In the Rearview

In the Rearview (Polish: Skąd dokąd, Ukrainian: Звідки куди / Zvidky kudy) is a 2023 documentary feature film directed by Maciek Hamela. It is about a van, that traverses the roads of Ukraine with the driver-director and evacuated people, following the Russian invasion. The vehicle becomes a fragile and temporary refuge of exiles whose only objective is to escape the war. It is a co-production between Poland, France and Ukraine.

In the Rearview has made it to the shortlist of 15 films for the 96th Academy Awards® in the Best Documentary Feature Film category and is nominated for the 26th Polish Film Academy Awards in the Best Documentary Film category.

In the Rearview debuted at 2023's Millennium Docs Against Gravity festival, where it won the main prize in the Polish Competition and the Arthouse Cinema Association award, and then had its world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. Since then, it has been presented at over 50 festivals in Poland and abroad, receiving the Grand Jury Prize in the International Competition at Sheffield DocFest, which made it eligible to apply to the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, or main awards in Odesa, Zurich, Hamburg, and Chicago. It was also presented at Toronto Film Festival where it had its North American premiere and at DMZ International Documentary Film Festival in South Korea where it had its Asian premiere.

Production

Skąd dokąd and Zvidky kudy are the Polish and Ukrainian versions of the film's title, respectively. These phrases can be translated to mean "where from" (skąd / звідки / zvidky) and "where to" (dokąd / куди / kudy). They are routine questions asked when trying to pass through the numerous checkpoints located throughout the country that Hamela passed during his trips to and from Ukraine.

The film's score was composed by Antoni Komasa-Łazarkiewicz. In addition to the original score, Komasa-Łazarkiewicz composed the film's theme, a classical piece called "The Wings" performed by the Ukrainian Choir. The theme is based on a poem of the same title by Lina Kostenko, one of Ukraine's most prominent contemporary poets.

Release

In the Rearview had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, in the ACID (Association for the Distribution of Independent Cinema) section. It had its international premiere in the International Competition of Sheffield DocFest, where it won the Grand Jury Prize, and North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in the TIFF Docs section.

The film was sold to multiple territories, including US, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Hong Kong, Poland and France.

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, In the Rearview holds an approval rating of 100% based on 10 reviews.

Accolades

In the Rearview was nominated for the International Documentary Association (IDA) awards, in the Best Documentary Film category and received the Pare Lorentz Award, awarded to films that reflect the spirit and tradition of the work of Pare Lorentz.

In the Rearview was among the 14 titles on the shortlist of the Best European Documentary films, published by the European Film Academy in 2023.