Polish Films Awarded in Kiev

October 27 marked the closing of the 43rd edition of the Molodist International Film Festival in Kiev. The small circle of the festival’s award-winners includes the creators of two Polish short films: Matka (The Mother) and Gwizdek (The Whistle).

This year’s Molodist festival lineup featured a total of five Polish films. The short film competition screened Gwizdek (The Whistle) by Grzegorz Zariczny, Ziegenort by Tomasz Popakul, and 128. Szczur (128th Rat) by Jakub Pączek. The student film competition featured Matka (The Mother) by Łukasz Ostalski. The out-of-competition section dedicated to the concept of memory featured Papierowe pudełko (Paper Box), an animated film directed by Zbigniew Czapla.

The international competition sections were judged by jury members: Belgian producer/director Marion Hänsel, Greek director Babis Makridis, Russian actress Dinara Drukarova, Russian film critic Viktor Matizen, and head of the Odessa Film Festival, Victoria Tigipko.

 Matka (The Mother) Voted Best Student Film

The top prize in the student film category went to Matka (The Mother), a film by Łukasz Ostalski of the Gdynia Film School. Since its March premiere at the Tampere Film Festival, the film has received a total of five international awards. The Molodist festival prize marks the sixth win for this film, while being the first award in a student film competition.

Special Mention for Gwizdek (The Whistle)

The other Polish film to receive acclaim at Molodist was Gwizdek (The Whistle) by Grzegorz Zariczny (produced by the Polish Filmmakers Association – Munk Studio and Full Film Service), which was recognized in the short film category. The Polish documentary received special mention “for the subtle and poetic depiction of everyday life.” This marks yet another award for Zariczny’s short documentary. Since its January premiere at the Sundance festival, where the film received the top prize in the short film competition, Gwizdek (The Whistle) has screened at almost 30 international film festivals.

Festival for Young Filmmakers

This year’s edition of the Molodist festival, which ran from October 19 through October 27, screened a total of 300 films from 60 countries. Every year, the festival showcases a selection of top films by first-time and second-time filmmakers in two main categories: feature and short. Last year’s international jury gave special mention to Bez śniegu (Without Snow), a student film by Magnus von Horn (produced by the National Film School in Łódź and Lava Films). The complete list of festival winners as well as further details about the festival are available on the official website of the Molodist festival.

Source: www.polishdocs.pl.

Translated by Karolina Kołtun