Polish Animations at Annecy FF

Five Polish animated films will screen at the 36^th Annecy International Animated Film Festival, which runs from June 4 through June 9, 2012. The selection of Polish films includes several films co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

Droga na drugą stronę (Crulic – the Path to Beyond) in Competition

Among this year’s films screening in the feature animated film competition is Droga na drugą stronę (Crulic – the Path to Beyond) by Anca Damian. This co-production between Poland and Romania was co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. Based on real events that took place in 2007 and 2008 when Claudiu Crulic, a Romanian prison inmate died as a result of his four-month hunger strike in a Krakow prison, Crulic – the Path to Beyond brings is part animation, part documentary, with elements of fiction. The film was co-produced on the Polish side by the Magellan Foundation, and its Polish producer is Arkadiusz Wojnarowski.

Out of Competition Sections

The out of competition sections of the 36^th Annecy International Film Festival feature four Polish animated short films: The Game by Marcin Janiec, Ognisty ptak by Andrzej Gosieniecki, and two films co-financed by the Polish Film Institute: Agnieszka, the Polish-French debut by director Izabela Bartosik-Burkhardt, and Rondo, directed by Artur Kordas, produced by the Polish Filmmakers Association’s Munk Studio within the framework of the “Young Animation” programme.

Annecy Film Festival

The Annecy film festival is one of the world’s most prestigious animated film festivals. Its significance in the world of animated filmmaking matches that of the Cannes International Film Festival for live-action films. Every year, the Annecy Film Festival features approximately 180 animated films from around the world in several competition sections, including feature-length animated films, short animated films, television series, television specials, educational, scientific or industrial films, advertising films, music videos, and graduation films. A special selection of short animated films will also screen out of competition.

Polish Animated Films in Annecy

Over 60 Polish films have screened in competition at the Annecy International Film Festival to date. The animated film Krok (The Step) by Piotr Kamler received the festival’s Grand Prize in 1975 and was voted the best film in the festival’s 30 year history. Previous editions of the festival also brought awards for such films as Labirynt (Labirynth) by Jan Lenica, Wszystko jest liczbą by Stefan Schabenbeck, Klatka 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

Awards at the Annecy Film Festival have also gone out to animated films co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. In 2007, Piotruś i wilk (Peter & the Wolf) by Suzie Templeton won the festival’s grand prize. Last year’s Annecy Film Festival brought awards for three animated films co-financed by the Polish Film Institute: Świteź (The Lost Town of Świteź) by Kamil Polak (best first film), Paths of Hate by Damian Nenow (special distinction), and Maska (Mask) by the Quay Brothers (Sacem award for original music; music omposed by Krzysztof Penderecki).

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

Paulina Bez

Translated by Karolina Kołtun