Something Better to Come

In 2000, in parallel with shooting The Children of Leningradsky, Hanna began working on Something Better to Come. This was the same year Vladimir Putin stepped into power in Russia and coincidentally, the story of Yula, the main character

of the film, is parallel to the unfolding story of Putin's Russia.

Ten-year-old Yula has but one dream – to lead a normal life. For 14 years, Hanna Polak follows Yula as she grows up in the forbidden territory of Svalka, the garbage dump located 13 miles from the Kremlin in Putin's Russia. Something Better to Come is Yula's story – a dramatic tale of coming of age and maturing to the point of taking destiny into one's own hands. It is a story

of hope, courage, and life, all shot in gripping vérité style that stuns with its directness and immediacy.

The film has received wide positive acclaim from critics. Mark Adams from Screen Daily stated that Something Better to Come is "strikingly visceral and plaintively moving documentary that is arresting right from its first powerful moments" and added that "This is a film that packs an emotional punch and is strikingly directed and shot by the talented Hanna Polak."{{cite web|url=http://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-latest/something-better-to-come/5080482.article|title=Something Better to Come|work=Screen Daily}} Aleksandr Gorbachev from Newsweek called the film "a great coming-of-age story – Boyhood from a trash can."{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/best-documentaries-2015-so-far-337993|title=The Best Documentaries of 2015 (So Far)|work=Newsweek}} Sheri Linden from The Los Angeles Times described the film as "work of powerful images – heart-rending, elegiac, charged with hope."{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-something-better-to-come-review-20150605-story.html|title='Something Better to Come' reveals lives in a Russian dump|work=Los Angeles Times}} Joshua Oppenheimer, director of The Act of Killing, stated that his "most powerful experience of nonfiction cinema this year was [...] Something Better to Come."{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jan/25/oscars-2015-they-should-have-been-contenders?CMP=share_btn_tw|title=Oscars 2015: they should have been contenders…|work=The Guardian}} While Neil Young from The Hollywood Reporter reviewed it as "an eye-opening documentary."{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/something-better-come-idfa-review-754785|title='Something Better to Come': IDFA Review|work=The Hollywood Reporter}}

