tangible success. The path chosen by the film's protagonist should be viewed with utmost respect!"Additionally, Josh Fox's Gasland received an Honorable Mention from the Green Warsaw Award Jury. "This intimate, originally yet simply shot work presents the filmmaker and the film's topic in a convincing, entertaining and poignant manner."

The jury consisting of Łukasz Ronduda, Małgorzata Sadowska and Kuba Mikurda have unanimously decided to give thenewly-established DOC ART AWARD for a film about art along with €1000 in prize money to Clio Barnard's The Arbor. The jury deemed that the film had made the most of the potential that comes from the intersection of art and documentary worlds."Not only is this a moving story about an artist, but also it is an interesting film experiment. The filmmaker has found an original form to present the tragic story of British playwright Andrea Dunbar. By blurrying the borders between reality and fiction as well as documentary and feature films, she has created a film in which the very process of creation becomes an important subject. What does it mean that 'art feeds on life'? What creates the borders between the two? Is there room for ethics there? These are just some of the questions posed byBarnard”.

Marina Moshkova is this year's WARSAW ANIMATION WINNER and recipient of €1000 in prize money for her short-feature animation In Scale. The award was presented by the Jury consisting of: Wojciech Wawszczyk, Anna Błaszczyk and Kamil Polak, who decided that "by drawing a few simple lines on a piece of paper the filmmaker has provided the audiences with as much emotions and plot twists as a decent disaster movie. Simplicity and minimalism in form go hand in hand with state-of-the-art craft, sophisticated sound and unpretentious artistic fun."

CHOPIN'S NOSE AWARDfor a film about music and €1000 in prize moeny went to Kinshasa Symphony, a film by Claus Wischmann and Martin Baer, "who have presented in a multifaceted and colorful manner man's desire to interpret and play music. This film proves that music is a unique art form that can 'infect' and inspire both artists and listeners. The Jury, consisting of Piotr Metz, Angelika Kucińska, Paula Bialski and Karol Strzemieczny (from Paula i Karol) selected John Turturro's Passione for an Honorable Mention for its "innovative form that wonderfully reflect the uniqueness and soundscape of Naples."

This year, the ARTHOUSE CINEMAS NETWORK AWARD given out to one of the films presented during DIGITAL PLANETE DOC WEEKEND, as well as support in the film's distribution in Poland went to Frank Piasecki Poulsen's Blood in the Mobile.

FOCUS MAGAZINE'S AWARD FOR THE FESTIVAL'S GREATEST PERSONALITYwent to Dr Jane Goodall, a world-famous environmental movement icon, researcher on chimpanzee behavior and the protagonist of the film Jane's Journey by Lorenz Knauer.

MILLENNIUM BANK is the festival's main patron.

The festival's main partner is PLANETE television channel, which presents carefully selected documentary films from around the world on all kinds of subjects that always relate to man. Best films of the festival can be watched later on PLANETE. More info at www.planete.pl