In the Rearview (, ) is a 2023 documentary feature film directed by Maciek Hamela. It is about a van, that traverses the roads of Ukraine with the driver-director and evacuated people, following the Russian invasion. The vehicle becomes a fragile and temporary refuge of exiles whose only objective is to escape the war. It is a co-production between Poland, France and Ukraine.
In the Rearview has made it to the shortlist of 15 films for the 96th Academy Awards® in the Best Documentary Feature Film category and is nominated for the 26th Polish Film Academy Awards in the Best Documentary Film category.
In the Rearview debuted at 2023's Millennium Docs Against Gravity festival, where it won the main prize in the Polish Competition and the Arthouse Cinema Association award, and then had its world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. Since then, it has been presented at over 50 festivals in Poland and abroad, receiving the Grand Jury Prize in the International Competition at Sheffield DocFest, which made it eligible to apply to the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, or main awards in Odesa, Zurich, Hamburg, and Chicago. It was also presented at Toronto Film Festival where it had its North American premiere and at DMZ International Documentary Film Festival in South Korea where it had its Asian premiere.
Production Skąd dokąd and Zvidky kudy are the Polish and Ukrainian versions of the film's title, respectively. These phrases can be translated to mean "where from" (skąd / звідки / zvidky) and "where to" (dokąd / куди / kudy). They are routine questions asked when trying to pass through the numerous checkpoints located throughout the country that Hamela passed during his trips to and from Ukraine.
The film's score was composed by Antoni Komasa-Łazarkiewicz. In addition to the original score, Komasa-Łazarkiewicz composed the film's theme, a classical piece called "The Wings" performed by the Ukrainian Choir. The theme is based on a poem of the same title by Lina Kostenko, one of Ukraine's most prominent contemporary poets.
Release In the Rearview had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, in the ACID (Association for the Distribution of Independent Cinema) section. It had its international premiere in the International Competition of Sheffield DocFest, where it won the Grand Jury Prize, and North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in the TIFF Docs section.
The film was sold to multiple territories, including US, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Hong Kong, Poland and France.
Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, In the Rearview holds an approval rating of 100% based on 10 reviews.
Accolades In the Rearview was nominated for the International Documentary Association (IDA) awards, in the Best Documentary Film category and received the Pare Lorentz Award, awarded to films that reflect the spirit and tradition of the work of Pare Lorentz.
In the Rearview was among the 14 titles on the shortlist of the Best European Documentary films, published by the European Film Academy in 2023.
Film festivals and accolades +Chosen film festivals, awards and nominations for In the RearviewFestivalDate SectionResultAwardRecipient(s)Millennium Docs Against GravityMay 2023Polish CompetitionWonThe Best Polish AwardMaciek HamelaWonThe Arthouse Cinema Association AwardCannes Film FestivalMay 2023ACIDProgramedSheffield DocFestJune 2023International CompetitionWonThe Grand Jury PrizeMaciek HamelaIceland Documentary Film Festival – IceDocsJuly 2023Main CompetitionWonSpecial MentionMaciek HamelaDokufestAugust 2023International Feature Dox CompetitionNominatedOdesa International Film FestivalAugust 2023National CompetitionWonThe Best Ukrainian Documentary Feature Film AwardMaciek HamelaToronto International Film Festival September 2023TIFF DocsNominatedDMZ International Documentary Film FestivalSeptember 2023Unable to Settle or LeaveProgramedFestival 2 Cinéma de ValenciennesSeptember 2023Documentary CompetitionWonGrand PrixMaciek HamelaWonCritics' AwardWonStudents' AwardsFilmfest HamburgOctober 2023VETO! CompetitionWonPolitical Film Award for the best directorial workMaciek HamelaZurich Film Festival October 2023Documentary CompetitionWonThe Best DocumentaryMaciek HamelaCinEast – the Central and Eastern European Film Festival October 2023Focus on UkraineProgramedFestival International de cinéma War on ScreenOctober 2023Feature Film CompetitionWonInternational Jury Grand PrizeMaciek HamelaOpolskie Lamy Film FestivalOctober 2023Feature Film CompetitionWonGrand Prix for the Best DocumentaryMaciek HamelaCorsica.doc – International Documentary Festival October 2023New Talents CompetitionWonMain Award Corsica.doc/Via Stella for the Best Feature FilmMaciek HamelaWonYouth Jury Award for the Best Feature FilmChicago International Film Festival October 2023Documentary CompetitionWonSilver Hugo AwardMaciek HamelaMan in Danger Media Festival October 2023Documentary CompetitionWonA Kazimierz Karabasz "Patient Eye" AwardMaciek HamelaWonAudience AwardUkraina! Film Festival October 2023Documentary CompetitionWonBest Documentary Competition AwardMaciek HamelaWonAudience AwardJi.hlava International Documentary Film FestivalOctober 2023ConstellationsProgramedDoc NYCNovember 2023Winner's CircleNominatedIDFA - The International Documentary Film FestivalNovember 2023Best of FestsNominatedZinebi – International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of BilbaoNovember 2023ZIFF – Zinebi First Film International CompetitionWonZIFF Grand AwardMaciek HamelaBastau International Film FestivalDecember 2023Bastau DocsWonMain Prize named after Oraz AbishevMaciek HamelaPalm Springs International Film FestivalJanuary 2024True StoriesNominatedBudapest International Documentary Festival BIDFFebruary 2024International CompetitionNominated
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