Molska Wins 2nd Edition of PFI Film Award
Anna Molska. Photo courtesy of http://db-artmag.com/
Anna Molska has been declared the winner of the second edition of the Film Award, presented by the Polish Film Institute and the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw.
Anna Molska and her project Mutantki have been selected as the winner of the second edition of the Film Award, presented by the Polish Film Institute and the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw in cooperation with the Wajda School and Canal+. The winning project was chosen by jury members Wojciech Marczewski, Maciej Sobieszczański, Sebastian Cichocki, and Łukasz Ronduda.
Jury members jointly emphasized the high quality of submitted projects. They also stressed the fact that this was the first time that the competition included films from abroad, presented by acclaimed contemporary artists (Rirkrit Tiravanija). These projects were prepared with the goal of being made in co-production with Poland. The final decision was made after selecting three finalists: Tomasz Kozak, Karol Radziszewski, and Anna Molska.
Special Recognition for Tomasz Kozak
In addition to awarding the film by Anna Molska, the jury decided to give special recognition to Tomasz Kozak for his project Akteon – an interesting example of philosophical cinema. All the institutions involved in the Film Award will make efforts to assist the artist in the production of his project.
Anna Molska’s winning project is a tale of the absurd; it is the story of an extraordinary matriarchal community of elderly women, living away from civilization. The film is set in contemporary rural Poland, focusing on the last days of this community and its inevitable clash with the modern world. As is stated in the film’s synopsis: “These half-wild women exist in a structure of hierarchy that turns out to be their way of surviving in the difficult Polish reality. The sudden appearance of two young men in their daily routine completely distorts their life.” In her project, Molska has a unique way of addressing the questions of feminism and the avant-garde tradition. The visual concept of the film is based largely on developing Molska’s earlier experience in the field of video art, with a number of subtle nods to contemporary art.
Anna Molska
Anna Molska (born in 1983) represents a generation of artists who are worked under professor Grzegorz Kowalski of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. In June 2008, Molska received her Master of Arts degree in the Audiovisual Space Department of the Academy, then in 2011 she received her Ph.D. in the Production Design and Media Department. Molska was recognized as a talented artist already during her student years. She was a two-time winner of the “Samsung Art Master” competition – receiving special recognition in 2006, and winning second prize in 2007. Her graduation piece was a diptych video entitled “Praca – Moc”, later presented at the prestigious Arts Biennale in Berlin in 2008. In 2009. she became the second winner of the “Spojrzenia” (Views) award, presented to talented artists by Deutsche Bank. Molska’s works have been included of in a number of significant exhibitions, including ‘Stage and Twist. Anna Molska, Ciprian Muresan’ at the Tate Modern Gallery in London in 2012, ‘The Generational: Younger Than Jesus” – an exhibition at the New Museum in New York City in 2009, ‘Report on Probability’ – an exhibition at Kunsthalle Basel in 2009, and the Berlin Biennale in 2008.
In October, Molska will begin work on developing the script for her film within the year-long “Studio Prób” Feature Programme at the Wajda School; this will help prepare her film for the production stage.
About the Award
The Film Award is intended for artists in the field of visual arts who want to have a professional full-length feature debut. The goal of this joint initiative of the Polish Film Institute, the Museum of Modern Art, the Wajda School, and Canal+, is to introduce experimental films into cinemas. The creators of the Film Award believe that by supporting production of innovative artistic forms of expression in film, Polish cinema can undergo a significant aesthetic remaking, and have its originality noticed on the world map of the cinema.
The winning project will receive an award of 500,000 PLN for production. The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw will act as co-producer on all winning projects, and will include them in its collection of contemporary art pieces.
Translated by Karolina Kołtun