Dutch Estonian novelist Sana Valiulina investigates the life of her father who was compelled to betray Stalin’s Soviet Union by serving the Nazi war machine
Aliona van der Horst’s documentary tells an impossibly painful and sad story from the second world war; it is an extraordinary tale, arguably worthy of Boris Pasternak and David Lean. It is presented by Dutch Estonian novelist Sana Valiulina, born in Soviet-era Tallinn and resident in Amsterdam since 1989. All her life, she reveals, she has been obsessed with the memory of her father, Sayar, a cold and distant figure when she was growing up, because for 15 years after the war he had been imprisoned in the gulag and made to internalise a grotesque sense of shame for having allowed himself to be taken prisoner by the Nazis after the battle of Smolensk in 1941; Stalin had told his troops to die in combat rather than submit to this dishonour.
Aliona van der Horst’s documentary tells an impossibly painful and sad story from the second world war; it is an extraordinary tale, arguably worthy of Boris Pasternak and David Lean. It is presented by Dutch Estonian novelist Sana Valiulina, born in Soviet-era Tallinn and resident in Amsterdam since 1989. All her life, she reveals, she has been obsessed with the memory of her father, Sayar, a cold and distant figure when she was growing up, because for 15 years after the war he had been imprisoned in the gulag and made to internalise a grotesque sense of shame for having allowed himself to be taken prisoner by the Nazis after the battle of Smolensk in 1941; Stalin had told his troops to die in combat rather than submit to this dishonour.
- 1/22/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Mstyslav Chernov’s unflinching account of the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine wins the public vote at the documentary festival
Mstyslav Chernov’s unflinching account of the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 20 Days In Mariupol, has won the Npo IDFA Audience Award at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
The €5,000 prize was awarded at the Royal Theater Tuschinski in Amsterdam on Saturday night, (November 18) followed by a special screening of the film. The award is based on votes by festival visitors who rate the films directly following their screenings via a Qr code.
Mstyslav Chernov’s unflinching account of the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 20 Days In Mariupol, has won the Npo IDFA Audience Award at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
The €5,000 prize was awarded at the Royal Theater Tuschinski in Amsterdam on Saturday night, (November 18) followed by a special screening of the film. The award is based on votes by festival visitors who rate the films directly following their screenings via a Qr code.
- 11/20/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Documentary chronicles the Armenian director’s search for her missing soldier brother.
Shoghakat Vardanyan’s documentary 1489, which chronicles the Armenian director’s search for her missing soldier brother, has won the best film award in international competition at The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
The title 1489 refers to the anonymous number of a “body of an individual missing in action,” and was the number assigned to Soghomon Vardanyan, a 21-year-old student and musician who was close to completing his military service when the conflict between Azerbaijan and his home country Armenia over Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) flared up again in September...
Shoghakat Vardanyan’s documentary 1489, which chronicles the Armenian director’s search for her missing soldier brother, has won the best film award in international competition at The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
The title 1489 refers to the anonymous number of a “body of an individual missing in action,” and was the number assigned to Soghomon Vardanyan, a 21-year-old student and musician who was close to completing his military service when the conflict between Azerbaijan and his home country Armenia over Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) flared up again in September...
- 11/17/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Shoghakat Vardanyan’s “1489,” which follows the director’s family after her brother goes missing while serving in the Armenian army, won documentary festival IDFA’s best film prize Thursday.
The jury of the International Competition section said the film “acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence.”
The jury added that it was “cinema as a tool of survival — to allow us all to look at the things we would rather not see, and ultimately, an unforgettable example of cinema as an act of love.”
The best directing award went to Mohamed Jabaly for “Life Is Beautiful,” in which the Palestinian filmmaker documents his life in 2014 when he was visiting Norway and was prevented from returning home to Gaza because the border was closed.
“Life Is Beautiful”
The jury members said the film was “a...
The jury of the International Competition section said the film “acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence.”
The jury added that it was “cinema as a tool of survival — to allow us all to look at the things we would rather not see, and ultimately, an unforgettable example of cinema as an act of love.”
The best directing award went to Mohamed Jabaly for “Life Is Beautiful,” in which the Palestinian filmmaker documents his life in 2014 when he was visiting Norway and was prevented from returning home to Gaza because the border was closed.
