BETWEEN WORLDS - REVIEW OF THE FILM "OBJECT" BY PAULINA SKIBIŃSKA

Produced by the Munk Studio, the short documentary by Paulina Skibińska, "Object," will have its international première at the Sundance festival. We would like to invite you to read the film's review by Daniel Stopa.

In her nearly fifteen-minute long documentary début, "Object," Paulina Skibińska tells about the work of a rescue team from the point of view of a diver. The film is set on the border of two worlds - on land, somewhere in the province, as well as underwater. It is this border between two different worlds and the boundary of human strength and endurance which seems to interest the director the most. It is visible in the scenes in which the main protagonist emerges from the water. For a long time, the camera watches his face, first hidden under the mask, later without breathing apparatus. The diver's face shows everything - fatigue, hardship and emotions, which accompanied him on this dangerous expedition.

"Object" is also an interesting formal exercise of the debuting director. Skibińska communicates with the viewers exclusively through a series of images and carefully selected, sometimes deformed sounds. The lack of spoken commentary and dialogue forces the viewer to concentrate and to look for what is most important in this film - emotions and message - in the film's form. Resigning from the use of verbal communication brings us close to the protagonist's underwater world. There is no place for words and dialogue there, only for sounds muffled by the waterproof mask and suit. What we can see and hear is only what the protagonist experiences underwater with his senses.

In all this, Skibińska goes a step further. "Object" is also an attempt to express the hidden motivation of the protagonist through a series of joined images and sounds. The scenes of the world above water, appearing in the film, contrasted with what happens under the ice, are the reflection of the protagonist's thoughts. It is on the land where the close ones of the missing people await the news from the rescue team. Diver's work and risk taken by him emerges in Skibińska's film as some kind of a mission, service to other people, which can be done only by the strong and courageous, who are not afraid of opposing conditions predominant in other reality.

Daniel Stopa