"CARTE BLANCHE" RECOGNIZED IN SÃO PAULO

Carte Blanche, a film directed by Jacek Lusiński and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, received special mention at the 39th Mostra International Film Festival in São Paulo.

Carte Blanche Receives Special Mention

Jacek Lusiński’s film screened in the festival’s New Directors Competition. The best films in this category are selected in a two-stage process. In the first stage, the audience votes to select 14 films that are then judged by an international jury in the second stage. This year, jury members Geraldine Chaplin, Iván Wyszogrod, Luis Miñarro, Nathanaël Karmitz and Paulo Machline presented the Bandeira Paulista award to the film Sparrows, directed by Rúnar Rúnarsson. Jacek Lusiński’s Carte Blanche received special mention of the jury in São Paulo.

Other Polish Films in São Paulo

The lineup of the New Directors Competition also featured Moje córki krowy (These Daughters of Mine) by Kinga Dębska and Intruz (The Here After) by Magnus von Horn. Other Polish films that screened at this year’s São Paulo festival include Body/Ciało (Body) by Małgorzata Szumowska, Bogowie (Gods) by Łukasz Palkowski, Obywatela (The Citizen) by Jerzy Stuhr, and Mur (The Wall) by Dariusz Glazer, as well as two co-productions: Czarodziejska góra by Anca Damian and Pod elektrycznymi chmurami (Under Electric Clouds) by Alexey German Jr.

Awards for Carte Blanche

Inspired by real events, Jacek Lusiński’s film tells the story of a high school teacher who, in order to keep his job and continue getting his students ready for final exams, hides the fact that he is slowly losing his eyesight. To date, the film has received awards at the 11th New York Polish Film Festival, the 8th ‘Wisła’ Polish Film Festival in Moscow, the 44th Lubuskie Film Summer, and the 24th Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers festival in Jilin, China. In June, Carte Blanche also received the Grand Prize of the Jury at the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival.

A Film Supported by the Polish Film Institute

Carte Blanche was written and directed by Jacek Lusiński, lensed by Witold Płóciennik and scored by Paweł Lucewicz. The film was produced by Aurum Film, co-produced by Orange and Lightcraft, and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute and the Lublin Film Fund. Distribution in Poland is handled by Kino Świat.

Translated by Karolina Kołtun