As the name suggests, IDFA Specials is a special events held by one of the most important documentary film festivals. Attendees can enjoy premiere screenings of specially selected documentaries. The event, in a way, is a prelude to the fvestival itself.
This year, the list of selected films includes Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski’s latest documentary.
War has taken a heavy toll on the generation of young Ukrainians. Several months before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, five protagonists – inspired by the motifs of Hamlet – return to the brutal experience of recent years on stage trying to overcome their traumas. Each of them struggles with disappointment, helplessness, or anger in their own way. SLAVIK went through the real hell of war and captivity as a soldier. KATYA wants her mother to finally forgive her for going to the front lines. RODION escaped from the conflict-ridden Donbas and, as an LGBT person, is struggling with growing homophobia in post-revolutionary Ukraine. ROMAN, who tended to wounded soldiers as a military medic, is still fighting his traumatic memories. OXANA, as an actress, takes up the fight on the artistic front. What’s most significant – no matter the values they represent, recent years have been a series of shocking experiences that left a brutal mark on their minds. For each of them, the theatre stage becomes a tribune for shouting their regrets while asking themselves Hamlet’s central question: to be or not to be?
The screening of The Hamlet Syndrome will take place on 28 September. It will also mark the film’s Dutch premiere.
All necessary information can be found here.