Last year, Polish short films were shown in nearly 1000 screenings at over 440 festivals around the world, over 700 out of which were competition screenings. From January to December 2017, animated films were shown almost 700 times, including over 470 screenings in competition sections. Short feature films can boast over 300 screenings, including over 230 competition screenings.
The most frequently shown Polish short film at international festivals in 2017 was the animated film "Pussy," directed by Renata Gąsiorowska. This production is a real phenonemon, which was shown at 177 festivals this year! (and counting from the premiere at the end of 2016, it can boast over 200 screenings). In this way, "Pussy" broke the record of festival screenings during one year, which so far belonged to "Heat" by Bartosz Kruhlik – in 2014, the film was shown abroad 81 times. The third place in this general classification, made since we prepare this statistics, belongs to another film by Bartosz Kruhlik – "Adaptation." In 2016, this film was shown 74 times, and in 2017 it was also often invited to international festivals: as many as 55 times, which gives "Adaptation" the second place in the last year's ranking. The third place goes to the animated film "Impossible Figures and Other Stories II" by Marta Pajek, featuring at 47 festivals.
Among short animated films, the following productions can boast a large number of screenings: "Foreign Body" by Marta Magnuska (35 screenings), "Oh Mother!" by Paulina Ziółkowska (29), "Beside Oneself" by Karolina Specht (27) and "Black" by Tomasz Popakul (25). When it comes to short feature films, the most popular ones were the following: "Evil Deeds" by Piotr Domalewski (18) and "La Etiuda" by Martin Rath (10).
Polish short productions ended 2017 with almost 130 awards. The films which can boast the largest number of awards won abroad are "Pussy," which was awarded 29 times, "My Little Pony" by Maciej Barczewski (22 awards) and "Adaptation" – the film was awarded as many as 19 times last year. The third place went to "Oh Mother!" with 14 awards, and "Figure," awarded 10 times last year, was just outside the podium.
Last year meant also the screenings of Polish short films at prestigious festivals. "Pussy," "Close Ties" as well as "Heat" by Agata Trzebuchowska and Mateusz Pacewicz were invited to the programme of the Sundance Film Festival. "Pussy" was also included in the programme of the festival SXSW, where it won an award.
"Time to Go" by Grzegorz Mołda and "The Best Fireworks Ever" had their premieres in the competitions at the Cannes film festival. The film by Aleksandra Terpińska returned from Cannes with two awards: Canal+ Award for short film and Rail d'Or Award.
Last year was also a great success of Polish feature film "Loving Vincent," directed by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman. The film has its premiere at the festival Annecy in France, where it won the audience award. Since then, the film has been invited to many international festivals and was nominated for prestigious awards, among others, for the Golden Globe, the Critics’ Choice award, the awards of the Detroit Film Critics Society and Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society, it also won 3 nominations for prestigious American Annie Awards, given to the best animated films. First and foremost, however, "Loving Vincent" can boast nominations for BAFTA award and for the Academy Award. The film is also the winner of the European Film Award in the best feature-length animated film category.
2017 was not only the year of screenings and awards for individual films. Polish short film was a special guest at many festivals. Last year, there were also special screenings connected to the 70th anniversary of Polish animated film.
You could see a large representation of Polish short films at, among others, Animafest Zagreb (Croatia), Fest Anca (Slovakia) and Neisse Film Festival (Germany), Asthetica Short Film Festival (Great Britain)
The first special screenings of Polish films were held in January, at the debut film festival Premiers Plans in Angers, France, where a wide programme of Polish animated films was shown. In addition, at the festival Premiers Plans, a retrospective of animated films made by Tomek Ducki was shown, and in the competition sections, five latest animated and feature films were shown. The festival Let’s Cee in Vienna was also one of the places where the 70th anniversary of Polish animated film was celebrated. On this occasion, the viewers of the festival had the opportunity to watch a special programme of Polish animated films, which consisted of 10 productions.
In April, Polish cinema was the guest at goEAST in Wiesbaden, Germany. Within the frames of the festival, the film screening entitled "Working Woman" was held, as well as a review prepared by ALE KINO!, in the programme of which a lot of short films were included. In June, Polish films appeared at Edinburgh International Film Festival in Scotland. In the special section "Focus on Poland," Polish feature, documentary and animated films were shown. As it is the case every year, Polish short films were shown in the special programme at the Portuguese festival Curtas Vila do Conde.
