PRIZE WINNERS of the 27th WARSAW FILM FESTIVAL

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
The Jury: Christa Saredi, sales agent (Switzerland), Bogdan George Apetri, director (Romania/ USA), Alvaro Brechner, director (Uruguay), Milcho Manchevski, director (Macedonia), ArtemVassilev, producer (Russia) gave the following awards:

Warsaw Grand Prix, funded by the City of Warsaw:

ROSE / RÓŻA (Poland), directed by Wojciech Smarzowski, producer Włodzimierz Niderhaus

Best Director Award:

ANOTHER SILENCE / OTROS SILENCIOS (Argentina / Canada / Brazil / France), directed by Santiago Amigorena

Special Jury Award for Best Actor:

Robert Więckiewicz in COURAGE / WYMYK (Poland), directed by Greg Zgliński

Special mention:

CRULIC – THE PATH TO BEYOND / CRULIC – DRUMUL SPRE DINCOLO (Romania / Poland), directed by Anca Damian


1-2 COMPETITION
The Jury: Sitora Alieva, festival director (Russia), Mira Staleva, market director (Bulgaria), Paweł Sala, director (Poland), gave the award to

Competition 1-2 Winner:

TWILIGHT PORTRAIT / PORTRET V SUMERKAKH (Russia), directed by Angelina Nikonova

For the original approach and courage in showing the true situation of women in a world in which they turn to be stronger than the strongest man.


FREE SPIRIT COMPETITION
The Jury: Jane Schoettle, programmer of Toronto International Film Festival (Canada) Paweł Borowski, director (Poland), Auraeus Solito, director (Philipinnes) gave

the Free Spirit Award to:

POMPEYA (Argentina), directed by Tamae Garateguy

The Free Spirit section was made to celebrate the artistry of films like the one we have chosen. Becouse of its unique structure, strong ideas, excellent performances, and riveting tension that builds up to an unexpected climax that breaks your expectations, the International Jury awards the Free Spirit prize to Pompeya rom Argentina.

Special Mentions:

FAT, BALD, SHORT MAN / GORDO, CALVO Y BAJITO (Colombia), directed by Carlos Osuna

Beautifully done 2D animation that expresses 3D emotions.

THE SOUL OF FLIES / EL ALMA DE LAS MOSCAS (Spain), directed by Jonathan Cenzual Burley

For its poetic imagery and elegnt minimalism that tells so much.


DOCUMENTARY FEATURES COMPETITION
The Jury: Liat Benhabib, director of Visual Center at Yad Vashem (Israel), Christian Frei, director (Switzerland), Janusz Mrozowski, director (Poland / France) gave

the Best Documentary Feature Award to:

A BITTER TASTE OF FREEDOM (Sweden / Russia USA), directed by Marina Goldovskaya

An authentic expression of courage, presenting an intimate portrait and a raw encounter with a charismatic woman acting against political forces. Through rich documentation and extensive use of archival material, both personal and social, Goldovskaya reflects on journalism, on documenting reality and at the same time on the ability to affect it.

Special Mention:

BUCK (USA), directed by Cindy Meehl

A poetic cinematic look on the iconic horseman-figure revealing an inspiring person. Beautifully crafted and sensitive film about universal human values and overcoming personal boundaries.


SHORT FILMS COMPETITION
The Jury: Anne Parent, co-ordinator of film market in Clermont-Ferrand (France), Grzegorz Jaroszuk, director (Poland), Sergio Oksman, director (Spain) gave the following awards:

Short Grand Prix:

THE MAKING OF LONGBIRD (UK), directed by Will Anderson

Best Animated Short Film Award:

BRANDT RHAPSODIE (France), directed by Francois Avril

Best Live Action Short Film Award:

SILENT RIVER / APELE TAC, (Romania) directed by Anca Miruna Lazarescu


FIPRESCI AWARD
FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) Jury: Carmen Gray (New Zealand / UK), Ola Salwa (Poland), Dean Kotiga (Croatia) gave the award for the best Eastern European debut

FIPRESCI Award:

AVE (Bulgaria), directed by Konstantin Bojanov

For its uncontrived, humorous, effortless and tender portrait of two young Bulgarians and their imaginative escapes.


