Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has just announced the Oscar nominations. Among the films competing for the statuette, there is “Rabbit a la Berlin” by Bartek Konopka.

The list of films selected by the Academy in the “Short-length Documentary Film” category includes:

“China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” — Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
“The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner” — Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” — Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
“Music by Prudence” — Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
“Rabbit à la Berlin” Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

„Rabbit a la Berlin” is an extraordinary story of the Berlin Wall, told from the perspective of rabbits living there. In 1961, the animals were imprisoned in the green belt dividing East and West Berlin. They remained there until the destruction of the wall in 1989, taking part in historical events. In this way, the rabbits shared the fate of East Germans, who lived uncertain lives under the communist regime, isolated from the world.

Bartek Konopka — born in 1972 in Myślenice. A graduate of film studies at the Jagiellonian University, journalism at the University of Warsaw, and direction at Krzysztof Kieślowski Radio and Television Department at the University of Silesia (2002). He is the author of documentaries such as: “Sky over Europe” (2003), “Goat Walker”(2004) and the feature film “Three for the Taking” (2006). Awarded at the festivals in New York, Seattle, Krakow, Brest, Wroclaw and many others. Polityka’s Passport nominee. He was awarded the Ministry of Culture’s scholarship for his artistic achievements and Nipkow’s fellowship in Berlin. Presently, he is working on his début feature film “Acrophobia.”

The documentary “Rabbit à la Berlin” has recently been given the Jańcio Wodnik award at the Nationwide Festival of the Film Art PROWINCJONALIA, and earlier it received the Golden Hobby-Horse at the Krakow Film Festival and an Best Mid-length film award at the Hotdocs – Canadian International Documentary Festival.

Earlier, the only Polish documentarists nominated for the most important award were Marcel Łoziński in 1993 for “89mm From Europe” and Hanna Polak with Andrzej Celiński in 2005 for “The Children of Leningradsky.” However, in both cases the nominations did not turn into the statuettes. Whether the Polish film is successful this time, we will learn in a month – on 7th March 2010.

The rest of nominations here.

FEBRUARY 2010