Shindisi, directed by Dito Tsintsadze

Georgia’s Oscar submission was awarded the Warsaw Grand Prix, funded by the Capital City of Warsaw, with Dito Tsintsadze also named Best Director. Special Jury Award went to Iran's A Hairy Tale by Homayoun Ghanizadeh.

35th Warsaw Film Festival Awards

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

International Competition Jury:

- Małgorzata Bela-Pawlikowska, actress/producer/model, Poland;

- Oana Giurgiu, producer/director/festival organiser, Romania;

- Hanna Slak, director, Slovenia;

- Bujar Alimani, director, Albania;

- Michal Leszczyłowski, Polish director/editor living in Sweden;

Warsaw Grand Prix, funded by the Capital City of Warsaw: Shindisi by Dito Tsintsadze, Georgia

Best Director Award: Dito Tsintsadze for Shindisi, Georgia

Special Jury Award: A Hairy Tale by Homayoun Ghanizadeh, Iran

COMPETITION 1-2

Competition 1-2 Jury:

- Anita Juka, producer, Croatia;

- Piotr Domalewski, director, Poland;

- Johan Karrento, director, Finland,

Competition 1-2 Winner: Move the Grave by Seung-o Jeong, South Korea

Special Mention: All for My Mother/Wszystko dla mojej matki by Małgorzata Imielska, Poland

Special Mention: The Forgotten by Daria Onyshchenko, Ukraine/Switzerland

FREE SPIRIT COMPETITION

Free Spirit Competition Jury:

- Nadine Luque, financier/producer, Spain/UK;

- Anna Shalashina, producer Russia;

- Łukasz Ronduda, director and art curator, Poland,

Free Spirit Award: Lost Holiday by Michael Kerry Matthews i Thomas Matthews, USA

Special Mention: II (Two) by Vlada Senkova, Belarus

DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Documentary Competition Jury:

- Andrijana Stojkovic, director, Serbia,

- Paweł Łoziński, director, Poland,

- Arunas Matelis, director, Lithuania,

Best Documentary Feature: Overseas by Sung-A Yoon, Belgium/France

SHORT FILMS COMPETITION

Short Films Competition Jury:

- Dinara Drukarova, Russian director/actress, living in France,

- Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, director, Ukraine

- Rafał Zawierucha, actor, Poland,

Short Grand Prix: Sororal by Frederic Even & Louise Mercadier, France

Best Live Action Short: Keep it Quiet by Ilya Simakov, USA

Best Animated Short: Why Slugs Have no Legs by Aline Höchli, Switzerland

Best Documentary Short: El Infierno by Raul de la Fuente, Spain

FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) Award

The FIPRESCI Jury members:

- Anna Serdiukow, Poland;

- Victoria Smirnova, Russia;

- Clementine van Wijngaarden, Netherlands,

gave the award for best debut from Eastern Europe to the film:

Cat in the Wall by Mina Mileva & Vesela Kazakova, Bulgaria/UK/France

Young FIPRESCI Award

Young FIPRESCI Award Jury members were participants of FIPRESCI Warsaw Critics Project:

- Lemana Filandra, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

- Denisa Jašová, Slovakia;

- Oleksandra Povoroznyk, Ukraine;

- Svetlana Semenchuk, Russia;

- Bogdan Balla, Romania,

- Levan Tskhovrebadze, Georgia,

gave the award for best debut from Eastern Europe to the film:

Sister by Svetla Tsotsorkova, Bulgaria/Qatar;

ECUMENICAL Award

The Ecumenical Jury members:

- Reverend Dr Stefan Affolter, Switzerland;

- Arnaldo Casali, journalist, Italy;

- Beata Hyży-Czołpińska, screenwriter/director, Poland

gave the Ecumenical Jury Award to:

Omar and Us by Maryna Er Gorbach&Mehmet Bahadir Er, Turkey

NETPAC Award

NETPAC (Network for Promotion of Asia Pacific Cinema) Jury:

- Diana Ashimova, festival director, Kazakhstan;

