"Baltic UXO" and "The Big Chief" won awards Sunday at Docu Talents From the East during the Sarajevo Film Festival's CineLink Industry Days. Eight documentaries from Central and Eastern Europe, set for theatrical release in the next 12 months, were presented at Docu Talents From the East. Lithuanian-German-Latvian co-production "Baltic UXO," directed by Agnė Dovydaitytė and Alexander Belinski, and produced by Dagnė Vildžiūnaitė, took the top award, which came with $5,000, in cooperation with Current Time TV.
The film looks at how 1.6 million tons of munitions, including chemical weapons, were dumped into the Baltic Sea and the North Sea after World War II. The film explores the ecological effects on marine life and the coastal landscapes.
The jury said the project "looks very professional, features beautiful cinematography, and seems to turn a hidden secret into a universal story." They added: "We can imagine the success of the planned impact campaign, connecting the film to contemporary conversations around environmentalism, militarism and the political decisions that happen without our knowledge." Popular on Variety The DAFilms.
com Distribution Award, which comes with 3,000 Euros in kind, went to "The Big Chief" by Polish director Tomasz Wolski, and produced by Anna Gawlita. The award covers an international VOD release on DAFilms.com, including the Americas, Europe and Asia, for two years.
The film centers on Leopold Trepper, a World War II spy mastermind, who...
Leo Barraclough.
