News
Award for Snow White and Russian Red
Wojna polsko-ruska (Snow White and Russian Red) by Xawery Żuławski was awarded the "Elephant" grand prize at the 3rd "Wisła" Polish Film Festival in Moscow.
Waldemar Pokromski Awarded
The German Film Awards (Deutscher Filmpreis) awards ceremony was held on April 23. The winner of the Best Film of 2009 award was Michael Haneke's Das weisse Band (The White Ribbon). Waldemar Pokromski won the award for Best Makeup for his work on Haneke's feature, sharing the credit with Anette Keiser.
50th Krakow Film Festival
The team responsible for organizing the 50th Krakow Film Festival met with the press on April 28. This year's Krakow Film Festival will last from May 31 to June 6.
Protector Wins Off Plus Camera
Protektor (Protector) by Marek Najbrt, the story of a difficult love in wartime occupied Czechoslovakia, was yesterday announced the winner of the Off Plus Camera film festival in Krakow. The award was presented to the Czech filmmaker by Jacek Majchrowski, mayor of Krakow, and Agnieszka Odorowicz, general director of the Polish Film Institute. For "setting the path" (the theme of the Main Competition), Najbrt received a cash prize of 100,000 dollars, along with two grants: one million PLN from the Polish Film Institute for producing his next project in Poland, and another million PLN based on a similar principle from Leszek Czarnecki, owner of festival sponsor Noble Bank.
35th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia
The 35th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia will last from May 24 to May 29. A total of 21 films will be screened in the Main Competition.
Members of the Main Competition Jury are as follows: Andrzej Barański (film director, president of the jury), Árni Óli Ásgeirsson (director and screenwriter), Alicja Bachleda-Curuś (actress), Andrzej Bart (screenwriter), Jacek Petrycki (cinematographer), Waldemar Pokromski (make-up artist), and Xawery Żuławski (director).
3rd Polish Film Festival in Moscow
The opening gala of the 3rd "Wisła" Polish Film Festival in Russia was held at Moscow's Khudozhestvenny cinema and attended by many official guests.
The "Wisła" Polish Film Festival is dedicated to the memory of Andrzej Kremer, deputy minister of foreign affairs, who was among the victims of the tragic plane crash in Smolensk on April 10.
The festival's opening film 33 sceny z życia (33 Scenes from Life) by Małgorzata Szumowska was very well received by the audience.
Polish Film Festival in LA
The winners of the 2010 Hollywood Eagle Awards have just been announced in Los Angeles. The winner of the main competition at the 11th Polish Film Festival in LA was Wszystko, co kocham (All That I Love) by Jacek Borcuch. While the American jury announced the competition winners, several Polish filmmakers were having difficulties travelling to the festival.
Polish Films Awarded in Houston
This year marked the 43rd edition of the WorldFest Houston International Film Festival (April 9-18). The Platinum Remi Award went to the Polish documentary film Wyjście (Exit) by Małgorzata Bieńkowska-Buehlmann, the Bronze Remi Award was presented to Jacek Petrycki's Miasto bez Boga (The City with No God), while Generał Nil (General Nil) by Ryszard Bugajski won the Special Jury Award.
TVP Documentaries in Chicago
Two documentary films commissioned by TVP1 received recognition at the 46th edition of the Hugo International Television Competition.
Off Plus Camera Launched
The gala opening of the 3rd Off Plus Camera International Independent Film Festival was held on April 19 at Krakow's Kijów cinema. The opening of the festival was preceded by a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the recent plane crash at Smolensk airport.
Mother Teresa of Cats in Karlovy Vary
Representatives of the 45th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (June 2-10, 2010) have confirmed that Paweł Sala's feature debut Matka Teresa od kotów (Mother Teresa of Cats) will have its international premiere in the festival's Main Competition. The official statement emphasizes that one of the lead parts was played by "the talented Filip Garbacz, who has been honoured with a special mention of the jury for his role in Świnki (Piggies) at last year's edition of the Karlovy Vary film festival."
World Premiere of The Dog Hill
Grzegorz Zariczny's film Marysina polana (The Dog Hill), produced by the Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing, will have its world premiere at this year's edition of the Vision du Reel film festival in Nyon, Switzerland.
Condolences and Sympathies
After the tragic events of April 10, the Polish Film Institute is receiving condolences from around the world.
In Memory of the Victims
Let us rush to love people; so quickly do they depart... These words by priest and poet Jan Twardowski never sounded as painful as they do today. As a result of the plane crash at Smolensk, within one quick instant we lost representatives of the highest authorities, military leaders, heads of key financial and social institutions, and dignitaries of various religions. People who brought merit to the history and culture of the Republic of Poland.
Award for The Magic Tree
Andrzej Maleszka's Magiczne drzewo (The Magic Tree) received the Grand Prix and Audience Award at the Taiwan International Children's Film Festival, held in Taipei from April 1 to 11.
CinemaNet Award for Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wajda received the Golden Wave award for lifetime achievement at the 14th edition of the "Familia" Catalan film awards. This award is presented by the CinemaNet association, established in 1996 with the aim of promoting educational, social, and family values in the spirit of Christian humanism in modern cinema.
FilmPOLSKA in Berlin and Potsdam
The fifth edition of filmPOLSKA will take place between April 15 and 21. Audiences in Berlin and Potsdam will have an opportunity to attend around 100 film screenings over seven days.
Polish Films at Hot Docs IFF
Paweł Łoziński's Chemia (Chemo) will screen in the international competition. Another Polish contender for the grand prize is Sześć tygodni (Six Weeks) by Marcin Janos Krawczyk.
The world showcase of documentaries will also feature Dariusz Jabłoński's Gry wojenne (War Games) and Przyszedł człowiek i wziął (A Man Came and Took Her) by Jędrzej Niestrój and Rafał Przybysz. 22 Polish documentaries will also be screened at the festival's 2010 Doc Shop film market.
On the set of Hidden
On March 9 we visited the set of Ukryci (Hidden) - the latest feature project directed by Agnieszka Holland and Kasia Adamik. The film, based on a script by David F. Shamoon, is a co-production between Poland, Germany, and Canada.
The Magic Tree Awarded in New York
Andrzej Maleszka's Magiczne drzewo (The Magic Tree) received the BAMmie award for Best Feature Film at the BAMkids Film Festival, organized by the Brooklyn Academy of Music - one of New York's most renowned cultural organizations. The festival took place from February 27 to March 10.
Polish Films Nominated in Slovakia
The nominations for this year's "Sun in the Net" ("Slnko v Sieti") Slovakian Film Awards of the Slovakian Film and Television Academy have been announced. Its members selected the award nominees from among 16 feature films, 15 feature-length documentaries, five shorts and twelve animated films.
Polish filmmakers and co-productions are among this year's nominees.