„ARENA” AND „ROLLERCOSTER” AWARDED AGAIN
During last week the number of awards for two Polish student films – „Arena” by Martin Rath and „Rollercoaster” by Marek Marlikowski – increased. Films were awarded at the Early Bird Student Film Festival in Bulgaria and Bratislava IFF in Slovakia.
The first laureate to name is Martin Rath, whose student film “Arena” was awarded twice at the Bulgarian Student Film Festival Early Bird. Jury decided to present Rath’s film with the award for the Best Foreign Film as well as Special Mention for the Best Cinematography for Bartek Świniarski. The film was produced by the Polish National Film School in Łódź. “Arena” is a story of a young hitchhiker who’s taken in by an remote Polish mountain community. Absorbed by the charismatic locals and unforgiving harshness of his new environment he constitutes his presence in the mountains. The 10th edition of the Early Bird Festival was held between 6th and 11th November.
Another laureate whose film was listed among the winners was Marek Marlikowski – the author of “Rollercoaster”. The film tells the story of a young woman who trains intensively for an unusual test Despite health and family complications however, she fights on. During her trial, emotions fly high and her family threads interfere so much with her passion that the day will forever be marked in her mind. Film by Marlikowski was screened as a part of the short film competition of the Bratislava International Film Festival where it competed among others with “Island” by Katarzyna Klimkiewicz and Dominga Sotomayor. Eventually it was “Rollercoaster” that received the jury’s Special Mention for the stunning and consistent audio-visual style supported by great acting; in mere 14 minutes, the film not only shows the impact of an important emotional event but succeeds in implicitly explaining the underlying circumstances.
“Rollercoaster” was produced by the Radio and TV Faculty of Silesian University in Katowice. So far the film screened at more than 15 international festivals in Spanish San Sebastian or the Greek Drama to name just a few. The festival in Bratislava was held between 7th and 15th November.
More on the festivals Early Bird ISFF and Bratislava IFF can be found at their websites.