THE WHALE FROM LORINO

Genre: documentary
Director: Maciej Cuske
Script: Maciej Cuske
Cinematography: Piotr Bernas, Artur Sienicki
Music: Michal Jacaszek
Editing: Katarzyna Orzechowska
Producers: Mikolaj Pokromski, Aldona Pokromska
Production: Pokromski Studio
Year of production: 2019
Runtime: 59 min

Awards:
2020 Krakow Film Festival: Silver Horn for the director of the film with high artistic value (International Documentary Competition)
2020 Docs Against Gravity Film Festival in Warsaw: Award for the best production (Polish Competition)
2020 ‘Off Cinema’ International Documentary Film Festival in Poznan: Golden Castle Award
2020 ‘Festival dei Popoli’ International Festival of Documentary Film in Florence: CD Digital Award for the best European film
2020 EnergaCAMERIMAGE – The International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography in Toruń: Golden Frog for the best documentary feature (Piotr Bernas)
2020 Batumi International Art-House Film Festival in Georgia: Best Doc Film Award (International Documentary Film Competition)
2020 ‘Man in Danger’ Media Festival in Lodz: Grand Prix - White Cobra
2020 Polish Film Festival in America in Chicago: Special Prize of the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Festival

‘The Whale From Lorino’ tells the story of people who live in one of the most inaccessible and hardest to live places on Earth – the Chukchi Peninsula. Chukotka is a place located on the edge of Siberia, where the cold winter lasts for ten months. It`s a severe land, where only the strongest are able to survive. One of the oldest Siberian tribes has lived there for centuries. Its traditions, culture and life in harmony with nature were brutally destroyed by the Soviet regime. Since the collapse of the USSR, they have been trying to survive, missing the wisdom of their ancestors and hope for the future.
One of the last sources of life and tradition of Chukchi is whale hunting, but the fate of these animals is also threatened. For the Chukchi, the whales give hope to survive the next winter. When the land of Lorino warms up from the sun, the hunting begins. There is a clash of two worlds. Each time it happens, they start a harsh fight for survival.