Polish (co)productions presented at WATCH DOCS Industry during last year's edition of our festival take part in the prestigious East Silver Market! This event focuses on documentaries from Central and Eastern Europe - and every year invites the most interesting projects from the region at various stages of production. 

In December, we had the opportunity to host the filmmakers and creators of the films that will be screened today at this year's East Silver Market in Prague: 

► FLOWERS OF UKRAINE, directed by Adelina Borets, PL, UA, 2024, 70'.

The story of 67-year-old Natalia, who lives in the center of Kiev with her two husbands - a Ukrainian and a Russian. The woman defends her place on earth against developers, but the real battle begins when a full-scale invasion of Ukraine begins.

► FOREST, dir. by Lidia Duda, CZ, PL, 2024, 84'

Asia and Marek bought an old house near Poland's eastern border, in the oldest forest in Europe. This is their paradise – a place where their children can grow up safely, away from the problems of today’s world. Yet, one day refugees appear in their forest. Unwelcome neither in Poland nor in Belarus. The whole family helps refugees, even though it’s against Polish law. But how can you not help another person in need? Big politics came knocking on their door and nothing was the same anymore.

► THE GUEST, Zvika Gregory Portnoy, Zuzanna Solakiewicz, PL, FR, QA, 2024, 84'.

Maciek lives in a village on the Polish-Belarusian border. In the winter of 2021, the crisis on the border escalates and the whole area becomes a zone under the military. One day Maciek's mother lets a Syrian refugee into the house. With each passing day, the men grow closer, but each day of hiding puts them in danger. Maciek could be charged with human trafficking, and Alhaytham would be sent back to Belarus again, which could cost him his life.

► PUTIN'S PLAYGROUND Konrad Szolajski, CZ, PL, DE, NO, LV, BG, 2024, 92’

A pair of Polish filmmakers travel through Central and Eastern Europe, investigating traces of hybrid war in that part of the region. They share the results of their investigation, which they managed to gather in Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Moldova and Latvia. They discover that the activities of Moscow's secret agents have been carried out regularly since at least 2013.

► WHEN HARMATTAN BLOWS, Edyta Wroblewska, PL, 2024, 80'.

Barbara is 25 years old and lives in Accra. She is charismatic, direct and confident. However, when Harmattan, the suffocating wind from the Sahara, blows, her courage disappears. Along with the wind, unwanted memories return. As an eight-year-old girl, Barbara shared the fate of thousands of Ghanaian children who were forced into slave labour by their parents.

These projects will be presented to professionals and international distributors, and - note - each has also been nominated for a Silver Eye award. Congratulations and we keep our fingers crossed!

Source: https://dokweb.net/articles/detail/1697/east-doc-platform-2024-complete-list-of-projects