AROUND THE YEAR AT SHORT FILM FESTIVALS – THE SUMMARY OF 2015
2015 brought many successes to Polish short films. Over 300 films were shown in over 1300 festival screenings around the world, winning nearly 150 awards. Polish short film was also the special guest at the festivals Curtas Vila do Conde in Portugal, Summer Film School in the Czech Republic, Cartón in Argentina, and Akbank in Turkey.
Last year, Polish short films were shown in over 1300 screenings at over 540 festivals around the world, over 950 out of which were competition screenings. From January to December 2015, animated films were screened almost 600 times, including over competitive 370 screenings. Short fiction films can boast more than 400 screenings, including over 300 competitive ones, whereas documentary films - over 320 screenings, including over 240 competitive ones.
The Polish short film most frequently screened at international film festivals in 2015 was "Object" by Paulina Skibińska, with 51 screenings. The following places went to the documentary film "Super Unit" by Teresa Czepiec (43 screenings) and the animated film "Baths" by Tomek Ducki (36 screenings). Other films, which travelled through numerous film festivals in 2015, are: "Hippos" by Piotr Dumała, "The Incredibly Elastic Man" by Karolina Specht and "The Heat" by Bartosz Kruhlik (32 screenings each), "Mother Earth" by Piotr Złotorowicz (27 screenings), "The Shadow Forest" by Andrzej Cichocki (26 screenings), "Home" by Agnieszka Borowa, "Fragments" by Agnieszka Woszczyńska, "A Blue Room" by Tomasz Siwiński and "Starting Point" by Michał Szcześniak (23 screenings each) and "Fugue For Cello, Trumpet and Landscape" by Jerzy Kucia (21 screenings).
Polish short films finished 2015 with nearly 150 awards. "Mother Earth," awarded 9 times last year, can boast the greatest number of festival trophies. Among the awards for "Mother Earth," it is worth to mention the Best Short Film award won at the Byron Bay IFF in Australia, and the Diorapthe Encouragement Award for the Best Student Film at the Go Short festival in the Netherlands. The second place went to "The Shadow Forest," which won 8 awards in 2015, including the Best Student Film award at Sardinia Film Festival, and the Best Short Film award at the Naoussa ISFF in Greece.
"Fugue For Cello, Trumpet and Landscape" takes the lead in the animated film category, with a total of 7 awards. The most important ones include the Golden Horseman Award for The Best Animated Film at the Filmfest Dresden, and Grand Prix of the Be There festival, held on Corfu.
"Super Unit" deserves to be called the most frequently awarded short documentary film of 2015. It won 7 awards, including the Best Short Documentary film award at the Brazilian festival It’s All True, and the Runner-Up Short Documentary award at the Anchorage IFF.
Other films, which won 5 or more awards last year, are "Milky Brother" by Vahram Mkhitaryan (7 awards), "Object" and "The Heat" (6 awards each), "Fragments," "Hippos," "The Baths," "The Blue Room," "Invisible" by Zofia Pręgowska and "Knife in the Wife" by Vita Drygas (5 awards each).
2015 was not only the year of screenings and awards. Polish short film was a special guest at many festivals. A large screening of Polish animated films was held within the frames of the Swiss festival Fantoche. The audience and guests watched over 40 films produced in Poland, since 1960s until today. Polish screenings were featured also in the programmes of the festivals: Curtas Vila do Conde (Portugal), Summer Film School (The Czech Republic), "The Fantastic Four" (Turkey), RIFF (Iceland), Carton (Argentina), Animated Dreams (Estonia), Akbank Short Film Festival (Turkey), Ciak Polska Film Festival (Italy) and 3D Wire (Spain).
In February, Krakow Film Foundation organised for the ninth time the Polish Shorts national stand at the International Short Film Market in Clermont Ferrand - the largest film market in Europe, dedicated exclusively to short film. The stand, which was visited by several hundred people during the five market days, was promoting the latest Polish short films. Accredited producers and distributors present at the stand had the opportunity to maintain existing international contacts and make new ones.
A separate Polish Animations stand dedicated to the promotion of animated film, was organised and run by the KFF at the MIFA market, accompanying the festival in Annecy. Numerous animated film producers, accredited at the stand, participated in industry events, and also had a chance to look for international partners and widen their professional contacts.
Traditionally, a set of Polish short films was included in the programme of the Short Film Corner market, organised at the Cannes Film Festival. Fourteen films, constituting the programme of Polish Shorts, were promoted at the film market and in the on-line video library, available for accredited film professionals from around the world.
