"COMMUNION" AND "FIRST POLE ON MARS" WIN AT WFF!
Warsaw Film Festival ended last Sunday. The main award, both in short film competition and documentary film competition, went to Polish productions.
This year, the 32nd edition of the festival was held. Every year in Warsaw, there are premières not only of feature films, but also documentary and short films. During the festival, the films compete in five different competitions: the International Competition, 1-2 Competition, the Free Spirit Competition, as well as the Documentary and Short Films Competitions.
Fifteen films from around the world participated in the Documentary Competition this year, but the Main Award in Warsaw went to Polish documentary film. The film "Communion" by Anna Zamecka was appreciated by the jury consisting of: Pietra Brettkelly (New Zealand), Wojciech Kasperski (Poland) and Žiga Virc (Slovenia). In their justification, they wrote: In front of the camera we fell in love with 14-year-old Ola, her strength and power in this intimate film of tragedy and comedy. Behind the camera we the Jury applaud Anna Zamecka whose strong film decisions reveal the flaws of our society.
In the Short Films Competition, the jury consisting of: Gunhild Enger (Norwey), Klara Kochańska (Poland), Yordan Petkov (Bulgaria) and Eddy Schwartz (Bulgaria) awarded Short Grand Prix to the short documentary film "First Pole on Mars," directed by Agnieszka Elbanowska. They motivated their decision in this way: For a risky formal idea on the borderline of the genre, the result being an ironic film offering a brilliant commentary on Poland but also on the absurdities of the modern global world, in which the protagonist from a small village in Central Europe wants, literally and metaphorically, to launch himself into space.
In the same competition, the Best Live Action Short award went to the film "Play Off," directed by Tomasz Gąssowski (Poland), for a grounded, convincing portrait of a relatable character’s struggle with love, life and the game of growing up.
It is worthwhile to remind that the award in short film competition allows the film to apply for an Academy Award.
The full list of award-winning films is on the festival's website.