Polish short film left its clear mark at the Encounters Short and Animation Film Festival in Bristol, where this year the focus on Polish cinema was held, which included as many as seven programmes – five for adult viewers and two for children. Polish partners of this enterprise were Krakow Film Foundation, which prepared the programmes for adult viewers, and SPPA (Polish Animation Producers Association), responsible for the programmes for the youngest viewers. The programmes for adults were presented under the common title "Polish Voices. Best Polish Shorts Made by and about Women." Among them, there was the programme of archival documentary films directed by women, the programme of the best animated films made by women within last five years, and three thematic programmes. In total, within the frames of the Polish Voices programmes, as many as 32 films were shown.
In October, at the Mill Valley festival in California, a review of Polish animated films was held, organised on the occasion of the anniversary. The audience could watch the films by Polish masters of animated film, such as Walerian Borowczyk, Jan Lenica, Ryszard Czekała, Zbigniew Rybczyński and Tomek Bagiński. Reviews of Polish animated films took place also in other cities in the USA and Canada.
In November, at the festival Winterthur in Switzerland, screenings of the best contemporary animated films made by women were held, and at the festival Fenetres sur le Court – the screenings of the best Polish short films made in the last few years.
Last year, within the frames of the programme Polish Docs/Polish Animations Intercontinental, Krakow Film Foundation organised screenings, among others, of short documentary and animated films in South America and Asia.
In July, the Seoul International Cartoon Animation Festival was held, at which Poland was the guest of honour this year. In the programme, contemporary Polish animated films were shown, as well as the retrospectives of this year's winners of Krakow Film Festival awards – the Dragons of Dragons: Witold Giersz and Daniel Szczechura. In Korea, the masterclass by Zbigniew Czapla was also held.
Also in July, there was the review Focus on Polish Docs at the festival FIDBA in Argentina, thanks to which the audience in Buenos Aires could watch over 20 Polish documentary films, also short films, in the sections "Masters from Krakow" (classic films) and "Young Talents" (films by young film-makers).
In November, at Asiana International Short Film Festival, the screening "Meet Polish Animated Films through Time" took place, organised on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Polish animated film. As many as 21 Polish animated films were shown there: beginning with the most important works from 1950s-80s., to contemporary films awarded at international festivals. In addition to film screenings, the viewers in Seoul could also take part in workshops about Polish animated films, held by Robert Sowa, the author of animated film and the head of the animated film faculty at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow.
In October, the audience in Tokyo had the chance to get acquainted with Polish cinema. In Polish Short Film Week, there were short films by the Polish master of documentary film, Krzysztof Kieślowski, as well as the new films, made by the young generation of documentary and animated film-makers, which had already won recognition at international festivals.
In December, however, Polish short documentary films appeared in Colombia at the festival BogoShorts. This time, the programme Focus on Polish Docs consisted of the sections "The Masters of Polish Documentary Film" and "Young Talents," and the retrospective of films by Paweł Łoziński was held at the festival, as well as the meeting with the director. What is more, as many as nine Polish films were included in the competition section of the festival.
In February, Krakow Film Foundation organised for the eleventh time the national stall of Polish Shorts at the International Short Film Market in Clermont Ferrand – the largest film market in Europe, dedicated exclusively to short film. The stall, which was visited by several hundred people in five days, was promoting the latest Polish short films. Accredited producers and distributors present at the stall had the opportunity to maintain existing international contacts and make new ones. It is worth adding that two Polish animated films appeared in the competition at the festival in Clermont-Ferrand: "Pussy" and "Beside Oneself" by Karolina Specht.
A separate stall dedicated to promotion of animated film, organised by SPPA, appeared at the MIFA market, accompanying the festival in Annecy. Numerous animated film producers, accredited at the stall, participated in industry events, and also had a chance to look for international partners and widen their professional contacts. Within the frames of the festival, the audience could watch six Polish productions: "Cosmos" by Daria Kopiec, "Moczarski's Case" by Tomasz Siwiński, "The Escape" by Jarosław Konopka, "Pussy" by Renata Gąsiorowska, "Oh Mother!" by Paulina Ziółkowska and "Incarnation" by Barbara Rupik.
Polish animated film was also the special guest of Visegrad Animation Forum in the Czech Republic, the Cartoon Forum in France, MIPCOM in France, CINEkid for professionals in the Netherlands and China International New Media Short Film Festival in Shenzhen.