Promotional materials dedicated to Polish short films were also available at the Berlinale festival, within the frames of the Polish stand organised by the Polish Film Institute at the accompanying film market.
All events received the financial support of Polish Film Institute and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The partners were Krakow Festival Office and Krakow Film Commission.
THE LIST OF AWARDS FOR POLISH SHORT FILMS IN 2015*
A Blue room, dir. Tomasz Siwiński
43 Festival of Nations, Austria - Lenzing Award
31st IMAGINE Film Festival, the Netherlands - Méliès d'Argent
37th Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival, France - Prix France Télévisions
Festival Court Metrage Ciné Poème 2015, France - Prix de Jeunesse
39th Hong Kong International Film Festival, China - Jury Prize
A Long Time Ago in Silesia, dir. Tomasz Protokowicz
17th International Izmir Short Film Festival, Turkey - Best International Short Fiction
August, dir. Tomasz Śliwiński
2015 Palm Springs International ShortFest, the USA – Best Live Action Short 15 Minutes and Under, Honorary Mention for Exceptional Cinematography
Bittersweet, dir. Michał Wawrzecki
11th Early Bird Student Film Festival, Bulgaria – Best Cinematography
Cotton Dreams, dir. Sandeep Rampal Balhara
Japan Wildlife Film Festival, Japan - Best Asia and Oceania Award
Amsterdam Film Festival, the Netherlands – Jury Prize
Darling, dir. Izabela Plucińska
8th International Animation Forum, Egypt - First Prize in Innovative Trial Competition, The Best Animation, The Best Design
Eighteenth Birthday, dir. Marta Prus
Watersprite Cambridge ISFF, Great Britain– Best Documentary
Ex Animo, dir. Wojciech Wojtkowski
24th DaKino International Film Festival, Romania - Special Jury Award for the Best Animated Film Chilemonos 2015, Chile - Best experimental short
Fat and Skinny, dir. Aleksandra Brożyna
Monstronale Film Festival 2015, Germany - Best Short Film
Figure, dir. Katarzyna Gondek
25th Message to Man International FF, Russia - Special Mention
Flora and Fauna, dir. Piotr Litwin
21st Regensburg International Short Film Week, Germany – Special Mention
Fragments, dir. Aga Woszczyńska
The TLV International Student Film Festival 2015, Israel – Best Editing
La Guarimba International Film Festival 2015, Italy - Best Fiction Award, Best Cinematography
"Amirani" Tbilisi International Student Film Festival, Armenia – Best Camera
43 Festival of Nations, Austria - Lenzing Award Best Camera
From Bed Thou Arose, dir. Bartek Konopka
2015 Brooklyn Film Festival, the USA - Best Narrative Short
Sapporo International Short Film Festival 2015 and Market, Japan - Jury Award by Diane Pernet
Fugue for Cello, Trumpet and Landscape, dir. Jerzy Kucia
Gold Panda Awards for Animations 2015, China - Best Overseas Animated Short Film, Best Visual Effects - Sichuan TV Festival
Banjaluka 8th International Animation Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Special Mention
BeThere!2015 Corfu Animation Festival, Greece -Grand Prize, Best Music
27th Filmfest Dresden, Germany - Golden Horseman
Animated Dreams, Estonia - Best Sound Award
Giant, dir. Tomasz Jeziorski
25th Cottbus Film Festival, Germany - Special Prize (to the director)
Grandma's Day, dir. Miłosz Sakowski
25th Cottbus Film Festival, Germany – Special Prize (to the director)
Hippos, dir. Piotr Dumała
23rd Fesancord Festival, Chile - Best International Animation,
20th Riga International Film festival 2ANNAS, Lithuania - Best Animation
19th Regard sur le court, Canada - Best Animated Film
Slamdance Film Festival, the USA - Jury Honorable Mention for Animated Short
9th Kinofest International Digital Film Festival, Romania - Best Animated Film
House on its Head, dir. Adam Palenta
FaitoDOCfestival, Italy – Best Short Documentary
Invisible, dir. Zofia Pręgowska
13th In the Palace International Short Film Festival, Bulgaria - Special Mention on Documentary
29th Pärnu International Documentary and Anthropology Film Festival, Estonia - Best Student Documentary
10th Monterrey International Film Festival, Mexico - Special Mention
26th New Orleans Film Festival, the USA - the Jury Winner
13th Tirana International Film Festival, Albania - Best Short Documentary Film
KIN women's International Film Festival, Armenia - Best Film
Killing auntie, dir. Mateusz Głowacki
55th Zlin Film Festival, the Czech Republic - The Best Live-Action Film
