The Stefan Jarl International Documentary Award is Tempo Documentary Festival’s international competition. Eight films compete for a prize of 3,000 euro. The competition is organized in collaboration with the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation. The winner of the Stefan Jarl International Documentary Award will be announced at the festival’s closing gala on March 8.
“It has been an incredible year for film worldwide, with many strong contenders in our program, showcasing an inspiring range in terms of both form and content. In a time of cultural and political headwinds, these films serve as a reminder of how documentary storytelling opens doors to other people’s lives—something we hope will inspire both audiences and fellow filmmakers. We look forward to welcoming several of the directors to Stockholm for boundary-crossing discussions on what film is and can be.”
– Cecilia Björk, Festival Director, Tempo Documentary Festival
The nominated films are:
Forest
Lidia Duda / 1h 24 min / Poland, Czech Republic / 2024 / Swedish premiere
A Polish family with young children move to the forest near the Belarusian border to live out their dream of self-sufficiency. But their idyllic life unravels when Russia invades Ukraine and Lukashenko starts pushing migrants across the border. The woods surrounding their home transform into a geopolitical powder keg, and shadows of people start appearing in the footage from their wildlife cameras. Reluctantly, the family become activists. In a dreamlike, visually stunning portrayal, Forest explores the cost of being human—and whether dreams can survive in a world plunged into chaos.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Sofie Benoot / 1h 20 min / Belgium, Netherlands / 2024 / Swedish premiere
A feel-good film about geology? Yes, please! Apple Cider Vinegar opens with the director passing a kidney stone. What others might see as a painful problem, she turns into the starting point for a fascinating odyssey around the world. With kidney stone in hand and a voiceover reminiscent of BBC nature documentaries, we encounter Palestinian stonecutters, British geologists, activists, artists, and residents of volcanic islands. Humorous, multi-layered, and insightful, Apple Cider Vinegar explores the profound connections between the human body and the planet.
Songs of Slow Burning Earth
Olha Zhurba / 1h 35 min / Ukraine, Denmark, Sweden, France / Swedish premiere
In Songs of Slow Burning Earth, we are thrust into the chaos of Kyiv’s train station in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a haunting opening scene, the panic of the war’s early days is vividly captured. In that moment, it was hard to imagine that air raid sirens would become part of the everyday routine in Ukraine—and but a distant echo for the rest of the world. Through a mosaic of scenes, landscapes, voices, and sounds from varying distances to the frontlines, the film poses a poignant question: is it still possible to dream of the future?
Under a Blue Sun
Daniel Mann / 1h 18 min / 2023 / France, Israel / Swedish premiere
In 1987, Sylvester Stallone filmed Rambo 3 in a military training zone in Israel’s Negev Desert. Thirty-five years later, filmmaker Daniel Mann returns to the location with 75-year-old Palestinian artist Bashir, who worked on the film’s special effects. Through Bashir’s perspective on the landscape and his memories of his people’s historical ties to the area, a story unfolds—beautiful and brutal all at once—of a fractured land and a displaced people.
Silent Observers
Eliza Petkova / 1h 36 min / 2024 / Bulgaria, Germany / Swedish premiere
Mysterious events unfold in the small Bulgarian mountain village of Pirin. A man has turned into a donkey, and a cat has been possessed by a vampire. In this tragicomic film, magic and superstition take center stage. Six animals play the leading roles, and through their eyes, we are invited into a world on the brink of disappearing. Silent Observers is the standalone conclusion to Eliza Petkova’s trilogy about the village of Pirin. The specially composed music creates a bridge between animals and humans. Two of the composers, Jung-Jae Kim and Shingo Masuda, will join Tempo to play the score live with a screening of the film during the festival, offering a truly unique experience!
Didy
Gaël Kamilindi and François-Xavier Destors / 1h 30 min / 2024 / Switzerland, France, Rwanda / Swedish premiere
Gaël lost his mother, Didy, at the age of five, just before the great civil wars and genocides of Burundi and Rwanda. Since relocated to safety with relatives in Switzerland, his memories of his mother have been overshadowed by the horrors of war. Now, Gaël returns to Rwanda in search of his mother’s memory. Through encounters with people who knew Didy in different ways, a portrait emerges of a resilient woman and a generation marked by vulnerability and conflict. This is also a story about letting go of the past and reclaiming a sense of belonging. Didy won the Prix Agnès at the Namur International Festival of French-Speaking Film, 2024.
Kouté vwa
Maxime Jean-Baptiste / 1h 17 min / 2024/ Belgium, France, French Guyana / Swedish premiere
13-year-old Melrick spends his summer vacation at his grandmother’s home in French Guiana, far from the dull, gray France he finds so boring. He dreams of learning to play the drums with the street bands of Cayenne. But his talent and presence stir up old wounds, forcing him to live up to the memory of his uncle—a promising drummer who was tragically murdered at 19. A wonderful coming-of-age film filled with vibrant music, exploring family bonds, grief, and the journey to finding reconciliation with the past.
I’m Not Everything I Want To Be
Klára Tasovská / 1h 31 min / 2024 / Czech Republic / Swedish premiere
After the Soviet invasion of Prague, photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková begins documenting her life, her surroundings, and her long journey toward liberation. Her camera captures everything—from the dullness of the norm to the tensions simmering beneath the surface: nudity, sex, and alcohol. From Prague’s gay bars to Tokyo’s fashion scene, we follow her path of resistance and self-exploration. The film is composed of a series of still images, at times set to pulsating club music. The subjects appear anything but static, blurring the line between photography and film.
All nominated films will be available to view during Tempo Documentary Festival 3–9 of March in Stockholm. A selection of the festival programme will also be available for stream on Draken Film. The full programme and tickets will be released on the 5th of February, and we will present the programme at our programme release party on the day at Cinema Aspen – Free entry, no RSVP needed. Welcome from 17:00!
