Each year Szczecin European Film Festival presents the most popular and latest documentary film productions as part of The Best Films in the World programme. This time, the viewers will be treated to a cocktail of cultural-social issues sharing a common denominator – social relations. Marcin Borchardt’s “Beksińscy. Album wideofoniczny” tells about the difficult familial relationship between Polish painter Zdzisław Beksiński and his son. Raoul Peck’s “I Am Not Your Negro” expands the issue to a national level, depicting the development of anti-racist movements in the USA. The presentation of international cinema will be concluded by Matthew Heineman’s “City of Ghosts” – a seemingly narrow topic of Raqqa journalists evolves to global proportions by an attempt at directing the world’s attention to the genocide committed against civilians at the hands of ISIS.
The presented films have already stirred audiences at numerous international festivals, resulting in many awards, including an Oscar nomination.
Curator: Damian Romaniak
The story of prominent Polish painter Zdzisław Beksiński and the complicated relationship with his son Tomek – a very popular music journalist and multiple suicide attempt survivor struggling with depression. A stirring documentary family drama that is meticulously recreated thanks to the Beksińskis’ private audio, video, and photo records, which have never been published in similar form before.
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The story of journalists and activists who belong to the RSS group (Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently). Ever since the Syrian city of Raqqa was taken over by ISIS in 2014, local reporters have been risking their lives to inform people around the world of the crimes committed by fighters of the Islamic State. The film has had its world première at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
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Peck uses previously unreleased excerpts from James Baldwin’s unfinished book and juxtaposes them with rich archive material, connecting the past of anti-racist civil movements with today’s work of #BlackLivesMatter activists. It is a story of racial segregation, persecution, and the fight for the rights of Afro-Americans in the USA. The film has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.
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