Job Film Days is an international festival dedicated to the changing world of work, but also to the workers. This year’s instalment has welcomed two main categories – “Feature Films” and “Short Films from European Directors” – and was focused on the future of jobs as well as the contemporary changes occurring around the globe. Noteworthy was the composition of the jury, which was made up of two distinct bodies – a senior one and a student one. The festival participants themselves seemed to have a clear opinion on which verdict matters most. As Przemysław Raczyk – one of the guests – stated: “The most important award of this Job for the Future festival is from the jury of the future.”

Thus, in this article, we report the winners according to the student jury – the one that matters.

Feature films

Winner: Mr Nobody Against Putin by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin

This documentary was shown as the last part of the competition program on Sunday morning. Despite that, the jury was able to rightfully recognize the work of the two directors. The film captures the life of a schoolteacher in a small rural town in the Ural region – Karabash. As February 2022 approaches, the main character, Pavel “Pasha” Talankin (who, at the same time, is also the cameraman), completely changes his life. He works as both a videographer and a teacher, which allows him to secretly start collecting material for his future film. As we follow the lives of these children and teachers under the pressure of the state machine, some fundamental questions emerge. Is Pasha doing propaganda, as his work material still goes to the school’s archive and is sent to the committee for governmental control over propaganda in schools? Meanwhile, we can see for ourselves how the society of that small place begins to disintegrate. Eventually, Pavel manages to flee Russia – a decision that, for a person who is truly a patriot, who loves his small town and his big country, comes under the great pressure and profound need to tell a story. A story that needs to be told in Russia but can only be told from outside – with the support of a great co-production team that guided and helped the lonely filmmaker from Karabash.

Short Films from European Directors

Winner: Queen Ant by Michał Mróz, screenplay by Dominik Cywiński

“…for its ability, in a short time and space, to immerse the viewer in a situation that is both direct and universal, making them perceive the depth of emotions and meanings on a par with the film’s characters…”

(Statement of the student jury)

This perfectly executed short film by a Polish team has won among the future jury. The film focuses on one simple situation – a job interview. A young woman against two older employers. As she is forced to answer uncomfortable and partly illegal questions about the gap in her résumé, her future plans for having children, and her current personal situation, the world around the characters begins to melt. The two older employers start to laugh, to intimidate her beyond what is normal – yet through this surreal dream we are shown the real cruelty of human power. At the end, however, there is a twist open to interpretation: the heroine turns the two men into ants, while she declares herself the queen ant. A result of human cruelty or a gesture of reclaiming dignity? This short movie also provides a hidden example of how scenography can affect people. The ants in the film are not CGI, but rather puppets created and mastered by the Polish team – not only is this impressive but it also serves as a contrast between the surrealism of the situation and the reality of the objects, which only reinforces the film’s effect on the viewer.

The sixth edition of the Job Film Days festival was full of encounters, masterclasses, and great people visiting it. The festival shows great appreciation for auteurs, inviting them to visit the event, as well as hosting giants of work-related documentaries such as Wang Bing, who held a masterclass and presented one of the films from his latest trilogy, Youth. With its impressive range of prizes, not only does it attract high-quality films but it also teaches viewers and the general public about the difficulties that these productions face in the year 2025, when making cinema has become harder than ever. A special category was dedicated to directors from countries with low and middle income, where the main student prize was given to The Weeper by Hamed Ghasemi.

Smolkin Viktor

Fonte immagine in evidenza: https://www.jobfilmdays.org/