ECUMENICAL JURY AWARD
The Ecumenical Jury: Guido Convents (Belgium), Hans Hodel (Switzerland), Marek Kotyński (Poland) gave the award to a film presented in the International Competition

Ecumenical Jury Award:

COURAGE / WYMYK (Poland), directed by Greg Zgliński

In an excellent and sophisticated cinematographic language Courage deals with the issue of moral courage and the sense of guilt. It appeals for more personal responsibility.  The film is set in today’s Poland and the drama can be perceived as a kind of Abel and Kain story. Two brothers, of different characters and sensibilities, are forced to take over the direction of an Internet distribution company when their father fell ill.

Two Special Mentions:

CRULIC – THE PATH TO BEYOND / CRULIC – DRUMUL SPRE DINCOLO (Romania / Poland), directed by Anca Damian

Crulic is based on a true story about the Romanian emigrant named Crulic in Poland who is accused of having robbed a Polish judge.  This animated feature-length documentary, which uses mixed animation techniques, enounces the often discriminatory attitude of authorities towards foreign migrants. It gives a voice to a man who died in an inhuman way, without being heard and who was deprived of his most elementary human rights.

GREY MATTER / MATIERE GRISE (Australia / Rwanda), directed by Kivu Ruhorahoza

Matière Grise reflects on the suffering of those who as children survived the Rwandan genocide. It denounces the mechanisms in which hatred and intolerance are created by media and eventually dehumanize human beings.  This feature film shows, how it is important for small countries and their filmmakers to tell their own stories and to reflect on issues that they value the most.


NETPAC AWARD
Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema. NETPAC Jury: Amaia Torrecilla Olasolo, film promoter (Spain), Jeffrey Jeturian, director (Philippines), Konrad Wągrowski, film critic and journalist (Poland) gave the award to the best Asian film in competitive section of WFF:

NETPAC Award:

NO. 89 SHIMEN ROAD (Hong Kong, China / Netherlands), directed Haolun Shu

The 27th WFF NETPAC Jury gives out the award to a film that poignantly depicts the struggle of a country confronted with a new order. It is also a personal and touching view of a world that no longer exist.

The AUDIENCE AWARD

The following films won the Audience Poll at the 27th Warsaw Film Festival:

Winner – Fiction Feature Films category:

ROSE / RÓŻA, dir. Wojciech Smarzowski

Winner – Documentary Feature Films category:

BUCK, dir. Cindy Meehl

Winner – Short Films category:

NORTH ATLANTIC, dir. Bernardo Nascimento

Winner – Films for Children:

A CAT IN PARIS, dir. Alain Gagnol, Jean-Loup Felicioli

The remaining Top Ten Films in the Audience Poll:

Fiction Feature Films category:

2.    Rabat, dir. Jim Taihuttu, Victor D. Ponten
3.    Tyrannosaur, dir. Paddy Considine
4.    The Battle of Algiers, dir. Gillo Pontecorvo
5.    The Flowers of Kirkuk, dir. Fariborz Kamkari
6.    Superclásico, dir. Ole Christian Madsen
7.    Weekend, dir. Andrew Haigh
8.   Courage, dir. Greg Zgliński
9.   Crulic – The Path to Beyond, dir. Anca Damian
10.  Intimate Grammar, dir. Nir Bergman

Documentary Feature Films category:

2.   Michel Petrucciani - Body & Soul, dir. Michael Radford
3.   Journey from Zanskar, dir. Frederick Marx
4.   Splinters, dir. Adam Pesce
5.   POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, dir. Morgan Spurlock
6.   A Matter of Taste, dir. Sally Rowe
7.   Hit Me With Music, dir. Miquel Galofré
8.   Out of the Darkness, dir. Stefano Levi
9.   A Bitter Taste of Freedom, dir. Marina Goldovskaya
10. 100 Voices: A Journey Home, dir. Matthew Asner, Danny Gold