WINNERS OF THE 56TH KRAKOW FILM FESTIVAL

June 4 marked the closing gala of the 56th Krakow Film Festival at the Kijów cinema. The grand prize in the festival’s international documentary competition went to Zosya Rodkevich for the Estonian-Russian film My Friend Boris Nemtsov. The 56th Krakow Film Festival was co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

The festival’s closing gala was hosted by Piotr Metz. The awards ceremony was preceded by a screening of the last episode of the festival’s newsreel.

Ikona (Icon) Triumphs in National Competition

The Polish competition jury members Joanna Kos-Krauze (chairwoman), Agnieszka Glińska, Stefan Laudyn, Ewa Sobolewska and Agnieszka Zwiefka presented the Golden Hobby-Horse Award for the Director of Best Film to Wociech Kasperski for his film Ikona (Icon). “A gentle yet shocking film, told with extreme maturity, mindfulness, and courage. This film restores the meaning of the most fundamental questions and reminds us that a film can sometimes be a work of art. This one certainly is,” reads the jury statement.

Ikona (Icon) also received the Award of the President of the Polish Filmmakers Association for Best Editing (Tymoteusz Wiskirski), the Maciej Szumowski Award for remarkable social awareness, and the Award of the Polish Cinematographers Society for Best Cinematography (Łukasz Żal). Ikona (Icon) was also recognised in the international documentary competition, winning the FIPRESCI prize.

Other awards in the National Competition

• Silver Hobby-Horse for the director of the best documentary film — Paweł Łoziński for Nawet nie wiesz, jak bardzo cię kocham (You Have No Idea How Much I Love You);
• Silver Hobby-Horse for the director of the best animated film — Marta Pajek for Figury niemożliwe i inne historie II (Impossible Figures and Other Stories II); this film also received the Student Jury Prize;
• Silver Hobby-Horse for the director of the best short fiction film — Piotr Adamski for Otwarcie (The Opening); this film also received the Don Quixote award of the International Federation of Film Societies (FICC) Jury;
• Award for best Polish producer of short and documentary films — Agnieszka Wasiak of Lava Films for 21 x Nowy Jork (21 x New York), a film directed by Piotr Stasik

Więzi (Close Ties) awarded in Short Film Competition

The Short Film Competition jury members — chairwoman Ewa Puszczyńska (Poland), Enrico Vannucci (Italy), Nancy Phelps (Belgium), Aleksandra Maciuszek (Poland) and Benjamin Cleary (Ireland) — awarded the Silver Dragon Award for the director of the best documentary film to Więzi (Close Ties), a film by Zofia Kowalewska.

“For a very warm and humorous film, a touching and precise reflection on love, attachment and forgiveness,” reads the jury statement.

Doc Lab Poland Awards

Co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, Doc Lab Poland is a multifaceted programme aimed at documentary filmmakers focusing on supporting creative documentaries while also placing emphasis on production value. This year’s Krakow Film Festival hosted the second edition of the Doc Lab Poland pitching session, as well as a series of workshops and co-production meetings.

Docs to Start

• HBO Award – Bojleska (Boylesque), directed by Bogna Kowalczyk, produced by Tomasz Morawski / BOFFO;
• Krakow Film Cluster Award — Studium chaosu (Study of Chaos), directed by Tomasz Śliwiński, Magdalena Hueckel, produced by Marika Kuźmicz / Arton Foundation;
• Special Mention of the European Documentary Network (EDN) – Misja (Mission), directed by Monika Krupa, produed by Dorota Mandziara / Trzy Film;
• DOK Leipzig Award – Wolta (Volte), directed by Monika Kotecka and Karolina Poryzała, produced by Agnieszka Wasiak / Lava Films

Docs toGo!

• Award of the Polish Filmmakers Association — Miłość bezwarunkowa (Unconditional Love), directed by Rafał Łysak, produced by Jacek Bławut, Victoria Ogneva / Jacek Bławut Film Production;
• Krakow Technology Park Award – Najbrzydszy samochód świata (The Ugliest Car in the World), directed by Grzegorz Szczepaniak, produced by Grzegorz Szczepaniak / Wydawnictwo Fonograficzne Anagram;
• East Doc Platform Special Mention – Wieś pływających krów (Village of the Swimming Cows), directed by Katarzyna Trzaska, produced by Katarzyna Trzaska / ZYGIZAGA Robert Zygmuntowski

The 57th Krakow Film Festival will run from May 28 through June 4, 2017.

Further details about the awarded films are available on the website of the 56th Krakow Film Festival.

Marta Sikorska

Translated by Karolina Kołtun