Kinki, dir. Izumi Yoshida
20th Split Film Festival, Croatia - Special Award
Knife in the Wife, dir. Vita Maria Drygas
25th Mediawave International Film and Media Gathering, Hungary - Best Short Documentary Film
FIKE 2015 - 13th ISFF, Portugal - Special Mention
UNICA World Film Competition 2015, Russia - UNICA Bronze Prize, Best Photography of UNICA
8th Tangier International Film Festival, Morocco - The Golden Cave
Luksuz Film Festival 2015, Slovenia - The Best Arizona Dream Award
Larp, dir. Kordian Kądziela
14th St.Petersburg International Festival of Debut and Student Films BEGINNING, Russia - Best Student Fiction Film
30th European Short Film Festival of Brest, France -
Brno 16 2015, the Czech Republic – Special Mention - Format Court Award
Lesson, dir. Damian Kocur
Watersprite 2015 - The Cambridge International Student Film Festival, Great Britain – Best Cinematography
Light in August, dir. Matej Bobrik
Brno 16 2015, the Czech Republic – Student Jury Prize, Special Mention
Lost Senses, dir. Marcin Wasilewski
8th International Animation Forum, Egypt - First Prize in Animated Film Competition, The Best Music
The World Animation Celebration 2015, the USA - Best Professional CG Animation
Maja, dir. Jakub Michnikowski, Sebastian Weber
CAT Film Festival for children and teenagers, 2015, Russia – Best Short Film
Milky brother, dir. Vahram Mkhitaryan
18th Olympia International Film Festival, Greece - Best Short Fiction Film
25th Mediawave International Film and Media Gathering, Hungary - Best Short Fiction Film
22th Film Festival Della Lessinia – Lessinia d’Argento
45th Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival, Ukraine - Special Award of the Jury
26th Ljubljana International Film Festival, Slovenia – Special Mention
22nd International Film Festival Febiofest, Slovakia - Best Short Film
27th Premieres Plans International Film Festival, France - Grand Jury Prize European Short Films
Mother Earth, dir. Piotr Złotorowicz
44th International Student Film Festival Sehsuchte, Germany - Best Short Fiction
Go Short – International Short Film Festival Nijmegen 2015, the Netherlands - Diorapthe Encouragement Award for the Best Student Film
1st FlumenFest Festival, Portugal - Jury's Honourary Mention, the Main Award of the Student Jury
43 Festival of Nations, Austria - Lenzing Award Best Directing
Contact Student Film Festival, 2015, Turkey – Audience Award
3rd Cervignano Film Festiwal, Italy – Best Acting (Dariusz Przybył)
Byron Bay International Film Festival, 2015, Australia – Best Short Film
32th FIFE Environmental International Film Festival, France – Special Mention
Object, dir. Paulina Skibińska
Sundance Film Festival, the USA - A Short Film Special Jury Award for Visual Poetry
45th Tampere Film Festival, Finland - Diploma of Merit (Documentary)
20th Vilnius International Film Festival, Lithuania - Special Mention
23rd Art Film Fest, Slovakia - Special Mention
Camden International FF, the USA - Camden Cartel Award
25th Message to Man International FF, Russia - Special Mention
Of A Forest, dir. Katarzyna Melnyk
12th IndieLisboa - Lisbon International Independent Film Festival, Portugal - Animation Special Mention
Our curse, dir. Tomasz Śliwiński
Irvine International Film Festival, the USA, 2015 - Best College/University Documentary
11th annual Boulder International Film Festival, the USA - Best Short Documentary
Crested Butte Film Festival, the USA - Best Short Documentary
THESS International Short Film Festival, Greece - Cinematic Achievement Award
Pinky, dir. Tomasz Cichoń
45th Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival, Ukraine – Best Film in the International Short Competition
Sad monsters, dir. Justyna Tafel
3rd International Motion Festival, Cyprus – Shout&Sweet – student
Second Life, dir. Eugeniusz Pankov
Osen KinoFest, 2015, Russia – Grand Prix
Shit Eaters, dir. Agata Wojcierowska
The TLV International Student Film Festival 2015, Israel – Special Mention
Signum, reż. Witold Giersz
13th Tindirindis International Animated Film Festival, Lithuania - Special Jury Prize
Starting Point, dir. Michał Szcześniak
Docudays UA, Ukraine - Docu/Short Main Prize
Documenta Madrid, Spain - Special Mention
Sheffield Doc/Fest, Great Britain - Short Doc Award 70
Encounters - 21st Short Film & Animation Festival, Great Britain - Honourable Mention
