"Mundane History" Wins Top Prize
The winners of the 10th Era New Horizons International Film Festival have been announced. The Grand Prize of the International NEW HORIZONS Competition went to Mundane History (Thailand), directed by Anocha Suwichakornpong. The Wrocław Film Prize in the New Polish Film Competition went to Made in Poland by Przemysław Wojcieszek.
“These films are what’s most important today. That is what we saw over the past eleven days of the festival. I hope that thanks to such an intense viewing experience we take even a small step forward; that it somehow helps us grow,” said festival director Roman Gutek at the Era New Horizons closing ceremony.
“Wrocław is proud to host this festival in our city. Nothing better illustrates our motto: Wrocław – the Meeting Place,” said Adam Grel, deputy mayor of Wrocław.
The Grand Prize in the International NEW HORIZONS Competition went to the Thai production Mundane History by Anocha Suwichakornpong. In addition to a cash prize, the film has guaranteed distribution in Poland, as do all films awarded in the international sections of the event.
“This film is original and rich in meanings in a way that only a debut film can be,” said jury member Jonathan Caouette.
The award was presented by Agnieszka Odorowicz, General Director of the Polish Film Institute.
“I would like to take the opportunity, here at the tenth edition of the festival, to congratulate Roman Gutek on creating a must-see event for anyone who wants to be involved in cinema. If Wrocław wins the title of European Cultural Capital 2016, a large part of the credit will go to Gutek,” said Odorowicz.
The director accepted the award in person. “Thank you. I feel wonderful in this city,” she said. “I would like to thank the hosts and the audience who filled the house at screenings of my film. It is a pleasure to receive this award in Poland – a country with such a rich cinema tradition.”
The Audience Award in the International NEW HORIZONS Competition went to Le Quattro Volte by Michelangelo Frammartino. The FIPRESCI jury recognized Mama by Nikolay and Yelena Renard as a film that “presents a bold and conscious artistic minimalism.”
The winning picture in the FILMS ON ART International Competition was We Don’t Care About Music Anyway by Cedric Dupire and Gaspard Kuentz. Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow by Sophie Fiennes received special mention of the jury.
Films in the New Polish Film Competition were awarded in two categories. The Best Debut award went to Adam Sikora and Ingmar Villqist, co-directors of Ewa – a film that “presents an honest look at a society faced with an economic crash.”
“We are at an age where we should probably be finishing and not starting our adventure with film directing,” quipped Sikora. “But this is only because we simply did a lot of other things before. I would like to thank Magda Nowacka. She is a young producer who caught the movie bug right here at Era New Horizons.”
The Wrocław Film Prize was presented by Nikolai Nikitin, member of the New Polish Film Jury. He said: “Roman, your biggest accomplishment is that in this age of DVD and the Internet you manage to draw so many young people to cinemas. We decided to award a film that is a sharp and uncompromising look at Polish society with its pants down: Made in Poland by Przemysław Wojcieszek.”
“I am extremely happy that Poland’s only progressive film festival takes place in my hometown of Wrocław,” said Wojcieszek. “Thank you for this award. The money will go towards my next film.”
Winners of the two short film competitions were selected in a vote of the audience.
The Polish Short Movie Competition awards were presented by Mariusz Grzegorzek. “Short film is a format that always brings hope for discovering new and interesting filmmakers,” he said.
Winners were as follows: Viva Maria! by Agnieszka Smoczyńska in the documentary category, Brzydkie słowa (Bad Lyrics) by Marcin Maziarzewski in the feature category, and Millhaven by Bartek Kulas in the animated film category.
Awards in the European Short Debuts Competition were presented by Małgorzata Doborowolska. Winners: Maria’s Way by Anne Milne in the documentary category, My Invisible Friend by Pablo Laurcuen in the feature category, and Logorama by the H5 collective in the animated film category.
Translated by Karolina Kołtun