The Queen of Silence (Zoom Competition Winner)
Denisa is a 10-year-old Roma girl living in an illegal settlement in Wrocław. Along with her entire family and the rest of the Roma community, she has spent her entire life in constant fear of eviction. Like the other children from the settlement on ulica Kamieńskiego, Denisa does not go to school. She lives in extremely difficult conditions. She does not always get along with the other children, who often ridicule her and call her "stupid." Denisa cannot hear or speak, but she loves to dance, which is something that allows her to express herself and integrate with her environment, even if just for a moment. Agnieszka Zwiefka's documentary The Queen of Silence is the story of a deaf-mute Roma girl who communicates and expresses emotions through dance inspired by Bollywood films. The everyday reality of the marginalized and hated Roma community, which, at times, is unable to accept the "otherness" of one of its own, is juxtaposed against musical scenes in which Denisa, at last, plays a leading role.
awards
One World International Human Rights Film Festival, Prague (The Czech Radio Jury); Krakow FF 2015 - Silver Horn - Best Feature-length Documentary Film, Best Cinematography; Deutscher Kamerapreis - Best Editing, Best Cinematography; DokFest Munchen - Special Mention (international competition)
Agnieszka Zwiefka
For over 12 years she has cooperated with TVP as an author of various awarded TV programs and short documentary forms. In 2007 she obtained her PhD in new media and ever since worked as a lecturer of television journalism and interactive films at the University of Wroclaw. In 2010 she has established a company Chilli Productions focused on creative documentaries. Author of a documentary film about homeless filmmakers - Albert Cinema (2013), The Queen of Silence (developed during ESoDoc and DOK.Incubator) is her feature-length debut.
Filmography
2013 Albert Cinema (doc.)
2014 Królowa ciszy / The Queen of Silence (doc.)