POLISH ANIMATIONS AT THE 40TH ANNECY IFF

The competition lineup of this year’s 40th Annecy International Animated Film Festival has been announced. The list of films includes a total of four Polish films. The festival runs from June 13 through June 18.

Polish Films in Competition

One of 54 films from around the world to screen in the student film competition is Ja zwierzę, a short animated film by Michalina Musialik of the Łódź Film School. This film, intended for adult audiences, shows the story of a fight between two beasts. Another competition entry is Basia w Zoo (Basia at the Zoo), an episode of the Basia television series produced by Grupa Smacznego. The episode was directed by Marcin Wasilewski, while the series is based on a book series written by Zofia Stanecka, Marianna Oklejak and Dorota Nowacka. Basia w Zoo will screen in the television competition as one of 28 films from around the world. Both films have been financed by the Polish Film Institute.

New Films by Piotr Kamler and Witold Giersz

The out-of-competition showcase at Annecy features films by Piotr Kamler (Perpetuum Mobile) and Witold Giersz (Signum). In addition to the two Polish films, this section will feature 31 other animated shorts from around the world, including Germany, Estonia, Taiwan, and Ecuador.

The 37th edition of the Annecy festival in 2013 featured a special focus on Poland. Over the years, over 60 Polish films have been selected for screening at Annecy. Piotr Kamler’s animated film Krok received the festival’s Grand Prize in 1975 and was voted the best film in the festival’s 30-year history. Polish winners at past editions of the Annecy IFF also include Labirynt by Jan Lenica, Wszystko jest liczbą by Stefan Schabenbeck, Klatki by Mirosław Kijowicz, Apel by Ryszard Czekała, Och, och… by Bronisław Zeman, Refleksy by Jerzy Kucia, Tango by Zbigniew Rybczyński, Ściany by Piotr Dumała, and Laska by Michał Socha.

Awards for Films Co-Financed by the Polish Film Institute

Films co-financed by the Polish Film Institute have also been among winners of the Annecy festival. Droga na drugą stronę (Crulic — The Path to Beyond) by Anca Damian and Peter & the Wolf by Suzie Templeton won the festival’s grand prize in 2012 and 2007 respectively.

In 2011, the Annecy festival brought awards for three animated films co-financed by the Polish Film Institute: Świteź (The Lost Town of Świteź) by Kamil Polak (Best Debut), Paths of Hate by Damian Nenow (Special Mention) and Maska by the Quay Brothers (Sacem Award for music by Krzysztof Penderecki). In 2013, the winner of the student film competition was Ab-ovo, a film by Anita Kwiatkowska-Naqvi. Also in 2013, acclaimed Polish animation artist Jerzy Kucia received Annecy’s Honorary Crystal Award for lifetime achievement.

Further details about the festival are available at: www.annecy.org.

Translated by Karolina Kołtun