"The Girl from the Wardrobe" Awarded

Dziewczyna z szafy (The Girl from the Wardrobe), a film directed by Bodo Kox and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, received two awards at the 14th Arras International Film Festival in France.

Dziewczyna z szafy (The Girl From the Wardrobe) Wins Two Awards

Dziewczyna z szafy (The Girl from the Wardrobe), a film directed by Bodo Kox and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, received the Silver Atlas (l’Atlas d’Argent) second prize of 5,000 euros and the youth jury prize of 2,000 euros at the 14th Arras IFF, which closed on November 17. The winner of this year’s edition of the festival was Miracle, a film directed by Juraj Lehotsky. The third prize went to Kertu, an Estonian production directed by Ilmar Raag. In 2011, Rafael Lewandowski’s Kret (The Mole) was the winner of the audience award and the award of the French Society of Film Critics at the Arras film festival.

A Film About Loneliness and Alienation

Dziewczyna z szafy (The Girl from the Wardrobe) is the story of two brothers named Jacek and Tomek, and a girl named Magda. Each of the three is lonely and alienated in their own way. The girl from the title wardrobe chooses to alienate herself from the world. Tomek suffers from savant syndrome, a unique brain disorder that isolates him from his environment, while Jacek limits his interaction with the outside world to the Internet. The film is a story of loneliness, anonymity and alienation that have various root causes, be it personal choice or the ‘supernatural’ qualities of the brain that result in unusual behaviour.

The Latest film from Bodo Kox

The film was written and directed by Bodo Kox (author of Nie panikuj, Księżycowa rzeka, Sobowtór). The lead roles were played by Magdalena Różańska, Piotr Głowacki and Wojciech Mecwaldowski, with supporting performances from Eryk Lubos, Magdalena Popławska, Olga Bołądź, and Marcin Kowalczyk. The film was lensed by Arkadiusz Tomak, with original score composed by Joanna Halszka Sokołowska and Filip Zawada.

A Film Supported by the Polish Film Institute

Dziewczyna z szafy (The Girl from the Wardrobe) was produced by Wytwórnia Filmów Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych, co-produced by Canal+ Polska, and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. The film was released theatrically in Poland on June 14, 2013, with distribution handled by Kino Świat.

Awards

Dziewczyna z szafy (The Girl from the Wardrobe) was voted best feature debut at the 23rd Cottbus IFF. Wojciech Mecwaldowski received the Amber Award for Best Actor at the Koszalin film festival, while the film received the festival’s awards of the youth jury and critics’ jury. At the Prowincjonalia festival in Września, the film won the Jańcio Wodnik grand prize, as well as the awards for Best Photography for Arkadiusz Tomiak and Best Actress for Magdalena Różańska, who was also voted the festival’s top rising star. At the 27th Tarnów Film Awards, The Girl from the Wardrobe received the special jury prize and the “Cameraman” youth jury prize. Bodo Kox was also voted the winner of the Janusz Morgenstern “Perspektywa” Award. The Girl from the Wardrobe also won the top prize at the 11th Tofifest IFF in Toruń.

Further details about the Arras International Film Festival are available at www.arrasfilmfestival.com.

Paulina Bez

Translated by Karolina Kołtun