POLISH SHORTS AT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS – 2022 IN REVIEW
The past year has seen a slow return to festival normality. Organisers did whatever they could to ensure that events took place just like they had before the pandemic. It is thanks to their efforts, among others, that Polish short fiction films have reached audiences all over the world and have had the chance to win numerous awards. You're going to find all of this in our annual summary, which you are kindly invited to read.
Our fiction shorts were presented at more than 150 international festivals. Polish productions appeared in film event programs more than 200 times, with as many as 170 presented in competitions.
The film that received the most invitations to important international festivals this year was Jan Bujnowski's The Devil. It was screened at 20 festivals. The second place, with 19 screenings, belongs to The Dream of Lonely People by Marek Leszczewsk, closely followed by Stagnant by Konrad Kultys andTramway by Bartosz Reetz and Mother's Day by Patryk Kaflowski. The selectors at international events were also fond of Headfish by Jan Prysak, The Hero by Milena Dutkowska, Fruits And Vegetables by Maciej Jankowski, Last Days of Summer by Klaudia Kęska, , Vyraj by Agnieszka Nowosielska and Liberty by Joanna Rożniak.
A total of 170 competition screenings brought more than 20 awards for our short fiction films. The film that received the most is Stagnant. Several awards also went to The Devil, Tramway, The Dream of Lonely People, Last Days of Summer and Headfish.
At the beginning of the year Beyond is the Day – the 2021 favourite – was still featured at several festivals.Damian Kocur's film was named best short film at the Austrian and Hungarian Blue Danube Film Festival. Back in February, Konrad Kultys' short film captivated the jury of the Manuel Trujillo Duran Festival in Venezuela. The film won the top prize. The performance of Igor Kowalunas was also recognised. At a similar time, Jakub Prysak's film received the PAG Jury Award at the Trieste Film Festival.
However, the most important film news in Poland at the beginning of the year was the Academy Award nomination for Tadeusz Łysiak's short film The Dress. A short while earlier, the production was honoured with the Best Narrative Short Film Award at the Brussels Independent Film Festival.
It's impossible to create a summary of 2022 without the word war. The Polish film community has supported its neighbours both financially and by holding various film-related events. In March there were quite a few events dedicated solely to Ukrainian cinema. Various types of initiatives continued over the following months.
In April, Polish fiction films brought several awards home. Among the recognised films there was Stagnant, named best film at the ÉCU The European Independent Film Festival in France or The Hero. The film by Milena Dutkowska and produced at the University of Silesia's Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School received a €1,500 prize funded by the city of Selb for the best Eastern European film at the 45th edition of Grenzland-Filmtage Selb in Germany.
In May we learned that Maciej Jankowski's short film from the Lodz Film School had been the only Polish production to make it onto the shortlist of the prestigious Yugo BAFTA Student Film Awards 2022 in the Live Action category.
Summer holidays started well for Klaudia Kęska's film, which received the award for best short fiction at the 3rd edition of the Morocco Shorts International Film Festival. In turn, the short film by Jakub Prysak was honouredby the international jury of the Portuguese festival FEST-New Directors, New Films. This wasn't the last award for this film. A month later, Headfish received the Grand Prix at the Tbilisi International Student Film Festival.
Also awarded in July was Bartosz's Reetz's black-and-white fiction film. Tramway received a special award at the Dea Open Air International Film Festival in Tirana. August was lucky for Joanna Różniak. Her film Liberty came back from the 5th Beach Film Festival in North Macedonia with a special award for best student short film.
The back-to-school season proved kind to Stagnant. The film was named best film from the Visegrad Group countries at the 18th BuSho Film Festival. This award heralded the film's excellent performance in October.
Klaudia Kęska's short fiction film was appreciated by the audience of the 63rd International Film Festival BRNO16. The film by Konrad Kultys was named best short film at the Gáldar International Film Festival, while Bartosz Reetz's film received a similar award at the Firm Film Festival.
More awards came to Damian Kocur closer to the end of the year. His Beyond Is The Day delighted the jury of the Spanish festival Filmets Badalona, which named it that edition's best film.
In December, quite a lot started to happen around Jan Bujnowski's short fiction film. The Devil was invited to Clermont Ferrand, and a short while earlier it had impressed the jury of the Poitiers Film Festival in France and received two awards. The short production from the Łodz Film School was honoured with the Jury's Special Prize and the Manifest Award.
At the end of the year, another Spanish festival gave its award to Bartosz Reetz. This time, his Tramway captivated the jurors at Cinemistica Film Festival. Vyraj was recognised in a similar timeframe. The short fiction film by Agnieszka Nowosielska was awarded at the International Amity Short Film Festival.
