Award winners Doc.London 2022 Unveiled

 

After seeing its live screenings cancelled last year in light of Covid-19 regulations, the DOC.London Documentary Film Festival was pleased to welcome guests in person for a special double edition this year. Screening both last year's selection and the new 2022 selection, the event proved to be packed full of cinematic gems. Over the course of 4 days, the festival screened 27 feature and short films from 13 countries at Close Up Film Centre in the Shoreditch area of London. 

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We are happy to share with you today the 2022 Doc.London award winners.

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The award for Best Feature Documentary Film went to 'Dead Souls' Vacation' (Georgia) by Keko Chelidze. A once-popular bass player in Tbilisi is now jobless, joyless and crammed into a shoebox-sized one-room apartment with his elderly mother, leaving little space for independence or optimism in this absurd, intimate slice of ex-Soviet life. 

 

Best Short Documentary Film went to 'Scars' (Canada) by Alex Anna. Alex Anna’s body is a canvas : her scars come to life to tell a new story of self-harming. Live action and animation intertwine in this short and poetic documentary, both intimate and universal.

 

The prize for Best UK Documentary Film was awarded to 'A Man In Chain' (U.K.) by Alireza Mirasadollah. Issa is a 29 year old man held by chains. In the past 14 years, through winter and summer, rainy seasons and drought, he has been tethered around a thick, solid tree root within the sight of the family hut. He cannot move beyond the earthen circle allowed by his two-meter-thick metal chain. 

 

A Letter To My Mother (Iran) by Amina Maher won Best Experimental Documentary Film. A heartfelt letter to tell the mother the most painful of secrets. Amina Maher, who in 2002 was the small protagonist of Ten by Kiarostami is now a transgender director who tries to make her voice heard, understood, and be understood. 

 

And last but not least, Best Extreme Short Documentary Film was given to 'Unknown Hand (U.K.) by Saul Pankhurst. An individual reflects on the inevitability of change, how we know ourselves and how we wish to be known. This film discusses the impact of degenerative illness on one's sense of Identity and Authenticity, asserting an individual's right to approach a major change in their health in a way that remains true to them.

 

Doc.London is part of Doc.World, a global network of Documentary Film Festivals, with festivals in London, Berlin and Ghent, and new upcoming festivals in Sydney and Boston. As a celebration of the cinematic and visual arts, these documentary festivals will bring diverse international films to our community and showcase the best regional and international filmmakers.

 

A new Call for Entries for Doc.London 2023 will be launched next week on FilmFreeway (https://filmfreeway.com/doclondon).

 

We look forward to seeing you all next year for another edition of Doc.London Documentary Film Festival.