- Mevlut Akkaya producer/ director, Turkey;

- Łukasz Mańkowski, film critic, Poland,

gave the award for the best Asian/Pacific film to:

Move the Grave by Seung-o Jeong, South Korea

 

Warsaw Film Festival

Thirty years have passed since the Fall of the Iron Film Screenings: Curtain. This is a good opportunity to question, through some filmmakers’ point of view, the ways in October 18th at 7pm - Auditorium of the City which profound changes have taken place since of Paris (5, quai de l'Hôtel de ville, 75004 Paris) 1989 in Hungarian, Polish, Slovak and Czech Film: Rabbit à la Berlin / Królik po berlińsku, societies. director Bartosz Konopka, Poland.

The event will offer a series of screenings and 52 minutes, 2009 debates in the presence of many guests with diverse — Screening followed by a cocktail backgrounds and will take place from October 18th to October 20th 2019 in different venues in Paris. October 19th at 7pm - Hungarian Institute of This program is a unique opportunity to discover Paris (92, rue Bonaparte, 75006 Paris) talented and multi-award-winning artists, as well as Film: It’s not the time of my life / Ernelláék the newest filmmaking trends in Central Europe. Farkaséknál, director Szabolcs Hajdu, Hungary, With the support of Visegrad International Fund and 81 minutes, 2016 the Paris City Hall - Label Paris Europe. 

PROGRAM:

October 18th from 3pm to 6pm - House of EuropeOctober 18th from 3pm to 6pm - House of Europe (29, avenue de Villiers, 75017 Paris) Debates: Cinema as a cultural challenge inunified Europe

With the presence of: Andor F. Dávid (General Director of the Visegrad International Fund), Julien Ezanno (Department of European and International Affairs of the CNC), Szabolcs Hajdu (Filmmaker, Hungary), Markéta Hodouskova (Creative Europe Expert and Czech-In Festival), Catherine Horel (Historian, CNRS), Isabella Kiszka-Hoflik (International Sales, former director of PISF, Poland), Jana Kluková (Producer, Slovakia), Sophie Mirouze (La Rochelle Film Festival and Weekend of East) and Ariel Schweitzer (critic in the Cahiers du cinéma).

Film Screenings:

October 18th at 7pm - Auditorium of the CityOctober 18th at 7pm - Auditorium of the City of Paris (5, quai de l'Hôtel de ville, 75004 Paris)

Film: Rabbit à la Berlin / Królik po berlińsku, director Bartosz Konopka, Poland,52 minutes, 2009— Screening followed by a cocktail

October 19th at 7pm - Hungarian Institute ofOctober 19th at 7pm - Hungarian Institute of Paris (92, rue Bonaparte, 75006 Paris)

Film: It’s not the time of my life / Ernelláék Farkaséknál, director Szabolcs Hajdu, Hungary, 81 minutes, 2016 — Screening followed by a meeting with thedirector and a cocktail

October 20th at 4pm - Cinéma Les 3October 20th at 4pm - Cinéma Les 3Luxembourg (67 Rue Monsieur le Prince,75006 Paris)

Film: When the war comes / Až přijde válka, director Jan Gebert, Czech Republic, 76 minutes, 2018

October 20th at 6:30pm - Czech Center of ParisOctober 20th at 6:30pm - Czech Center of Paris(18, rue Bonaparte, 75006 Paris)

Film: Cooking History / Ako sa varia dejiny, Director Péter Kerekes, Slovakia, 88 minutes, 2009 — Screening followed by a cocktail

Reservations required. More information on:Reservations required. More information on: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / +33(0)675689583 / http://kino-visegrad.fr/

The FilmFestival Cottbus presents its complete programme, which this year includes 210 films from 45 (co)producing countries. With the Georgian film GORI | PIG by Giga Liklikadze, the FFC presents another world premiere in the Feature Film Competition. Patrons of the 29th edition of the FilmFestival Cottbus are Olaf Scholz, Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister of Finance, and traditionally Dietmar Woidke, Minister President of Brandenburg.

