POLISH FILMS AWARDED IN CHICAGO
The award ceremony of Chicago International Film Festival Television Awards was held on 10 April. The jury awarded three Polish films: "Secrets of Love" by Krystian Matysek, "The Promise of a Happy Childhood" by Piotr Morawski and Ryszard Kaczyński and the film by Wiesław Dąbrowski "Paderewski the Man of Action, Success and Fame."
International Film Festival in Chicago is the oldest film festival in North America with a competitive section. It has been organised without any breaks since 1964, and in October this year the 50th edition will take place. In spring the television awards of the festival are given, which are considered one of the most important television awards in the USA.This year, the jury of Television Awards appreciated three Polish films. Krystian Matysek won the Silver Plaque award in the Documentary: Arts/Humanities category for his latest film "Secrets of Love." In the category Documentary: Social/Political the Silver Plaque award went to Piotr Morawski and Ryszard Kaczyński for "The Promise of a Happy Childhood." The film by Wiesław Dąbrowski "Paderewski - the Man of Action, Success and Fame" received the Certificate of Merit in the Documentary: History/Biography category.
"What is love to you?" This is the question which the protagonists of "Secrets of Love" try and answer - the inhabitants of seven parts of the world: the members of two Papuan tribes, nomads from the Himalayas, citizens of northern India, France, Russia and Poland. Feature-length documentary by Krystian Matysek is a global portrait of lovers and spouses who live on the same planet, in the same time, but in different places and cultures. This is a polyphonic chronicle of amorous adventures.
"The Promise of a Happy Childhood" tells the story of five siblings from the Orphanage in Szklarska Poręba, who in 1997 were adopted by a married couple from the United States. However, very soon it turned out that the new parents could not cope with the upbringing of their adopted children. The fate of the siblings in the USA was dramatic - the children were humiliated, beaten and soon they were separated - some of them went back to orphanages and new foster families. After several years, the filmmakers found all five of them and arranged the meeting of the siblings.
The protagonist of the film "Paderewski the Man of Action, Success and Fame," Ignacy Paderewski, is an outstanding artist and statesman, who contributed to the restoration of Polish independence after the First World War. In 1919 he was the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. In 1922 he went to the United States, where he returned to his music career. However, great politics never ceased to interest him.
The full list of the award-winning films can be found here.