Dum Spiro Spero – Best Documentary Film at 57th Krakow Film Festival!

Photo credit: Krakow Film Festival / T. Korczyński

At Krakow Film Festival – one of the oldest international film festival, taking place for the 57th time from 28 May to 4 June 2017 in Krakow – the official international documentary competition also screened Pero Kvesić's film Dum Spiro Spero (Factum, 2016).

Out of a total of 18 documentary titles in this year's international competition which, opposite Pero Kvesić, included award-winning documentary filmmakers like VItaly Mansky and Erik Gandini, the winners were chosen by a jury consisting of: Paweł Łoziński, director and producer; Cintia Gilm, producer, film programmer and philosopher; Miroslav Janek, director and producer; Marek Rozenbaum, producer; and Julia Teihmann, film critic.

"‘As long as I breathe, there is hope’; says the Latin maxim in the title of the film. The film itself, made by the film-maker struggling with serious lung disease, is an expression of hope. The record of the everyday struggle resembles a special kind of a videoblog – filled with self-mockery and brilliant comments on the subject of life and death. The jury, under the chairmanship of Paweł Łoziński (Poland), awarded the prestigious Golden Horn to the director, who shows to us the beauty of life and love, finding in himself the courage to deal with his own mortality in a way which is full of humour and dignity," said the jury statement.

Dum Spiro Spero is the debut film by the accomplished writer, journalist and editor Pero Kvesić. Combining everyday life, books and death, the author speaks about losing strength and the power to cope with the loss. Everyone dies the moment they are born, which is the best reason to understand the value of life and enjoy the pleasures it gives.

Dum Spiro Spero and Pero Kvesić continue their successful festival career after awards at Croatian Film Days, Pula Film Festival, Liburnia Film Festival, La Cabina festival, Festival dei Popoli, with the latest award from Krakow Film Festival.