It all started in Locarno with a screening during the prestigious La Semaine de la Critique (International Critics’ Week), where the film won the Grand Prix/Prix SRG SSR. Such an excellent start was just the beginning of an extremely promising year. The documentary began travelling the world, starting with the most important European events such as IDFA, Batumi International Art.-House Film Festival, Docpoint, One World, CPH:DOX, or the Ji.hlava IDFF. It brought awards from ZagrebDox, DOK Leipzig, FIPADOC or Trieste, where it was recognised not only by the jury, but also by the Italian audience.
As it turned out, the documentary became a favourite also on other continents. The Balcony Movie went to North America (incl. the True/False Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto or Big Sky Documentary Film Festival), Australia and New Zealand (Antenna Documentary Film Festival in Sydney, Doc Edge International Documentary Film Festival in Auckland, or the Melbourne International Film Festival, among others), as well as to South America, where it received an AMPAS award qualifying for the Oscar competition at the It’s All True – 27th International Documentary Film Festival in Brazil. This means that the film has earned an unconditional place on the Oscars’ so-called longlist for Best Documentary Feature. The film will also have its Asian premiere in September at the festival in Korea.
The film’s extraordinary popularity is certainly greatly influenced by its universal nature and the characters who turn up below the balcony of the Polish documentary filmmaker.
The film tries to answer the question whether anyone can be a film protagonist? Can you fit the entire world in a single frame? Director Paweł Łoziński watches people from his balcony. Both young and old, they walk by smiling, sad, thoughtful, staring at their phones. Residents of the neighbourhood, or casual visitors, ordinary passers-by. The author approaches them, asks questions, talks about their life and how they’re doing. Standing there with his camera for over 2 years, he created a place for dialogue, a secular confessional where everyone can stop and tell others about themselves. Every person carries their own riddles and secrets. They can’t be easily labelled. Life can’t be imagined. The Balcony Movie is a radical return to the early days of cinema, when it was people who approached the camera. Perhaps one just needs to stop and stay a while to see more?
The film is produced by Lozinski Production and HBO Max. KFF Sales&Promotion is the international sales agent responsible mainly for foreign festival distribution of the film.
The full list of festivals and awards the film has received can be found here.
Paweł Łoziński – born in 1965 in Warsaw. Director, screenwriter, producer of documentaries and feature films. Graduated from the Łódź Film School. Author of many documentary films, including: Birthplace (1992), Taka historia (1999), Sisters (1999), Across the Border: Five Views from Neighbours (2004), Wygnańcy (2005), Kici, kici (2008), Chemo (2009), Father and Son (2013), and Werka (2014). Winner of prestigious festival awards, including in Bornholm, Paris, Leipzig, and Kraków.