As you can see, there was no shortage of Polish short films at numerous any major international festivals. However, there are more Polish appearances at these festivals than just our films. Our representation was also present at industry events. As usual, we couldn't have missed Clermont Ferrand. The presence of Polish films at both the festival and fair was prepared and coordinated by the Krakow Film Foundation with financial support from the Polish Film Institute.
LIST OF AWARDS FOR POLISH SHORT FILMS IN 2022*
Beyond is the Day, dir. Damian Kocur
5th Blue Danube Film Festival, Austria, Hungary, 2022 – Best Short Film
48th edition of the FILMETS Badalona Film Festival, Spain, 2022 – Venus of Badalona for Best Film
The Devil, dir. Jan Bujnowski
45th Poitiers Film Festival, France, 2022 – Jury’s Special Prize, Manifest Prize
14. Glimpses of Europe, Scanorama, 2022, Lithuania, 2022 – Special Mention
The Stone, dir. Bartosz Kozera
Marrakech Short Film Festival, Marocco, 2022 – Best International Film
The Dreams of Lonely People, dir. Marek Leszczewski
Bayamon International Film Festival, 2022, Puerto Rico, 2022 - Best Short Film
Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival in the Sky, 2022, Malaysia, 2022 - Honorable Mention
Veracruz Itinerant Film Festival, 2022, Mexico, 2022 - Best Student Short Film
Vertigo Film Fest - Milano International Short Film Festival, 2022, Italy, 2022 - Best Movie Award, Best Cinematography
Live, dir. Mara Tamkovich
Chicago International Film Festival, 2022, USA, 2022 – Silver Hugo Awards
When The Night Comes, dir. Katarzyna Sikorska
Seguin Film & Arts Festival, 2022, USA, 2022 – Honorable Mention in the Student Category
Black Cat Award International Film Festival, 2022, Bolivia, 2022 – Best Short Film Award Historical Drama For Students
Last Days of Summer, dir. Klaudia Kęska
Women's International Film Festival, 2022, Nigeria, 2022 – Best Original Score Award
3. Morocco Shorts International Film Festival, 2022, Morocco, 2022 – Best Fiction Film
63rd International Film Festival BRNO16, Czech Republic, 2022 – Audience Award
Headfish, dir. Jakub Prysak
33rd Trieste Film Festival, 2022, Italy, 2022 – PAG Jury Award
18th FEST - New Directors | New Films Festival 2022, Portugal, 2022 – NEXXT – Academic Competition
Tbilisi International Student Film Festival, 2022, Georgia, 2022 – Grand Prix
Stagnant, dir. Konrad Kultys
XII Festiwal Pielagos en Corto, 2022, Spain, – Best Director, Best Screenplay
16th Manuel Trujillo Durán National and International Short Film Festival, 2022, Venezuela, 2022 – Best film, Best actor
ÉCU The European Independent Film Festival, 2022, France, 2022 – Best Student Film
18th BuSho Film Festival 2022, Hungary, 2022 – Best Visegrad Short
disABILITY Film Festival, Leuven, Belgia 2022 – Best Film, Audience Award
10th Gáldar International Film Festival 2022, Spain, 2022 – Best Short Film
The Dress, dir. Tadeusz Łysiak
Brussels International Independent Film Festival , 2022, Belgium, 2022 – Best Narrative Short Film
Liberty, dir. Joanna Różniak
5. Beach Film Festival, 2022, North Macedonia, 2022 – Special Mention for Student Film
The Hero, dir. Milena Dutkowska
45th Internationale Grenzland-Filmtage, 2022, Germany, 2022 – Jury film award "Eastern European Film"
62nd ZLÍN FILM FESTIVAL International Film Festival for Children and Youth, 2022, Czech Republic, 2022 – Jury Award in the Live-Action Category
Tramway, dir. Bartosz Reetz
Cinalfama Film Awards, 2022, Portugal – Best Film, Best Actress
VI Firm Film Festival, 2022, Spain, – Best Short Fiction
9. DEA OPEN AIR International Film Festival, 2022, Albania, 2022 – The Media Award (Special Prize)
Worcester Film Festival, 2022, United Kingdom, 2022 – Honorable Mention for Best Director
Cinemistica Film Festival, 2022, Spain, 2022 – El Refugio Award
16. Prvi kadar, 2022, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2022 – First Frame Awards
Fruits and Vegetables, dir. Agnieszka Nowosielska
Torino Underground Cinefest, Italy, 2022 – Best Short Film
Vyraj, dir. Agnieszka Nowosielska
5th International Amity Short Film Festival, Turkey, 2022 – Special Mention
*data collected based on information sent by producers, filmmakers, and festival organisers to Polish Shorts. If you're aware of any international awards handed out to Polish short films not included on ths list, please contact us at magdalena.walo@kff.com.pl