"The Whistle" Wins at Sundance!

Gwizdek (The Whistle). Photo courtesy of Studio Munka/SFP

Gwizdek (The Whistle), directed by Grzegorz Zariczny and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, received the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

Polish Documentary Tops Doc Competition

Gwizdek (The Whistle) by Grzegorz Zariczny was one of 15 films screening in the Documentary Short Film Competition. The film was produced by Munk Studio within the framework of the First Documentary programme, co-produced by FilmFull Service, and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

Gwizdek (The Whistle)  follows a young man from a small town near Krakow. During the week he endures physical labour, but on the weekends he is a referee at lowest-league football matches. In the Shorts Competition, Grzegorz Zariczny’s film competed against such docs as You Don’t Know Jack by Morgan Spurlock, The Secret of Trees – the latest documentary from master filmmaker Albert Maysles, as well as films by Ewan McNicol and Michael Almereyda.

Polish Short Films at Sundance

Gwizdek (The Whistle) is the fifth Polish film in the last four years to be selected for the Short Film Competition at Sundance. Last year, the Polish short feature Opowieści z chłodni (Frozen Stories) by Grzegorz Jaroszuk also screened in competition, while two years ago the short documentary Poza zasięgiem (Out of Reach) by Jakub Stożek received special mention at Sundance.

Nieulotne (Lasting) in World Cinema Dramatic Competition

This year’s Sundance Film Festival also marked the world premiere of Nieulotne (Lasting), the second film from director Jacek Borcuch to screen in Park City. In 2010, the Sundance festival lineup featured Borcuch’s previous feature Wszystko, co kocham (All That I Love). Both films were co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

The Sundance IFF

The Sundance film festival is one of the world’s top festivals for independent filmmaking. Created by actor Robert Redford, the festival has been organized annually since 1981 in the state of Utah, USA. The Sundance Film Institute supports independent filmmakers by granting scholarships for directors, screenwriters and producers, and by co-financing film production.

Further details about the Sundance IFF available at: www.sundance.org.

Marta Sikorska, Paulina Bez, portalfilmowy.pl

Translated by Karolina Kołtun