04-06-2012

FNE at Krakow FF 2012: Winners of the 52nd Krakow Film Festival

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    CRACOW: The 52 Krakow Film Festival (www.krakowfilmfestival.pl) held from 28 May to 3 June 2012 gave its highest honour this year in the Documentary section to Swedish director Peter Gerdehag for his Women With Cows. In the Polish National Competition the top awards went to director Lidia Duda for her film Entangled.

    The festival is one of Europe's top showcases for new documentary, short and animated films. A staggering 2475 films were submitted this year which festival programmers whittled down ton a programme of 220 films. One of the highlights of the programme included the screening of the short films nominated for the European Film Awards.

    The Polish Panorama presented 22 of this year's best documentaries, shorts and animated films out of competition. One of the highlights of this section was undoubtedly Tomasz Wolski's The Palace about Warsaw hated Palace of Culture a gift from Stalin that dominated the Warsaw skyline.

    Krakow also hosts one of Europe's largest doc and short film markets including a digital library for film buyers and festival programmers and an online digital market. The Annual Dragon Forum presenting new projects was also a highlight for this year/s edition.

    Full list of winners;

    INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

    Having seen all the competition films, the International Documentary Competition Jury of the 52nd Krakow Film Festival consisting of: Jacek Bławut - the chairman (Poland), Luciano Barisone (Switzerland), Hedva Goldschmidt (Israel), Truls Lie (Norway), Peter Torbiörnsson (Sweden) have decided to award:

    GOLDEN HORN for the Director of the Best Film -Peter Gerdehag,the director of WOMEN WITH COWS(Sweden), which depicts the spirit of love and will of the protagonist, who celebrates life and lives in harmony with nature. The visual poetic treatment of director and cinematographer Peter Gerdehag is exquisite in his love for and loyalty to a vision.

    SILVER HORN for the Director of the Best Medium-Length Documentary - Ida Grøn, the director of THE KID AND THE CLOWN (Denmark), depicting children's fight for life and how the clown consumed their fear, which in itself is stronger than cinema.

    SILVER HORN for the Director of the Best Feature-Length Documentary - David Fisher, the director of SIX MILLION AND ONE (Israel/Germany/Austria), which is an exemplary portrayal of what happens to the children of a Holocaust victim who visits the places from his past. The story of denial.

    SPECIAL MENTION:
    THIS MAN IS A MULTI-LAYERED CAKE
    directed by Patricia Mortagne (France).

    THE AWARD OF THE POLISH SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS (PSC) for the best cinematography in the documentary film, founded by Studio Produkcyjne ORKA - Wojciech Staroń (Poland) for cinematography to ENTANGLED - because it depicts of what it is like for the two protagonists to be stuck in their obsessions while wandering through the labyrinth of human passions.

    The FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) Jury at the 52nd Krakow Film Festival, consisting of: Katia Bayer (Belgium), Giovanni Ottone (Italy), Mirosław Przylipiak (Poland), have decided unanimously to award the film THE FLAT directed by Arnon Goldfinger (Israel, Germany).

    The Student Jury for Documentary Competition consisting of: Paulina Haratyk, Karolina Stankiewicz and Krzysztof Siwoń have decided to award the film MOTHERLAND OR DEATH directed by Vitaly Mansky (Russia)- for depicting the reality and temperament of Cuba and its residents in accordance with Russian spirit.
    INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION

    Having seen all the competition films, the International Short Film Competition Jury of the 52nd Krakow Film Festival consisting of: Marcel Łoziński- the chairman (Poland), Oxana Cherkasova (Russia), Alessandro Marcionni (Switzerland), Torene Svitil (USA), Kaveh Tehrani (Norway) have decided to award the following prizes:

    GOLDEN DRAGON for the Director of the Best Film - Alex Lora, the director of ODYSSEUS' GAMBIT (USA/Spain) - for showing the problem of the Third World in all its complexity.

