DOK Leipzig: Peacemaker wins main festival award, The Thing to Be Done scoops up partner award
The feature-length documentary Peacemaker directed by Ivan Ramljak (Factum) wins the Golden Dove for Best Feature-Length Documentary in the International Competition, while the other feature-length documentary The Thing to Be Done by director Srđan Kovačević (Fade IN) wins the Prize of the Interreligious Jury also in the main International Competition programme. DOK Leipzig is one of the world's most important festivals dedicated to documentary and animated film.
“A particular event in a particular region was made into a film of universal importance. Through archival materials, the director told the story of the murder of the chief of police in Slavonia, a man who believed until the last moment that the war between Serbs and Croats could be avoided”, said the jury members while awarding the Golden Dove to the Peacemaker.
Since its world premiere at ZagrebDox, the Peacemaker has achieved exceptional success at domestic festivals, winning as many as nine awards at five film festivals, including the Grand Golden Arena for Best Documentary Film at the Pula Film Festival.
In addition to director and screenwriter Ivan Ramljak, the project also involves producer Nenad Puhovski, co-screenwriters Drago Hedl and Hrvoje Zovko, editor Damir Čučić, and cinematographer Srđan Kovačević. The film is unique in the fact it predominantly used archival material of the Croatian Radiotelevision.
For the Peacemaker the screening at Dok Leipzig marked its international premiere.
The Thing to Be Done of director, screenwriter, and cinematographer Srđan Kovačević also won one of the partner awards, bestowed by the Interreligious Jury. The jury consisting of representatives of different religions, appointed by INTERFILM and SIGNIS, awards a film that successfully treats the topic of peace, solidarity, and humanity.
The film follows a former electrician, a social worker, and a union activist as they form an alliance to tackle a seemingly impossible task. While today’s Europe rests on cheap labour of migrant workers, in the hope of starting a new life, these workers agree to poor working conditions, long hours, sleeping in containers, blackmail from employers and the loss of their own dignity. Laura Orel, Goran Lukić and Goran Zrnić and their Workers’ Advocacy Office – are their only redress and their only allies.
The film’s script editor is Olga Dimitrijević, while the editing was done by Klara Šovagović and Damir Čučić. The producer of the project is Sabina Krešić for Fade IN, with co-producers Viva Videnović, Marta Popivoda, Jelena Angelovski for URGH! (Slovenia) and Theory at Work (Serbia) respectively.
The film had its world premiere at DOK Leipzig in front of a packed auditorium.
Cover photos: Ivan Ramljak with the Golden Dove Award at DOK Leipzig; the crew of The Thing to Be Done at DOK Leipzig; Peacemaker screening (Q&A with the director) at DOK Leipzig
