Premieres Monday, Oct. 7, 2024 at 10:30 p.m. on KPBS TV / PBS app
POV answers the question if a documentary filmmaker can record history while serving as a reformist in the gut-wrenching, yet subtle war documentary "In the Rearview" by Polish director Maciek Hamela. When Russia escalated its war against Ukraine in 2022, Hamela bought a van and volunteered to drive Ukrainian refugees to safety in Poland. Filmed almost entirely inside his vehicle, Hamela turned his camera on the passengers in the backseat as they attempt to process the effects of war.
In the initial days of Russia’s full scale invasion of the Ukraine, Polish aid worker-turned-filmmaker Maciek Hamela purchased a minivan and began evacuating Ukrainian civilians — mostly women and children, now all refugees — to Poland. Filmed over many trips, "In the Rearview" eschews depictions of carnage in order to capture the psychological costs and tragic consequences of the Russian invasion.
Squashed in Hamela’s backseat, a family sheds tears over abandoning their cow. A young man speaks stoically about being tortured by Russian soldiers. Five-year-old Sanya has stopped speaking. Using dark humor, a husband en route to meet his wife in Poland complains that despite the destruction, she kept sending him “Honey Do Lists.” As Hamela’s taxi navigates checkpoints, minefields, and Russian attacks, the film displays faces — young and old, devastated and resilient — offering a moving and sublime reflection of humanity in the midst of war.
The film is a co-production between Poland, France and Ukraine.
Produced by Hamela and Piotr Grawender, "In the Rearview" marks Hamela’s feature-length directorial debut.“It’s an enormous privilege to be part of the POV showcase and share 'In the Rearview' with the American audience,” said Maciek Hamela, director. “I feel it’s important now, more than ever, to talk about displacement and occupation through intimate and personal stories, as the global refugee crisis intensifies and we’re witnessing an unprecedented dehumanization of war victims.”
Film Awards: "In the Rearview" made its world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, and its North American premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. An official selection of over 90 film festivals worldwide, winning more than 30 awards, including the Grand Jury Prize in the International Competition at the 2023 Sheffield DocFest, Best Polish Film Award at the 2023 Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival, recognized by the International Documentary Association with the IDA Pare Lorentz Award 2023. The documentary was among 15 films shortlisted in the category of Best Documentary Feature Film for the 96th Academy Awards® in the Best Documentary Feature Film, and was featured on the International Documentary Association’s, (IDA), Feature Documentary shortlist.
Watch On Your Schedule: "In the Rearview" will be available for streaming concurrently with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms until Nov. 6, 2024, including PBS.org and the PBS app, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.
In addition to standard closed captioning for the films, POV, in partnership with audio description serviceDiCapta, provides real-time audio interpretations for audiences with sensory disabilities.
Credits: A co-production between Poland, France and the Ukraine. The co-producers are Affinity Cine and Pemplum. Maciek Hamela is the director. Piotr Grawender and Maciek Hamela are the producers; Yura Dunay, Wawrzyniec Skoczylas, Marcin Sierakowski and Piotr Grawender and are the cinematographers; and Piotr Oginski is the editor. Original score was composed by Antoni Komasa-Łazarkiewicz. Erika Dilday and Chris White are the executive producers for American Documentary | POV.
