"El Premio" in Main Competition

El Premio. Photo by Wojciech Staroń

One of the sixteen films screening in Main Competition at the upcoming 61st Berlin International Film Festival is a film made with a Polish minority co-production partner.

El Premio (The Prize) is the feature debut from Paula Markovitch, made as a co-production between Mexico, France, Poland, and Germany. Wojciech Staroń is El Premio‘s director of photography, while the Polish co-producer is Małgorzata Staroń (Staroń Film). The film was co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

Argentine-born Paula Markovitch is an acclaimed screenwriter. She wrote the script for Lake Tahoe (2008), which screened in Polish cinemas. Set in 1970s Argentina under junta rule, El Premio is a semi-autobiographical intimate story, based on the director’s personal experience.

The 61st Berlin International Film Festival will run from February 10 through February 20, 2011.

The official website of the festival: www.berlinale.de.

Translated by Karolina Kołtun