This past weekend “After the Factory” came out a winner at two film festivals: the Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival and the East Lansing Film Festival. ATF took the Jury Prize in Ann Arbor and Best Documentary at the East Lansing Film Festival.

In Ann Arbor, it felt as if the film was screening to a hometown Polish audience with barely any English heard spoken amongst the audience. As a result, viewers were intimately familiar with Lodz and its relative position in Poland and Europe as a whole, which really increased their level of engagement and understanding. A very thoughtful discussion ensued after the screening followed by the award being presented later in the evening.

We screened in East Lansing the following night amongst a host of other compelling documentaries, one of which was called “Jane of all Trades” and looked at the economic impact of the film incentives that the state has used in the past to encourage film productions to film in the state of Michigan. One audience member pointed out the relevance of our two docs screening together given that each film underscored the importance of both sides of the spectrum– the DIY, hell or high water ethos in ATF and the more structured approach that the film incentives offer.

All in all, a fine weekend!