POLISH FILMS NOMINATED FOR 2015 SILVER EYE AWARDS
This year marks the seventh edition of the Silver Eye awards for Best Documentaries from Central and Eastern Europe. Eight Polish films have been nominated in this year’s edition of the awards.
The Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival starts on October 27. One of the sidebars of the festival is the twelfth edition of the East Silver Market, which will also mark the seventh edition of the Silver Eye Awards for best documentaries from Central and Eastern Europe. Eight Polish films are in the running for this year’s awards.
The Silver Eye awards have been presented annually during the East Silver Market since 2009. Films participating in the market are divided into three categories: short, mid-length and feature-length documentaries. The Silver Eye awards will be presented during the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival, and the list of 30 nominated films includes eight documentaries made by Polish filmmakers, including several films co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.
Polish films nominated for the 2015 Silver Eye Awards
- Figura (Figure), directed by Katarzyna Gondek;
- Budzik (Out of the Blue), directed by Piotr Małecki;
- Ślimaki (Snails), directed by Grzegorz Szczepaniak;
- AGFA 1939. Podróż w czasy wojny (AGFA 1939. Journey into War), directed by Michał Wnuk;
- Casa Blanca, directed by Aleksandra Maciuszek;
- Koniec świata (End of the World), directed by Monika Pawluczuk;
- Pawel i Wawel (Pawel and Wawel), directed by Krzysztof Kaczmarek;
- K2. Dotknąć nieba (K2 – Touching the Sky), directed by Eliza Kubarska
The East Silver Market includes an online database that is open to the public during the festival, and available year-round to registered industry representatives. Market attendants also receive a printed catalogue that is a source of information on the latest documentary films from Central and Eastern Europe.
Awards for Polish Films
Polish films have not only been widely present at past editions of the East Silver Market, but have also often won the Silver Eye awards. In 2009, Sześć tygodni (Six Weeks) by Marcin Janos Krawczyk received the Silver Eye Award in the short film category, while Bartek Konopka’s Królik po berlińsku (Rabbit a la Berlin) won in the mid-length category. Anna Kazejak’s documentary Bocznica (The Sidetrack) received Special Mention in the feature documentary category. The following year, the winner of the Silver Eye Award in the short film category was Takie życie (That’s Life) by Daniel Zieliński, while Michał Marczak’s Koniec Rosji (At the Edge of Russia) was voted best feature documentary. Special mention went to Praca Maszyn (The Work of the Machines) by Michał Mądracki, Maciej Mądracki and Gilles Lepore, and to Krajobraz nizinny z kołyską (Plain Landscape with a Cradle) by Arkadiusz Biedrzycki. In 2012, Rafał Samusik’s Wytnij-Wklej (Cut-Paste) received the award for best short documentary, while the award in the mid-length category went to Kiedyś będziemy szczęśliwi (We Will Be Happy One Day) by Paweł Wysoczański.
In 2013, the winner of the Short Film Competition was Sceny sprzed (Previous Scenes) by Aleksandra Maciuszek. Joanna, a film directed by Aneta Kopacz and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, received the award in the mid-length documentary category. Sztuka znikania (The Art of Disappearing) by Bartek Konopka and Piotr Rosołowski received the Silver Eye Award Special Mention.
Last year’s 18th edition of the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival brought the Best Short Film award to Odwiedziny (The Visit) by Matej Bobrik. Special mention went to Gottland, a feature documentary made by Czech and Slovak filmmakers based on a book by Mariusz Szczygieł. This film was also co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.
Further details are available at: www.eastsilver.net.
Translated by Karolina Kołtun