Traditionally, a set of Polish short films was included in the video collection of the Short Film Corner market, organised at the film festival in Cannes. Eleven films, constituting the programme of Polish Shorts, were promoted at the film market and in the on-line video collection, available to accredited film professionals from around the world.
The events organised or co-organised by KFF were granted the financial support of the Polish Film Institute, and the project Polish Docs / Polish Animations Intercontinental was additionally implemented with the support of the Polish Filmmakers Association and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The partners were Krakow Festival Office, Krakow Film Commission and Polish Embassy in Buenos Aires.
The international partners were: Short Shorts in Tokyo, Bogoshorts in Bogota (Columbia), SICAF and Asiana ISFF in Seoul (South Korea), FIDBA in Buenos Aires (Argentina), Edinburgh IDFF (Scotland), Encounters ISFF in Bristol (England).
THE LIST OF AWARDS FOR POLISH SHORT FILMS IN 2017*
Adaptation, dir. Bartosz Kruhlik
Amarcort Film Festival, Italy – Special Mention
Winchester Short Film Festival, Great Britain – Special Mention
Festival Internacional De Cine Independiente De Villa De Leyva, Colombia – Best International Short Film
Overcome Film Festival, Brazil – Best Cinematography
Silver Horse, Sweden – Best International Short Film Award
Lucania Film Festival, Italy – Best Director
Incinerante Fest, Colombia – Best Sound
Frame By Sound Festival, the Dominican Republic – Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cinematography
Toko Film Festival, Italy – Best Direction
Santiago Del Estero Film Festival, Argentina – Special Jury Prize
Videomaker Film Festival, Italy – Grand Prix
Biobiocine Festival Internacional De Cine De Concepcion, Chile – Best Short Film
Phenicien International Film Festival, France – Best Director, Best Narrative Short
The Chico Independent Film Festival, the USA – Best Drama
Athens International Digital Film Festival AIDFF, Greece – Young Filmmakers Award
Jaipur International Film Festival, India – Best Director
Apocalypse, dir. Justyna Mytnik
CineMAiubit International SFF, Romania – Best Experimental Short Film
Play-off, dir. Tomasz Gąssowski
32.Festival Européen du Film Court de Brest, Francja – Departamental Council of Finistere Award
OPEN PLACE International Short Film Festival, Łotwa – Best Director, Best Actor
Black, dir. Tomasz Popakul
Mediawave – "Another Connection" International Film and Music Gathering, Hungary – Best Animation
13th Korean Independent Animation Film Festival Indie-AniFest, Korea – Grand Prize 'Light of Asia'
3rd Imagine Science Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2017, the United Arab Emirates – Scientific Merit Award Runner-Up
Foreign Body, dir. Marta Magnuska
Monstra – Lisbon Animated Film Festival, Portugal- Jury Special Mention
20th Holland Animation Film Festival, the Netherlands – Grand Prix
Hot and Cold, dir. Marta Prus
29th Premiers Plans Film Festival, France – Audience Award Prix Du Public Films D’écoles Européens
10th Wiz-Art – Lviv International Short Film Festival, Ukraine – Best Directing
17th Nice Short Film Festival, France – Best Acting Award
Pussy, dir. Renata Gąsiorowska
Festival International du film de Nancy 2017, France – ZIZZ – Prix du public
39th Clermont – Ferrand International Short Film Festival, France – Best Animation Film
Feelmotion Film Festival, Macedonia – Best Funny Film
SXSW, the USA – Special Jury Recognition for Animated Shorts
Tricky Women International Animation Filmfestival, Austria – Jury Special Mention, Sawczynski Audience Award, Special Mention
21st Regard – Saguenay International Short Film Festival, Canada – Best Animation Award
Animakom – Bilbao International Animation Community Festival 2017, Spain – Grand Prix
29th Filmfest Dresden – ISFF, Germany – Golden Horseman Animated Film – International Competition, ARTE Short Film Prize – International Competition, Special Mention Sound Design
Cellu L'Art Short Film Festival Jena, Germany – Best ExAnDo
Northwest Animation Festival 2017, the USA – Best Student Film
43rd Seattle International Film Festival, the USA – Best Animated Short Film Jury Prize
Animafest Zagreb 2017, Croatia – Dušan Vukotić Award for the best student film
