„Kill it and leave this town” awarded in Vienna

The animated feature film „Kill it and leave this town” by Mariusz Wilczyński won the Prize of the International Federation of Film Critics FIPRESCI at 58th Viennale. This picture, co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, opened the 20th International Film Festival New Horizons in Wroclaw, is in selection of Main Competition at the 45th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia and will compete for a nomination for the American Academy Awards in the Best Animated Feature category.

The film’s world premiere took place at the Encounters competition at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival. The film received a jury award in the main competition of the 44th Annecy International Animated Film Festival and the main prize at the 44th International Animation Festival in Ottawa (OIAF). It also won the 11th Festival Cine Al Este de Lima in Peru.

It has participated in the competitions of many festivals, for example in Melbourne, Prague, Adelaide, Montreal, São Paulo or even New Chitose in Japan. The movie by Mariusz Wilczyński was presented at the 45th Toronto International Film Festival where it received a special label TIFF Industry Selects. On January 22nd 2021, the film will be featured in Polish cinemas.

Film plot

Mariusz Wilczyński’s feature directorial debut is an autobiographical impression, a reminiscence of childhood images, in which the memories of his deceased parents and his hometown of Łódź come alive. Voices in the animation are given, among others, by  Krystyna Janda, Andrzej Chyra, Maja Ostaszewska and Małgorzata Kożuchowska.

Escaping despair after the loss of his loved ones, the protagonist hides in a safe land of memories, where time stands still and all his loved ones are alive. Over the years, the city develops in his imagination. One day, heroes and idols from the childhood known from literature and cartoons, who are eternally young in the minds of subsequent generations, arrive uninvited. When the protagonist discovers that everyone has grown old and that eternal youth does not exist, he decides to return to real life.

The producers of the film are Agnieszka Ścibior (Bombonierka) and Ewa Puszczyńska (Extreme Emotions). The co-producers are: National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute, Adam Mickiewicz Institute, EC1, Letko, Nolabel, Di Factory, Gigant Films.