Oscars from Krakow?

On February 27, 2013, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, for the second time in six months, extended its list of Krakow Film Festival winners eligible for consideration for Oscar nominations. The list of qualifying awards now includes four winners of Krakow’s short film competition.

Four Winners Eligible for Oscar Nominations

In the fall of 2012, the Academy expanded its list of qualifying festivals to include more winners of the Krakow Film Festival; as of then, not only winners of the Golden Dragon award were eligible, but also winners of the Silver Dragons in the short animation and feature category. Now the winners of the Silver Dragon in the short documentary category also join these ranks.

What this means is that as of this year’s 53rd edition of the Krakow Film Festival all four winners of the international short film competition will automatically be eligible for nominations for the prestigious Academy Awards. The winning film in the short documentary category must meet additional requirements of the Academy regarding distribution in the United States during the Oscar campaign.

The Doors to Success

“We received news of the update to the list of qualifying awards just hours before this year’s Oscars ceremony,” says Barbara Orlicz-Szczypuła, director of the Festival Programming Office. “We are happy about the fact that the Krakow Film Festival can open doors to international success for filmmakers.”

“This is a real opportunity for Polish filmmakers. Who knows, maybe this time next year we will be celebrating an Oscar received by Polish filmmakers?”, adds festival director Krzysztof Gierat.

The Unique Qualities of the Krakow Film Festival

Recognition by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Poland’s oldest film festival is a direct result of head of the Oscar Office Torene Svitil’s visit to the 52nd edition of the Krakow festival, where she was a jury member and had an opportunity to learn about the unique qualities of the event.

The next edition of the Krakow Film Festival will take place in late May and early June. The selection process for all four competition sections and various out-of-competition sections is expected to be completed by the beginning of April.

Further details about the Krakow Film Festival are available at www.kff.com.pl.

Written by Kalina Cybulska based on the press release

Translated by Karolina Kołtun