2nd Annual Indie Street Film Festival, the USA – Jury Prize for Best Animated Short
17th International Film Schools Festival, Uruguay – Student's Jury Special Mention, Audience Award
8th Anibar Animation Festival, Kosovo – International Competition Special Mention
Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival, France – Special Mention
Anima Syros International Animation Festival, Greece – Special Mention
17th Lille International Short Film Festival, France – Second International Prize
Animatou International Animation Festival, Switzerland – Matou 2017 International Jury Special Mention
22nd Madrid International Lesbian Gay and Transsexual Film Festival, Spain – Jury Award for Best Animated Short Film
X Janela Internacional de Cinema do Recife – best images
Poitiers Film Festival, France – La Fabrique à Histoires' Prize, Jury's Special Prize
12th Femina International Women’s Film Festival, Brazil – Best International Female Participation Award
Debut, dir. Katarzyna Kijek
Febio Fest, Slovakia – Don Quijote Award
14th Animateka International Animated Film Festival, Slovenia – Special Mention
16th Monstra Lisbon Animation Film Festival, Portugal – Jury Honorable Mention
Impossible Figures and Other Stories II, dir. Marta Pajek
GLAS Animation Festival – Grand Prix
Tricky Women International Animation Filmfestival, Austria – 3-month scholarship at Q21/MQ
20th Holland Animation Film Festival, the Netherlands – MovieZone Award
Erarta MOTION PICTURES. International Festival of Shorts about Paintings, Russia – Special Mention of the Jury
24th Trickfilms Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film, Germany – Grand Prix
14th VIS Vienna Independent Shorts, Austria – Special Mention, Special Mention – Animation Avantgarde, Special Mention – Animation Avantgarde
15th Fantoche International Animation Film Festival, Switzerland – Best Sound
47th Alcine – Alcalá de Henares Film Festival, Spain – segundo premio “ALCINE”
X Janela Internacional de Cinema do Recife – Best Sound
Forsaken forest, reż. Anna Beata Barańska
18th FILE – Electronic Language International Festival, Brasil – FILE Video Art Award – Honorable Mention
Fury, dir. Paulina Wyrt
16th Monstra Lisbon Animation Film Festival, Portugal – Jury Honorable Mention
Heimat, dir. Emi Buchwald
Lisbon & Sintra Film Festival, Portugal – Honour Mention
The Dogcatcher, dir. Daria Woszek
Filmfestival Kitzbuehel 2017, Austria – Best Short Film
How To Reach God through Proper Exercising, dir. Gabriel Herrera Torres
Geneva Film Festival, Switzerland – Special Jury Mention
1st Black Canvas Festival de Cine Contemporáneo, Mexico – Best Short Film, Best Screenplay
Eureka Festival Universitario De Cine, Romania – Best Director
Me and My Father, dir. Alek Pietrzak
Heartland Film Festival 2017, the USA – Audience Choice Award
Carousel, dir. Patrycja Polkowska
Winchester Short Film Festival, Great Britain – Special Mention
Short Distance, dir. G. Pierangeli
Umbria Film Festival, Italy – Best Short Film
Kinki, dir. Izumi Yoshida
Animex International Festival of Animation, Great Britain – Experimental Animation Award
My Little Pony, reż. Maciej Barczewski
Los Angeles Movie Awards, USA – Best International Movie
Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards, USA – Best Foreign Short, Best Actor Under 18
Hollywood International Moving Pictures Film Festival, USA – Award of Recognition – Producer, Award of Recognition – Foreign Short
London Independent Film Awards, The United Kingdom – Best Director, Best Foreign Short
Cyprus International Film Festival, Cyprus – CYIFF Got Talent Award
Top Shorts Film Festival, USA – Best Young Actor, Honorable Mention: Drama
Los Angeles Film Awards, USA – Honorable Mention: Score, Best Indie Short, Best Young Actor
Best Shorts Competition, USA – Award of Excellence Special Mention: Film Short
Actors Awards, USA – Best Actor in a Drama, Best Supporting Actor
Polish Short Film Festival, USA – Award of Excellence
Accolade Global Film Competition, USA – Award of Excellence: Film Short
Bridges International Film Festival, Greece – Best Short Film Award
Global Shorts, USA – Best Music Award, Award of Excellence
American Filmatic Arts Awards, USA – Grand Jury Award: Best Foreign Short
La Etiuda, dir. Martin Rath
