{"id":113897,"date":"2025-11-02T10:38:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T10:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/113897\/"},"modified":"2025-11-02T10:38:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T10:38:12","slug":"polish-director-natalia-koniarz-wins-ji-hlava-with-documentary-silver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/113897\/","title":{"rendered":"Polish Director Natalia Koniarz Wins Ji.hlava with Documentary ‘Silver’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tNatalia Koniarz<\/a>\u2019s \u201cSilver<\/a>\u201d has been named the winner of the Opus Bonum section at Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival<\/a>. The film also picked up the award for the best documentary film in the Visegrad region and best cinematography recognition for Stanis\u0142aw Cuske.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSilver\u201d boasts the acclaimed filmmaker Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski (\u201cIda,\u201d \u201cCold War\u201d) as an executive producer. \u201cIt\u2019s a sensory and poetic experience. It brings images from the depths with remarkable clarity,\u201d he said, calling the film \u201cbrutal, hypnotic and profoundly humane.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt portrays Bolivia\u2019s highest silver mine and the locals who live according to its brutal rules. Danger is ever-present, not just underground, and sometimes the only recourse is to pray to the devil, who\u2019s supposed to keep them safe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYou live with these people, you become friends with them, you witness their suffering and violence, but you can\u2019t change it or react. My reaction to someone else\u2019s suffering could have consequences when I\u2019m no longer there,\u201d Koniarz told\u00a0Variety.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI constantly confronted my own beliefs and prejudices in order to find an insider\u2019s perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYudi Zhu won the top prize in the First Lights section for \u201cSo Close, So Far,\u201d while Sammy Baloji\u2019s \u201cThe Tree of Authenticity\u201d dominated the Testimonies category. Fredj Moussa was given the Fascinations\u2019 main award for \u201cLand of Barbar.\u201d Finally, acclaimed director Vitaly Mansky<\/a> was the Czech Joy winner with \u201cTime to the Target.\u201d A co-production between Latvia, Czech Republic and Ukraine, it depicts Mansky\u2019s hometown of Lviv, disrupted by war. <\/p>\n

\n\tUnsurprisingly, the warmly received \u201cMr. Nobody Against Putin\u201d by David Borenstein and Pavel \u201cPasha\u201d Talankin walked away with the audience award.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAlready noticed at Sundance, the film has been selected by Denmark as its entry for the best international feature film Oscar. It shows Talankin, a small-town teacher, quietly resisting \u2013 and filming \u2013 propaganda and militarization sweeping over his school after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He\u2019s since fled Russia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring a Q&A with the audience, Talankin reveled at its success. \u201cI got a call from the kids I used to teach when Denmark decided to submit the film. They said: \u2018Just imagine if the best actor award goes to our teacher\u2019!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tHe said: \u201cI was born in Russia; I grew up in it and grew up with my eyes open. I knew what was happening. Everything that comes out of Putin\u2019s mouth when he\u2019s on TV is a lie. It\u2019s always a lie.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThis year\u2019s edition also welcomed Tsai Ming-liang<\/a>, back to present \u201cNight Journey.\u201d\u00a0Last year, he picked up a Lifetime Achievement Award at Ji.hlava.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI was immediately drawn to the quiet atmosphere of the small town and the fog that shrouds its nights. The idea came to me to shoot a new \u2018Walker\u2019 film there,\u201d he explained. Shortly afterwards, he was invited by FAMU to serve as a guest professor for the autumn semester.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMy producer began planning a new project: to return to Ji.hlava a year later, filming\u00a0with FAMU students before the next edition of the festival, complete post-production in Prague and hold its world premiere at Ji.hlava.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Walker\u201d series began in 2012 and has continued for 13 years, with 12 films completed so far: \u201cWalker in Spain\u201d is still in post-production.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAs long as Lee Kang-sheng and I are both still here, I believe the series will continue. I look forward to seeing how Lee might keep walking slowly into his sixties and seventies. Future plans include a \u2018Walker\u2019 in Jeonju [in Korea] and others in different cities,\u201d said Tsai Ming-liang<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhenever there\u2019s an invitation and some funding, I will make another one.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cJi.hlava proved to be the perfect place for\u00a0\u2018Night Journey\u2019: it offered the right timing, strong institutional collaboration and external partnerships. I don\u2019t think such a project could have happened this smoothly, or this quickly, anywhere else \u2013 even in Prague.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Time to the Target\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival<\/p>\n

\n\tFull list of winners:<\/p>\n

\n\tOpus Bonum<\/p>\n

\n\tMain Award: Natalia Koniarz, \u201cSilver\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tI. Special Mention: Jean Boiron-Lajous, \u201cAbysses and Wonders\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tII. Special Mention: Hilary Powell, Dan Edelstyn, \u201cPower Station\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBest Central and Eastern European Documentary\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tLisa Polster, \u201cB\u00fcrglkopf\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAward for the Best Documentary Film in the Visegrad Region 2025\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tNatalia Koniarz, \u201cSilver\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAward for Original Approach<\/p>\n

\n\tDiego Hern\u00e1ndez, \u201cSkyless Roof\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBest Editing<\/p>\n

\n\tXavier Sirven, \u201cAbysses and Wonders\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBest Cinematography<\/p>\n

\n\tStanis\u0142aw Cuske, \u201cSilver\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAward for the Best Sound Design<\/p>\n

\n\tHenry Sims, \u201cThe Beauty of the Donkey\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tStudent Jury Award<\/p>\n

\n\tPeter Mettler, \u201cWhile the Green Grass Grows: A Diary in Seven Parts\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFirst Lights<\/p>\n

