West Lake International Documentary Festival is designed to promote documentary films which have high artistic value. This is a festival at which you not only watch great productions from all over the world, but also participate in discussion panels, listen to the pitchings and take a look at the participants of the film workshops. The event takes place in the autumn in the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts in Hangzhou. This year, the festival was held for the third time.
This year, one of the awards given at the festival, "D20 Filmmaker of the Year," went to the author of the film "Unconditional Love."
The award-winning film by Rafał Łysak asks several particularly important questions. Is an understanding between an 80-year-old extremely religious woman and her gay grandson possible at all? Are they capable of going beyond their faith and opinions in the name of love? This is a personal story of Rafał, the director of the film. Since his childhood, he was brought up by his grandma Teresa, whom he considers a second mother. She focused all her love and attention on Rafał, her beloved grandson, until the moment when he told her about his homosexuality. This news broke her heart.
You can find more information about the festival on its official website.