6th Pehuajo International Short Film Festival, Argentina – Best International Short Film
Letargy, dir. Sylwia Rosak
34th Tehran International Short Film Festival, Iran – Grand Prix
Locus, dir. Anita Kwiatkowska-Naqvi
SICAF 2017, Korea – Grand Prix of the Student Competition
33rd interfilm International Short Film Festival, Germany – Best Cinematography
The Tenants, dir. Klara Kochańska
15th Pune International Film Festival, India – Best Film in Volkswagen International Students Live Action Competition
6th Bangalore Shorts Film Festival, India – Best Actress
Pinky, dir. Tomasz Cichoń
The Iron Mule Short Comedy Film Festival, the USA – Judge’s Award
I've Got You, dir. Sebastian Drożak
6th Tetova International Film Festival, Macedonia – Best Short Film
Magma International Short Film Festival, Italy – Special Mention
Mother, dir. Piotr P.Gołębiowski
Monmouth Film Festival, the USA – Best Foreign Short Film
Canada Shorts Film Festival, Canada – Award of Distinction
Monument, dir. Marcin Giżycki
Black Maria Film Festival, USA – Jury's Choice
On the Road, dir. Bartosz Nowacki
14th Another Hole in the Head Festival 2017, the USA – Best thriller/suspense short
The Best Fireworks Ever, dir. Aleksandra Terpińska
56th Semaine de la Critique du Festival de Cannes, France – Canal+ Award for short films, Rail d'Or award)
Winchester Short Film Festival, Great Britain – Special Mention
Oh, Mother!, dir. Paulina Ziółkowska
8th Anibar Animation Festival 2017, Kosovo – Student Competition Winner
41st CINANIMA, Portugal – Best graduation/ school film
Sardinia Film Festival, Italy – Special mention – Bosa Animation Award
Festival International du Film de Nancy, France – Special Mention
Animasyros International Animation Festival, Greece – Best Student Film
Festival of Contemporary Animation & Media-Art LINOLEUM, Russia – Best Film
PIAFF Festival International du Film d'Animation de Paris, France – Audience Award – student category
Anim'est International Animation Film Festival, Romania – Special mention – student film
ReAnima International Animated Film Festival. Norway – Best Student Film
Taichung International Animation Festival (TIAF), Taiwan – Grand Prix for best student film
Balkanima, Serbia – Craft Award in the student competition
International Festival of Animation Films Animaevka, Belarus – Grand Prix
2ANNAS International Young Filmmaker’s Short Film Festival, Latvia – Special Mention
Arcipelago Festival Internazionale di cortometraggi e nuove immagine, Italy – Best Film
The Return, dir. Damian Kocur
Euganea Film Festival, Italy – Premio Miglior Cortometraggio Internazionale
Dream of Warsaw, dir. Mateusz Czuchnowski
13th Early Bird International Student Film Festival, Bulgaria – Best Directing
CineMAiubit International SFF, Romania – Best Film
Lockjaw, dir. Kordian Kądziela
Febio Fest, Slovakia – Special Mention
Contact – International Student Film Festival Izmir, Turkey – SenEDIT Award for Best Story
Theatrum Magicum, dir. Marcin Giżycki
Festival Internacional de Cine Santa Cruz, Argentina – Best Experimental Short Film
Action on Film Festival, the USA – Silver Sava for Best Cinematography, Silver Sava for Best Short
Short Long World Festival, Argentina – Jury Honor Mention
Beside Oneself, dir. Karolina Specht
10th Tbilisi International Student Film Festival, Georgia – Special Diploma: Sound
Disorder, dir. Julian Tałandziewicz
Taratsa International Film Festival, Greece – Best Short Film
The International Film Festival "Autumn in Voronet", Romania – Best Student Film
Come Play with Me, dir. Milena Dutkowska
Tetova International Film Festival, Macedonia – Best Short Film
Evil Deeds, dir. Piotr Domalewski
GoDebut Festival, Lithuania – Best Short Feature
17th International Student Film Festival, the Czech Republic – Best Narrative Film
34th Tehran International Short Film Festival, Iran – Grand Prix
13th Early Bird International Student Film Festival, Bulgaria – Best Screenplay
The Heat, dir. Bartosz Kruhlik
1st Anatomy: Crime & Horror International Film Festival, Greece – Best Long Short Film, Best Supporting Actor (Long Short Film categories), Best Supporting Actor (all categories)
*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 in this list, please send the information to the address of the editorial office: redakcja@polishshorts.pl