That is also why Leonid’s Story managed to enter the animated film competition at the Crossing Europe film festival in Linz (April 24 – 29) only shortly before it premiered in the United States. Another confirmed destination for the documentary is the International Documentary Film Festival Cronograf in Moldova (May 10 – 15).
Tribeca Film Festival offered the total of 17 films competing in Documentary shorts section, which saw the eight-headed jury to eventually pick the American short doc titled Paraíso and award it a $5000 prize and the art award. The Special Mention in this category went to the directors David Darg and Bryn Mooser, the authors of Baseball in the Time of Cholera. With Michael Moore on board among others, the rest of the jurors had the privilege to decide upon the winners of other documentary categories, such as Best feature documentary, Best editing in feature documentary and Best new documentary director. You can browse through all the brand new holders of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival awards here.
Tribeca Film Festival, USA
April 18 – 29, 2012
Leonid's Story
Istoriya Leonida , Germany, Ukraine, 2011, 19 min, DVD, Animated, Environmental, History, Human Rights
A Soviet family searching for a modest paradise is swept into an immense disaster. Chernobyl 1986. Leonid grew up in the village next to the reactor. The film comprehends the development of this world disaster through the destiny of the protagonist and his family. The small episodes reconstruct the emotional dimension of the tragedy: The children who run to the burning reactor, getting a look at the spectacular drama, the unsuspecting village people in the surrounded area, the animals which remain behind after the evacuation, and the helpless tries of mankind to eliminate the impact of the nuclear disaster, accompanied by the faceless Soviet system. In the end there is a happy ending: The triumph of life over the disaster.