\n\tMain Award: Yudi Zhu, \u201cSo Close, So Far\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSpecial Mention: Karel Malkoun, \u201cThe Cats, the Sea, and Everything Between\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBest Cinematography: Ludmila Cimb\u016frkov\u00e1, Maja Pen\u010di\u010d, \u201cMinimum Love\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAward for Original Approach: Raaed Al Kour, \u201cTaste of Salt\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTestimonies<\/p>\n

\n\tMain Award: Sammy Baloji, \u201cThe Tree of Authenticity\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSpecial Mention: Amber Fares, \u201cCoexistence, My Ass!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSpecial Mention for Best Film on Politics: Joanna Grudzinska, \u201cPoland versus History\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSpecial Mention for Best Film on Knowledge: \u00c5se Svenheim Drivenes, \u201cTeenage Life Interrupted\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFascinations<\/p>\n

\n\tMain Award: Fredj Moussa, \u201cLand of Barbar\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tI. Special mention: Mario Blacon\u00e0, \u201cTransparencies\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tII. Special mention: Paula Malinowska, \u201cBranching Light and Flickers of a Dawn\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tExprmntl.cz<\/p>\n

\n\tMain Award: Nebe Mot\u00fdlov\u00e1, \u201cTiny Film about Rape\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tI. Special mention: Zbyn\u011bk Baladr\u00e1n, \u201cThe Totalitarian Society of the Image\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAudience Award<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMr. Nobody Against Putin\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCzech Joy<\/p>\n

\n\tMain Award: Vitaly Mansky, \u201cTime to the Target\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSpecial Mention: Martin Trabal\u00edk, \u201cWhat About Petey?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBest Editing: Michal B\u00f6hm, \u201cUnborn Father\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBest Sound Design: Martin St\u00fdblo, \u201cKapralova\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBest Cinematography: Martin Koll\u00e1r, \u201cChronicle\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAward for Original Approach: Jan Strejcovsk\u00fd, \u201cIs It Worth It!?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tStudent Jury Award: Martin Trabal\u00edk, \u201cWhat About Petey?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tVirtual Reality Film<\/p>\n

\n\tAward for the Best Virtual Reality Film: Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel, \u201cThe Exploding Girl\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSpecial Mention: Sjors Swierstra, Ivanna Khitsinska, \u201cShelter\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSpecial Mention: Shiuan Yan, \u201cTrans-Composition\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tShort Joy<\/p>\n

\n\tGabriele Neudecker, \u201cwedLOCK tradWIFE\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tContribution to World Cinema Award<\/p>\n

\n\tFundaci\u00f3n Grupo Ukamau\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tJi.hlava Industry Winners\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tJi.hlava New Visions Award for the Most Promising European Project in Cooperation with UPP<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAdam\u2019s Tooth\u201d (United Kingdom, Georgia)<\/p>\n

\n\tDirectors: Mariam Chachia, Nik Voigt<\/p>\n

\n\tProducers: Tekla Machavariani, Mariam Chachia<\/p>\n

\n\tJi.hlava New Visions Award for the Most Promising European Project in Cooperation with Soundsquare<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSuperhumans\u201d (Austria)<\/p>\n

\n\tDirector: Inna Shevchenko<\/p>\n

\n\tProducers: Arash T. Riahi<\/p>\n

\n\tJi.hlava New Visions Award 2025 for the Most Promising U.S. Project in Partnership with AmDocs<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNewville\u201d (United States, Uganda, Switzerland)<\/p>\n

\n\tDirectors and producers: Pisie Hochheim, Tony Oswald<\/p>\n

\n\tCannes Docs \u2013 March\u00e9 Du Film Award<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cCorrespondances to Inhabit the World\u201d (Uruguay, Switzerland, Spain)<\/p>\n

\n\tDirector: Laura Gabay<\/p>\n

\n\tProducer: Vania Jaikin<\/p>\n

\n\tDAE Award\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cLaura Zahirah: Just a Regular Muslim\u201d (Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Finland)<\/p>\n

\n\tDirector: Karoliina Lahti<\/p>\n

\n\tProducer: Serj Rimma<\/p>\n

\n\t#Docs Connect Taskovski Training Award<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSuperhumans\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSheffield Docfest Networking Award<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Pylon and Lake\u201d (France)<\/p>\n

\n\tDirector: Sylvain Yonnet<\/p>\n

\n\tProducers: C\u00e9cile Lestrade, Elise Hug<\/p>\n

\n\tLightdox Award<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDear You\u201d (United States)<\/p>\n

\n\tDirector: Aurora Brachman<\/p>\n

\n\tProducers: Khaula Malik, Lo Heimer<\/p>\n

\n\tDocs By the Sea Award<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDrifting by the River Rhythm\u201d (Cambodia)<\/p>\n

\n\tDirector: Polen Ly<\/p>\n

\n\tProducer: Daniel Mattes<\/p>\n

\n\tMeditalents Residency Award<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMomtski Kamen \u2013 The Girl\u2019s Rock\u201d (Greece)<\/p>\n

\n\tDirectors: Maria Sidiropoulou, Chloe Bruhat<\/p>\n

\n\tProducer: Maria Sidiropoulou<\/p>\n

\n\tJacob Burns Film Center Award<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNewville\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Natalia Koniarz\u2019s \u201cSilver\u201d has been named the winner of the Opus Bonum section at Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113898,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[156,72769,409,81209,111,139,69,7457,81210,81211],"class_list":["post-113897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-ji-hlava-documentary-film-festival","tag-movies","tag-natalia-koniarz","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-silver","tag-tsai-ming-liang","tag-vitaly-mansky"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113897\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}