“Life Is Beautiful”
The jury members said the film was “a...
- 11/16/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Taskovski Films has picked up “Turn Your Body to the Sun,” which world premieres in the International Competition section of IDFA, one of the world’s top documentary film festivals. The sales agency is hoping to replicate the success it had with “Radiograph of a Family,” which won Best Feature-Length Documentary Award at last year’s festival.
“Turn Your Body to the Sun,” directed by Dutch filmmaker Aliona van der Horst, tells the story of a Soviet Tatar prisoner of war. After World War II, he is sent to one of Stalin’s brutal camps where the love for an unknown girl becomes his salvation. Sixty years later his daughter Sana is tracing the path of her silent father.
Sana tries to understand what made him the man she knew as a child, through his diaries, various personal and public archives, and registries. As she accompanies the daughter in her journey,...
“Turn Your Body to the Sun,” directed by Dutch filmmaker Aliona van der Horst, tells the story of a Soviet Tatar prisoner of war. After World War II, he is sent to one of Stalin’s brutal camps where the love for an unknown girl becomes his salvation. Sixty years later his daughter Sana is tracing the path of her silent father.
Sana tries to understand what made him the man she knew as a child, through his diaries, various personal and public archives, and registries. As she accompanies the daughter in her journey,...
- 11/15/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Louis Hothothot’s feature debut “Four Journeys” will open the 34th edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), which also revealed the lineup of the International Competition program, as well as other sections.
“Four Journeys” is a personal film about the destructive influence on a Chinese family of the one-child policy. Hothothot was born as an “illegal” second child, and the authorities punished his parents harshly. The director forces his parents to confront their traumatic past in the film.
A total of 264 titles from more than 80 countries play in the festival, which runs from Nov. 17-28. Artistic director Orwa Nyrabia said the films show us “how artistic freedom, courage and engagement with the world come in many different languages, styles, and viewpoints.” He added: “The documentary field is being confirmed as a future-proof art form that is unapologetically open, diverse and continuously developing.”
The International Competition lineup includes...
“Four Journeys” is a personal film about the destructive influence on a Chinese family of the one-child policy. Hothothot was born as an “illegal” second child, and the authorities punished his parents harshly. The director forces his parents to confront their traumatic past in the film.
A total of 264 titles from more than 80 countries play in the festival, which runs from Nov. 17-28. Artistic director Orwa Nyrabia said the films show us “how artistic freedom, courage and engagement with the world come in many different languages, styles, and viewpoints.” He added: “The documentary field is being confirmed as a future-proof art form that is unapologetically open, diverse and continuously developing.”
The International Competition lineup includes...
- 11/1/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Cologne, Germany -- Dutch/Irish co-production "Nothing Personal," a feature debut from Polish-born director Urszula Antoniak won big at this year's Golden Calves, the Dutch national film awards, taking four trophies, including that for best film.
The story of a woman who abandons her life and all her possessions in the Netherlands for a nomadic lifestyle in Ireland, also secured nods in the best director, best cinematography and best sound design categories. The film stars Lotte Verbeek and Stephen Rea.
Martin Koolhoven's World War II epic "Winter in Wartime" picked up three Golden Calves, for best actor Martijn Lakemeier, a 16-year-old first-timer, best supporting actor Raymond Thiry and best production design. Director Esther Rots, another first-timer, scooped three trophies for her intimate drama "Can Go Through Skin," taking Golden Calves for best actress Rifka Lodeizen and best editing prizes along with a special Jury award.
Dutch Oscar contender, Jean van de Velde...
The story of a woman who abandons her life and all her possessions in the Netherlands for a nomadic lifestyle in Ireland, also secured nods in the best director, best cinematography and best sound design categories. The film stars Lotte Verbeek and Stephen Rea.
Martin Koolhoven's World War II epic "Winter in Wartime" picked up three Golden Calves, for best actor Martijn Lakemeier, a 16-year-old first-timer, best supporting actor Raymond Thiry and best production design. Director Esther Rots, another first-timer, scooped three trophies for her intimate drama "Can Go Through Skin," taking Golden Calves for best actress Rifka Lodeizen and best editing prizes along with a special Jury award.
Dutch Oscar contender, Jean van de Velde...
- 10/5/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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