"Gods" Wins the 39th Gdynia Film Festival

Winners of the 39th Gdynia Film Festival. Photo by Marcin Kułakowski, Polish Film Institute

 

The winners of the 39th Gdynia Film Festival have been announced. The festival’s top winner was Bogowie (Gods), a film by Łukasz Palkowski, which won a total of five awards, including the top prize: the Golden Lions award for Best Film. The Silver Lions went to Pod Mocnym Aniołem (The Mighty Angel) by Wojciech Smarzowski. The Special Jury Prize went to Obywatel (Citizen) by Jerzy Stuhr. The Platinum Lions for lifetime achievement went to director Sylwester Chęciński.

The Complete List of Winners of the 39th Gdynia Film Festival:

  • The Golden Lions Grand Prize of the 39th Gdynia Film Festival for Best Film: Bogowie (Gods), directed by Łukasz Palkowski, produced by Piotr Woźniak-Starak;
  • The Silver Lions: Pod Mocnym Aniołem (The Mighty Angel), directed by Wojciech Smarzowski, produced by Jacek Rzehak;
  • Special Jury Prize: Director Jerzy Stuhr and producer Piotr Dzięcioł for Obywatel (Citizen);
  • The Platinum Lions for Lifetime Achievement: Sylwester Chęciński;
  • Best Director: Władysław Pasikowski for Jack Strong;
  • Best Screenplay: Krzysztof Rak, Bogowie (Gods), directed by Łukasz Palkowski;
  • Best Actress: Zofia Wichłacz, Miasto 44 (Warsaw 44), directed by Jan Komasa;
  • Best Actor: Tomasz Kot, Bogowie (Gods), directed by Łukasz Palkowski;
  • Best Photography: Kacper Fertacz, Hardkor Disko (Hardcore Disco), directed by Krzysztof Skonieczny;
  • Best First-Time Director: Krzysztof Skonieczny for Hardkor Disko (Hardcore Disco);
  • Best First-Time Actress: Jaśmina Polak for her performance in Hardkor Disko (Hardcore Disco), directed by Krzysztof Skonieczny;
  • Best First-Time Actor: Sebastian Fabijański for his performance in Jeziorak (Waterline) by Michał Otłowski and Miasto 44 (Warsaw 44) by Jan Komasa;
  • Best Make-Up: Agnieszka Hodowana, Aneta Brzozowska, Bogowie (Gods), directed by Łukasz Palkowski; 
  • Best Special Effects: Vit Komrzy, Miasto 44 (Warsaw 44), directed by Jan Komasa;
  • Best Sound: Bartosz Putkiewicz, Miasto 44 (Warsaw 44), directed by Jan Komasa;
  • Best Editing: Paweł Laskowski, Pod Mocnym Aniołem (The Mighty Angel), directed by Wojciech Smarzowski;
  • Best Supporting Actor: Dawid Ogrodnik, Obietnica (The Word), directed by Anna Kazejak;
  • Best Supporting Actress: Elena Babenko, Fotograf (The Photographer), directed by Waldemar Krzystek;
  • Best Costume Design: Małgorzata Braszka and Mikołaj Koralewski, Jack Strong, directed by Władysław Pasikowski;
  • Best Production Design: Wojciech Żogała, Bogowie (Gods), directed by Łukasz Palkowski; 
  • Best Original Score: Mikołaj Trzaska, Pod Mocnym Aniołem (The Mighty Angel), directed by Wojciech Smarzowski

Ten Years of Emotions with the Polish Film Institute

“I would like to extend a very special thank you to the artists of all generations, to film youth, and to our masters of the art for giving me an opportunity to support your work over the past ten years; I am most grateful for your films. You move people, you entertain them, you make them think,” said Agnieszka Odorowicz, General Director of the Polish Film Institute. “These films take us into a completely different reality. This is clear not only to me, as the head of the Polish Film Institute, but also to the audiences, because one in four cinema tickets sold in Poland is for your films,” she added.

Platinum Lions for Sylwester Chęciński

“I would like to thank all my colleagues […] but especially those for whom I made these films: the viewers,” said director Sylwester Chęciński, author of Sami swoi, Nie ma mocnych, and Wielki Szu, as he accepted the Platinum Lions award for lifetime achievement.

Silver Lions for Pod Mocnym Aniołem (The Mighty Angel)

Agnieszka Odorowicz, general director of the Polish Film Institute, presented director Wojciech Smarzowski and producer Jacek Rzehak with the Silver Lions award for their film Pod Mocnym Aniołem (The Mightly Angel). “I am lucky to be surrounded by great professionals. I am lucky to be working with excellent actors and great crews […] many of whom I work with time and time again,” said Wojciech Smarzowski, mentioning that he has just started filming his latest film Wołyń.

A Unanimous Verdict of the Jury

The festival’s Golden Lions grand prize was presented by Minister of Culture Professor Małgorzata Omilanowska and head of the jury Ryszard Bugajski. “This year marks the second time that I am head of the jury in Gdynia. Over 20 years ago, the quality of Polish cinema was much lower than today and the jury unanimously decided not to award the Golden Lions […]. Today, Polish cinema has changed so much that our jury unanimously decided to award the Golden Lions to one film,” said Ryszard Bugajski before announcing the winner.

 

“I would like to thank the directors, screenwriters, actors, production designers, costume designers, editors, make-up artists, sound engineers, and everyone from the world of filmmaking who contributed to the success of this festival,” said Culture Minister Małgorzata Omilanowska, before commenting on the new statuette of the Golden, Silver, and Platinum Lions, as designed by Paweł Althamer.

Golden “Gods”

“I want to thank the producers who were mad enough to entrust me with directing this film, my cast, my crew […]. I hope that working on this project was both extraordinary and fun,” said Gods‘ director Łukasz Palkowski when addressing his crew. “We told the story of a man who fights against all odds. I never thought I would one day be up here at this podium, and yet here I am. All this means is that it’s important to keep on fighting, because nothing is impossible – some things are just time-consuming,” said this year’s Golden Lions winner Łukasz Palkowski.

 

Translated by Karolina Kołtun

20.09.2014