    SILVER DRAGON for the Director of the Best Documentary Film - Marius Iacob, the director of 24 BUCKETS, 7 MICE, 18 YEARS (Romania) - for not agreeing with the violations of intimacy of the people living on the margins of ordinary life.

    SILVER DRAGON for the Director of the Best Animated Film - Ülo Pikkov, the director of BODY MEMORY (Estonia) - for exceptionally original and yet metaphorical portrayal of Holocaust.

    SILVER DRAGON for the Director of the Best Short Fiction Film - Attila Till, the director of BEAST (Hungary) - for the ability to portray a brutal situation with the courage that is rarely seen in cinema.

    SPECIAL MENTION:
    FREESTYLE LIFE, directed by Adam Palenta (Poland) - for his sensitivity and respect for the protagonists and in dealing with such a delicate subject.

    PRIX EFA for the Best European Film (nomination to the European Film Award 2012 in the short film category) for VILLA ANTROPOFF, directed by Vladimir Leschiov and Kaspar Jancis (Latvia/Estonia)

    The FICC (International Federation of Film Societies) Jury
    at the 52nd Krakow Film Festival, consisting of: Veit Geldner (Germany), Sankar Kumar Pal (India), Szymon Stemplewski (Poland) has decided to give the Don Quichote Award for the film TUBA ATLANTIC,directed by Hallvar Witzø (Norway), which is not a black comedy, but a magical surrealistic trip around what's really essential for us: are we able to keep fighting, able to trust, to forgive, to listen to each other?

    The Student Jury for Short Film Competition
    consisting of: Lucyna Adamska, Mateusz Góra and Artur Zaborski has decided to award the film THE CHRONICLE OF OLDRICH S. directed by Rudolf Šmid (Czech Republic) for his incredible view of history, filled with humour and irony, and for the vividness of the image that proves his limitless imagination.
    NATIONAL COMPETITION

    Having watched all the competition films, the National Competition Jury of the 52nd Krakow Film Festival, consisting of: Michał Kwieciński- the chairman, Marcin Giżycki, Magnus von Horn, Tomek Sikora and Tomasz Wolskihas decided to award:

    GOLDEN HOBBY-HORSE
    for the Director of the Best Film - Lidia Duda, the director of ENTANGLED, for taking up a difficult subject and finding the appropriate form for it.

    SILVER HOBBY-HORSE for the Director of the Best Documentary Film
    - Jacek Piotr Bławut, the director of LONELINESS OF SOUND.

    SILVER HOBBY-HORSE for the Director of the Best Animated Film- Paweł Dębski, the director of LUMBERJACK.

    SILVER HOBBY-HORSE for the Director of the Best Fiction Film- Tato Kotetishvili, the director of WATERMELON.

    SPECIAL MENTION:

    HARBOUR OF HOPE, directed by Magnus Gertten (Poland/Sweden).

    The Student Jury for National Competition, consisting of: Ewelina Leszczyńska, Barbara Rusinek, Roman Husarski have decided to award WALK directed by Filip Jacobson (Poland), for the ability to convey universal human truths in a subtle and non-pushy way, that at the same time are able to intensely enter the viewer's mind.
    The President of TVP S.A. (Polish Television) Award for the Best Directing -Piotr Szczepanowicz, the director of THE RAILWAY WATCHMAN.

    The President of TVP S.A (Polish Television) Award for the Best Cinematography - Wojciech Staroń, for cinematography to ENTANGLED.

    The President of the Association of Polish Filmmakers Award
    -Adam Palenta the director of FREESTYLE LIFE, The President of the Association of Polish Filmmakers Award for the Best Film Editing - Stefan Paruch, the editor of the film MY HOUSE WITHOUT ME.

    Maciej Szumowski Award for remarkable social awarenessfounded by the National Broadcasting Council - Jacek Petrycki, the director of MY NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND.

    The Award for the Best Short and Documentary Films Producer in Poland founded by the Polish Audiovisual Producers Chamber of Commerce (KIPA) - Piotr Furmankiewicz from FUMI Studio for the film LUMBERJACK