POLISH FILMS RECOGNIZED IN POTSDAM

Several films co-financed by the Polish Film Institute received awards at Sehsüchte, Europe’s largest student film festival.

Jaskółka (The Caged Swallow) Wins Grand Prize

Jaskółka (The Caged Swallow), the feature-length graduation film by director Bartosz Warwas, was voted Best Long Feature Film of the festival. Produced by the Łódź Film School, the film has previously won awards for Best Directing and Best Sound at the Koszalin film festival.

As was said in the jury statement: “This is what cinema should be!” The verdict goes on to read: “Brave and forward-looking, with dramaturgic surprises. A film that consequently amazes with its twists and turns and with previously unseen camera shots. [With its] cleverly orchestrated riddles, […] non-chronological flashbacks and dramaturgic jumps, one could almost call the film the inventor of a new genre: the film puzzle.”

Matka Ziemia (Mother Earth) Voted Best Short Film

In the jury statement, Piotr Złotorowicz’s Matka Ziemia (Mother Earth) was called “an impressive and compelling cinematic masterpiece.” The jury also recognized the consequent manner in which the film draws the viewer into its world and the precise direction of the actors, the dense atmosphere, and the mystic symbolism of the film. Matka Ziemia (Mother Earth) was also produced by the Łódź Film School.

6 kroków (6 Degrees) Awarded for Best Editing

The award for Best Editing went to Mateusz Romaszkan and Iza Pająk for their work on 6 kroków (6 Degrees), a film directed by Tomasz Dombrowski and produced by HBO Polska, Otter Films and East Pictures S.A. The festival also brought the Best Actress award for Polish actress Karolina Gorczyca for her performance in Tomasz Rudzik’s Agnieszka. In the Best Animated Film category, special mention went to Warsaw-born Kasia Nalewajka for her film Pineapple Calamari.

The 44th Sehsüchte International Student Film Festival in Potsdam ran from April 22 through April 26, 2015. Further details about the winners are available at: 2015.sehsuechte.de.