"The Whistle" Awarded in London

Grzegorz Zariczny’s Gwizdek (The Whistle), which has screened at over 20 international film festivals to date, continues to keep a good pace. Last week, the film received an award at the Open City Docs Fest in London.

Polish Films in London

The lineup of this year’s edition of the Open City Docs festival, which ran in London from June 20 through June 23, featured three Polish documentaries. The screening of the award-winning Gwizdek (The Whistle) was followed by a screening of Moja wola (A Dream in the Making) by Bartosz M. Kowalski, while the other Polish entry in the short film competition was Paweł Ziemilski’s Rogalik.

Best Short Documentary Film

A jury led by Jeremy Irons selected winners of the awards and recipients of special mention. Gwizdek (The Whistle) received the award for Best Short Documentary Film. This event brought the second opportunity for London audiences to see Grzegorz Zariczny’s film. In late April, Gwizdek (The Whistle) screened at the Sundance London festival. This marks yet another successful year for Polish films at the Open City Docs Fest; at last year’s edition, Maciej Bochniak received special mention for his film Przyjęcie (Reception).

Fifth Award for Grzegorz Zariczny’s Documentary

The London award is the fifth win for Grzegorz Zariczny’s documentary. Gwizdek (The Whistle) tells the story of Marcin, a young man from a small town near Krakow, who is taking his time in starting a truly adult life. His mother does not approve of his lifestyle; she expects him to make concrete decisions and take action: find a better job and a future wife. Marcin is also a novice football referee; every week, he has to listen to derogatory comments about his work made by football players and fans at matches of amateur football teams.

Gwizdek (The Whistle) by Grzegorz Zariczny was produced by the Munk Studio of the Polish Filmmakers Association within the framework of the ‘First Documentary’ programme.

Further details about the festival are available at: www.opencitydocsfest.com.

Source: www.polishshorts.pl.

Translated by Karolina Kołtun