Duration: 22’
Directors: Roza Duda & Michal Soja
Country: Portugal, Poland
Gonâve by Roza Duda & Michal Soja | PRT, POL | 22’
Haiti, 1929. On the island of Gonâve, a road construction project is causing concern among local inhabitants. The island's administrator reaches out to a journalist in the hope that he will expose the exploitation of the island's people. But the arrival of an eccentric journalist doesn't have the desired effect, and his article will start a chain of events that will change the island's fate forever.
Inspired by archival photographs and real events, Gonâve combines live action with 3D animation to bring forgotten history back to life. It is a reflection on memory and colonial history, raising the fundamental question of how stories from the distant past can help us face similar problems in the present.
Roza Duda & Michal Soja
Scriptwriter and film director, she graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow in 2018 and also studied at the Kunsthochschule für Medien in Cologne and the Hochschule der Künste in Zurich. Her artistic practice is complemented by her theoretical work, where she examines the politics of historical narratives in cinema. In her films, she often uses 3D animation and VFX, infusing them with a distinctive visual style. Her films have been shown at film festivals such as Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen, Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, Brussels Short Film Festival or Lo schermo dell'arte in Florence.
Director of fiction films, he studied at the Kunsthochschule für Medien in Cologne, the Wajda Film School in Warsaw, and the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow. Regardless of genre or form, his work has always focused on social issues, ethical dilemmas, and new forms of storytelling that reflect the contemporary world. In addition to directing, he personally shapes the visual side of his films in post-production and VFX. His previous films have been showcased at film festivals such as the Guanajuato International Film Festival, Krakow Film Festival, Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen, and Kurzfilmtage Winterthur. He was a recipient of the DAAD scholarship from 2020 to 2022.
