Nature Is Our Only Hope
Songs of Earth – Margreth Olin’s breathtaking visual and auditory poem will open the 63rd Krakow Film Festival. The opening gala of the Festival and the Polish premiere of the documentary film with the participation of the director will take place on May 29 at 7:00 pm at the Kijów cinema in Kraków. The film is one of fourteen productions from around the world competing in the prestigious International Documentary Competition.
“I have always dreamed of making such a film. I wondered how best to portray the deep bond between man and nature and returned home to visit my father,” confessed the author of the documentary, Margreth Olin. – “My father is now 86 years old, and perhaps his generation is the last to have a deep understanding of how to care for nature.”
The director, over the course of all four seasons of the year, accompanies her father on hikes through the wild, mountainous regions of western Norway, following in the footsteps of her ancestors with a camera to answer the question: where am I from? The area’s pristine nature throbs with a constant cycle of birth and death. The film reveals an intimate and very universal world through stunning images and vibrating sounds.
For the festival’s opening, we always choose a spectacular film that is going to captivate the audience and encourage them to not to leave the cinema for a week. Songs of Earth is an extraordinary documentary that has mesmerised us and will surely delight anyone who comes to experience it on the big screen, explained Krzysztof Gierat, director of the Krakow Film Festival.
Margreth Olin has made several films that have gained recognition from audiences and critics, participated in numerous festivals worldwide, and won numerous Norwegian and international awards. The Self Portrait, her previous film, made in collaboration with Katja Hogset and Espen Wallin, among other accolades received the Audience Award at the Krakow Film Festival.
In her films, Olin addresses important issues, creating close relationships with the protagonists. She has received 26 awards for her involvement in human rights issues. Her new full-length documentary film Songs of Earth (2023) was produced by BBC and SWR in cooperation with ARTE, and is executive produced by Wim Wenders and Liv Ullmann.
The Norwegian Embassy in Poland is a partner of the screening.
Krakow Film Festival is on the exclusive list of qualifying events for the Oscars in the categories of short film (live action, animated, documentary) and documentary feature, as well a recommending event for the European Film Awards in the same categories.
Kraków Film Festival is organised with the financial support of the European Union as part of the “Creative Europe” program, the City of Kraków, the Polish Film Institute, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and the Lesser Poland Province. The co-organiser is the Polish Filmmakers Association, and the main organiser is the Krakow Film Foundation.
The 63rd Krakow Film Festival will be held in cinemas from 28 May to 4 June and across Poland at the KFF VOD online streaming platform between 2 and 18 June
Kategoria: News.