Budapest International Documentary Festival, Hungary - Special Mention
Subtenant, dir. Damian Krakowiak
"Amirani" Tbilisi International Student Film Festival, Armenia - Best Sound
Such a landscape, dir. Jagoda Szelc
13th IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival, Bulgaria – Best Fiction Film
Summer 2014, dir. Wojciech Sobczyk
13th Tindirindis International Animated Film Festival, Lithuania - Special Mention
19th Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival SICAF2015, Korea - Jury Special Prize for the Short Films in Competition
12th Animateka International Animation Festival, Slovenia - 2 Reels Jury Grand Prix
Super Unit, dir. Teresa Czepiec
7th Go Short International Short Film Festival Nijmegen, the Netherlands - Special Mention
It's All True - International Documentary FF, Brazil - Best Short Documentary
43rd Huesca Film Festival, Spain - Mención Especial
Astra Film Festival, Romania - Prize for best cinematography
Anchorage International FF, the USA - Runner-up Short Documentary
MOV - II Festival Internacional de Cinema Universitário de Pernambuco, Brazil - Best Creation of Atmosphere, Honorable Mention by ABD-PE/APECI Jury
Survey about men, dir. Mateusz Głowacki
The Student International Film Festival, Croatia - Audience Award
The Baths, dir. Tomek Ducki
22nd International Animated Film Festival KROK, Russia - Best Short
12th Kecskemét Animation Film Festival, Hungary - Best Short Film
13th International Short Film Festival Tabor, Croatia - Jury Special Mention
Newport Beach Film Festival 2015, the USA - Best Animated Short
8th International Animation Forum, Egypt - The Best Scenario
The Crow, dir. Przemysław Jan Chrobak
13th International Festival Signes de Nuit, France - Night Award Special Mention
The Heat, dir. Bartosz Kruhlik
The Chico Independent Film Festival, 2015, the USA – Best International Film
FMZEX Festival Mundial de Cine Extermo, 2015, Mexico – Best Short Film
RxSM Self Medicated Film Expo, 2015, the USA – Best International Short Film
TWISTER Alley Film Festival, 2015, the USA – Best Short Film, Best Acting (Rafał Fudalej)
El Corto Del Ano Festival, 2015, Madrid, Spain – Special Mention
The only way, dir. Piotr Domalewski
Flicks Film Festival 2015, the Netherlands - People's Choice Award
The Place, dir. Julia Popławska
8th Imagine Science Film Festival, the USA - The Science/AAAS Scientist Award (runner-up)
13th Tegernsee International Mountain Film Festival, Germany – Großer Preis der Stadt Tegernsee
The Shadow Forest, dir. Andrzej Cichocki
10th Cyprus International Film Festival, Greece - Best Cinematography in a First Short Film
«Bridges» Peloponnesian International Film Festival 2015, Greece - Best Cinematography in a Short Film
12th Naoussa International Film Festival, Greece - Best SEE Talents
2nd MAFICI - International Film Festival Puerto Madryn, Argentina - Best Short Fiction Film
Taos Shortz Film Fest 2015, the USA - Emerging Artist Honourable Mention
48th Worldfest Houston, the USA – Gold Remi
10th Sardinia Film Festival, Italy - Special Mention for Photography, Best School Film Over 18
The Shepherd's Song, dir. Vahram Mkhitaryan
29th Pärnu International Documentary and Anthropology Film Festival, Estonia - Best Audiovisual Portrayal
25th Message to Man International FF, Russia - Best Debut
13th Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival, Nepal - 2nd Runner Up Award
The Supreme, dir. Katarzyna Gondek
28th Stuttgarter Filmwinter — Festival for Expanded Media, Germany - Wand-5 Special Prize
The Tenement Building, dir. Agnieszka Burszewska
Toko Film Festival 2015, Italy - Best Animated Film
Three kings, dir. Anna Błaszczyk
23rd Fesancord Festival, Chile – Best International Animation
Under_construction, dir. Marcin Wojciechowski
Alpinale Short Film Festival, Austria - Golden Unicorn
When I am a Bird, dir. Monika Pawluczuk
Apricot Tree-International Ethno Film Fest by 2015, Armenia - Grand Prix
You Keep An Eye On Us, dir. Arek Biedrzycki
UNICA World Film Competition 2015, Russia - UNICA Gold Prize, Best Film of UNICA, Jury Prize UNICA
* data collected on the basis of information sent by producers, film makers and festival organisers to the editors of Polish Shorts. If you know about international awards for Polish short films, which are not included on this list, please sent the information to the address of the editorial office: redakcja@polishshorts.pl