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FESTIVALS Poland

Marcel Łoziński and Sergei Loznitsa lauded at 53rd Krakow Film Festival

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- Venerable Polish documentarian and Cannes competing director both walk away with awards at one of the oldest film festivals in the world

This year’s Krakow Film Festival continued the shift of the 53-year-old event’s focus on mid-length and feature documentaries from short films including a new competition dedicated specifically to music documentaries.

The new competition – called the Golden Hyenal – was won by Beware of Mr Baker directed by Jay Bulger. The US documentary, which follows Ginger Baker (the dreamer in bands such as Cream) was lauded for its confidence as a debut and its portrayal of a man whom the jury dubbed "…a brilliant musician and a complete asshole".

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The Golden Horn for Best Documentary was picked up by Swedish/Finnish co-production Colombianos directed by Tora Mårtens, which focuses on two brothers struggling with the demons of alcoholism and drug addiction. Praised for its respect for its characters, the film had a strong theme of family which was also reflected in the Silver Horn joint winners Father and Son on a Journey and Father and Son. Directed respectively by Marcel Łoziński and Paweł Łoziński, the film saw the duo undertake a road trip to try and discuss the complexity of their relationship and air some of the grievances that have built up in their lives. At the end of the exercise both took the footage and made their own films. While interest was high in the films thanks not only to the intriguing idea but also the fact that the Łozińskis are some of the most recognisable documentary makers in Poland, it was their tender exposure of a relationship defined by tension and love that won audiences over, and it was a popular choice as a winner.

Over in the International Short Film Competition, Sergei Loztnitsa picked up both the Golden Dragon and European Film Award for his film Letter. Perhaps now more well known for directing Cannes competing features such as My Joy [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
and In The Fog [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, Loznitsa is a fixture at Krakow winning in previous years for numerous documentaries such as Blockade. His film, focusing on psychiatric institution forgotten about by people and time, is a contemplative and affecting piece of work and was another popular choice.

The National Section saw Filip Dzierżawski’s Love win the Golden Hobby Horse and the Audience Award which – along with Mateusz Głowacki’s Killing Auntie – was a film that had received a particularly excited word of mouth around the festival.

The full list of winners for the 53rd Krakow Film Festival:

Golden Hyenal - International Music Documentary Competition

Beware Of Mr. Baker (Dir. Jay Bulger, USA).

Golden Horn - International Documentary Competition

Colombianos (Dir. Tora Mårtens, Sweden/Finland)

Silver Horn – International Documentary Competition, Best Medium-Length Documentary

The Father (Dir. Marat Sargsyan, Lithuania)

Silver Horn – International Documentary Competition, Best Feature-length Documentary

Father and Son on a Journey (Dir. Marcel Łoziński, Poland) and Father and Son (Dir. Paweł Łoziński, Poland)

Special Mention – International Documentary Competition

A World Not Ours (Dir. Mahdi Fleifel, UK/UAE/Lebanon)

The Award Of The Polish Society Of Cinematographers (PSC)

Linas Dabriska for the best cinematography in The Father (Dir. Marat Sargsyan, Lithuania)

FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) Award

The Last Black Sea Pirates (Dir. Svetoslav Stoyanov, Bulgaria)

Student Jury for Documentary Competition

A World Not Ours [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(Dir. Mahdi Fleifel, UK/UAE/Lebanon)

Golden Dragon - International Short Film Competition

Letter (Dir. Sergei Loznitsa, Russia)

Silver Dragon - International Short Film Competition, Best Documentary

Previous Scenes (Dir. Aleksandra Maciuszek, Cuba)

Silver Dragon - International Short Film Competition, Best Animation

Columbos (Dirs. Kawai + Okamura, Japan)

Silver Dragon - International Short Film Competition, Best Fiction

Belinda Beautiful  (Dir. Marianne Blicher, Denmark)

Special Mention - International Short Film Competition

To Thy Heart (Dir. Ewa Borysewicz, Poland)

Prix EFA for the Best European Film (nomination to the European Film Award 2013 in the short film category)

Letter (Dir. Sergei Loznitsa, Russia)

FICC (International Federation of Film Societies)

Tired Of Being Handsome (Dirs. Léo Marchand and Anne-Laure Daffis, France)

FICC Special Mention

Saint & Whore (Dir. Anne Zohra Berrached, Germany)

Student Jury

Allah Is Great (Dir. Andrea Ianetta , India)

Golden Hobby-Horse – National Competition

Love (Dir. Filip Dzierżawski, Poland).

Silver Hobby-Horse – National Competition , Best Documentary

A Dream In The Making (Dir. Bartosz M. Kowalski, Poland)

Silver Hobby-Horse – National Competition , Best Animation

Ziegenort (Dir. Tomasz Popakul, Poland)

Silver Hobby-Horse – National Competition , Best Fiction

Coyote (Dir. Jędrzej Bączyk, Poland)

The President of TVP S.A. (Polish Television) Award for Best Directing

Jakub Pączek for The 12th Rat

The President of TVP S.A (Polish Television) Award for Best Cinematography

Mateusz Skalski for A Dream In The Making (Dir. Bartosz M. Kowalski, Poland)

The President of the Association of Polish Filmmakers Award

The Love Equation Of Henry Fast (Dir. Agnieszka Elbanowska, Poland)

The President of the Association of Polish Filmmakers Award for the Best Film Editing

Bartek Pietras for The Big Leap (Dir. Kristoffer Rus, Poland)

Maciej Szumowski Award for remarkable social awareness

A Dream In The Making (Dir. Bartosz M. Kowalski, Poland)

The Award for the Best Short and Documentary Films Producer in Poland founded by the Polish Audiovisual Producers Chamber of Commerce (KIPA)

Piotr Kielar from Lifetime Productions for Love (Dir. Filip Dzierżawski, Poland).

Student Jury, National Competition

Killing Auntie (Dir. Mateusz Głowacki, Poland).

Audience Award

Love (Dir. Filip Dzierżawski, Poland).

HBO Development Award

Love XXXXL,  directed by Joanna Frydrych (Poland)

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