• Special Jury Prize International Documentary, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival (USA){{cite web|url=http://www.hsdfi.org/news/hsdff-award-winners-sunday-october-18-schedule|title=#HSDFF Award Winners & Sunday, October 18 Schedule|work=Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival}}
• Youth Jury Award, {{Interlanguage link multi|Nuremberg International Human Rights Film Festival|de}} (Germany){{cite web|url=https://global.handelsblatt.com/edition/279/ressort/european-lifestyles/article/a-film-festivals-fight-for-human-rights|title=A Film Festival's Fight for Human Rights|work=Handelsblatt Global Edition}}
• Best Documentary Award, Jameson CineFest (Hungary){{cite web|url=http://www.cinefest.hu/eng/hirek/20150920.html|title=The Winners|work= Jameson CineFest}}
• Berlin's Favorite Award and Bremen's Favourite Award, Favourites Film Festival Berlin (Germany){{cite web|url=http://www.favouritesfilmfestival.de/2015/09/12/gewinner-des-berlins-favourite-award-2015|title= Winner of the Berlin's Favourite Award 2015|work=Favourites Film Festival Berlin}}
• The Estonian People's Award, Pärnu Film Festival (Estonia){{cite web|url=http://www.chaplin.ee/filmfestival/awards-public.htm|title= Awards of the XXIX Pärnu Film Festival|work= Pärnu Film Festival}}
• Best Documentary, Valletta Film Festival (Malta){{cite web|url=https://www.vallettafilmfestival.com/winners-valletta-film-festival-2015/|title=Winners at Valletta Film Festival 2015|work= Valletta Film Festival}}
• Best International Feature Award, Documentary Edge Festival (New Zealand){{cite web|url=http://documentaryedge.org.nz/archives/45 |title= Documentary Edge Festival Celebrates Illustrious Awards!|work= Documentary Edge Festival}}
• Best Cinematography, Gdansk DocFilm Festival (Poland){{cite web|url=http://gdanskdocfilm.pl/werdykt-jury-13-gdansk-docfilm-festival/?lang=en|title= Winners of 13. Gdańsk DocFilm Festival|work= Gdańsk DocFilm Festival }}
• Special Mention, Underhill Festival (Montenegro)
• Special Award Club 418 Mirror of Art DocFest and Small Mirror of Art DocFest, Andrey Tarkovsky International Film Festival (Russia){{cite web|url=http://www.polishdocs.pl/en/news/2507/something_better_to_come_awarded_twice_in_russia|title=Something Better to Come Awarded Twice In Russia|work=Polish Docs}}
• Millennium Award for Best Feature Documentary Film and Canon Non Fiction Frame Special Mention, Docs Against Gravity (Poland){{cite web|url=http://docsag.pl/en/aktualnosc/a-unique-encounter-of-film-and-world-visions-the-winners-of-12th-docs-against-gravity-film-festival-have-been-announced|title= A unique encounter of film and world visions – the winners of 12th Docs Against Gravity Film Festival have been announced|work= Docs Against Gravity Film Festival}}
• VIKTOR Main Competition DOK.international, DOK.fest Munich (Germany{{cite web|url=https://www.dokfest-muenchen.de/Winners?lang=en|title= Winners 2015|work=Dok.fest Muenchen}}
• Second prize of the Jury, DocumentaMadrid (Spain){{cite web|url=http://polishdocs.pl/en/news/2438/something_better_to_come__and_starting_point_awarded_at_documentamadrid|title= 'Something Better to Come' And 'Starting Point' Awarded At DocumentaMadrid|work=Polish Docs}}
• Special Mention, One World Brussels (Belgium){{cite web|url= http://cineuropa.org/nw.aspx?t=newsdetail&l=en&did=290844 |title= 'War without Trace' named Best Film at One World Brussels|work= Cineuropa}}
• Jury's Main Prize, Eurodok – European Documentary Film Festival (Norway){{cite web|url= http://www.nfi.no/english/news/top-prize-for-something-better-to-come|title= Eurodok Award to Something Better to Come|work=Norwegian Film Institute}}
• Special Mention, ZagrebDox (Croatia){{cite web|url= http://zagrebdox.net/en/2016/news/11th_zagrebdox_winners_announced|title= 11th ZagrebDox winners announced|work=ZagrebDox}}
• Grand Prix, Open Documentary Film Festival "Artdocfest" (Russia)
• Youth Jury Award, International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (Switzerland){{cite web|url= http://www.fifdh.org/site/competition/official-awards-2015|title= The awards of the 13th edition of the FIFDH have been announced!|work= International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights}}
• Alpe Adria Cinema Award: Best Documentary, Trieste Film Festival (Italy){{cite web|url= http://www.triestefilmfestival.it/?p=10415&lang=en|title= The Winner|work= Trieste Film Festival}}
• Special Jury Award, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) (Netherlands){{cite web|url= http://www.dfi.dk/service/english/news-and-publications/news/november-2014/idfa-awards.aspx|title= Something Better to Come Wins at IDFA|work=Danish Film Institute}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|4188338}}
• {{Danish National Filmography title|90544}}
• [https://deadline.com/2015/10/oscars-feature-documentary-list-academy-of-motion-picture-arts-and-sciences-1201592179/ Oscars: 124 Pics Vying For Feature Documentary Trophy] - Deadline Hollywood
• [https://www.facebook.com/somethingbettertocome/ Something Better to Come - Facebook]

Category:2014 films

Category:Polish documentary films

Category:Danish documentary films

Category:Documentary films about street children

Category:Documentary films about Russia

Category:2014 documentary films

Category:Films scored by Kristian Eidnes Andersen