"The end of the so-called Iron Curtain was the beginning of the FilmFestival Cottbus, which since 1991 has developed into one of the world's leading festivals of East European cinema. Since then, the films of the 29 editions have also reflected the enormous transformation in the East European states. They take us into the reality of life on site. And let us feel through their characters what change means for each and every individual“, says Olaf Scholz, Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister of Finance, patron of the 29th FilmFestival Cottbus.

FEATURE FILM COMPETITION
In particular the 29th FFC's Feature Film Competition shows this reality of life and change – in the most unusual places, with a lot of emotion and a multitude of genres. 
The coming-of-age story TOPAL ŞÜKRAN'IN MACERALARI | THE ADVENTURES OF SUKRAN THE LAME (2019) by Onur Ünlü is brightly coloured, in silent film format, cheeky and subversive. The first Turkish competition entry in the history of the FFC challenges: After an accident Sukran has to master her young life with a stiff leg. But she doesn't let this get her down, dreams of love, physical closeness and security. But something goes wrong again and again and sometimes ends deadly.
MIN URDUBER KYUN KHAHAN DA KIIRBET | THE SUN ABOVE ME NEVER SETS (Lyubov Borisova, RU 2019) brings us to a tragicomic scenery on a Yakutian island in the Laptev Sea. Sent there by his father for fox farm keeping, the young YouTuber Altan meets the old hermit Baibal, who believes he will have to die soon. 
Antonio Lukich's bizarre comedy MOYI DUMKY TYKHI | MY THOUGHTS ARE SILENT (UA 2019) accompanies Vadim, who collects animal voices for a video game and who in search of the song of a rare bird is accompanied by his devoted mother. 
In the dystopian psycho-drama JESTEM REN | I AM REN (PL 2019) Piotr Ryczko balances between horror and science fiction. Protagonist Renata is mother and wife – or a REN, a Regenerative Emotive Neuro-Being? The service agency detects a malfunction, a shut down is imminent. Hope is still there, but isn't family therapy already the final visit to the technician?
With her film SHPIA E AGËS | AGA’S HOUSE (KO/HR/FR/AL 2019), Lendita Zeqiraj makes visible the fates of women and children: After the Kosovo War, five women live in a wasteland cut off from male influence. Tragedy and trauma are revealed only gradually. Nine-year-old Aga - the only man in the house - is looking for a father figure.
The second world premiere in the Feature Film Competition (besides PUN MJESEC | FULL MOON, Nermin Hamzagić, BA 2019) is the feature film debutGORI | PIG by Giga Liklikadze (2019) from Georgia. The director shows this land of longing of many travellers away from the tourist streams, where the young Bachana roams aimlessly and falls into the hands of two petty criminals. They want to extort 100 euros from his family for his release, but can only offer them a pig. 

With unexpected stories, pictures and main characters, all of the FFC's competition and other programme entries trigger unforeseen thoughts and feelings. 
"This compassion, this listening to each other, in light of the increasing populism that causes a social division, I consider to be particularly important. In Germany, across the borders of Eastern Europe and throughout Europe. The films of this 29th festival year will make their contribution to this," emphasises patron Olaf Scholz.

INTERNATIONAL JURY
The four prizes in the Feature Film Competition (main prize for the best film, special prize for the best director, prize for an outstanding actress and an outstanding actor) will be awarded by the International Jury: 
Sergey Dvortsevoy - Russian director, 2018 at FFC with AYKA winner of the main prize for best film
Luli Bitri - Albanian actress (ALIVE!, AMNESTY, HOLY BOOM)
Péter Muszatics - Hungarian film historian and curator
Marija Perović - Montenegrin director, professor, chairman of the board of the Herceg Novi Film Festival - Montenegro Film Festival; the 29th FFC shows Perović‘s film GRUDI | BREASTS as International Premiere in the section SPOTLIGHT: MONTENEGRO 
Peter Badel - cinematographer and until 2019 professor of camera studies at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF

CLOSING FILM
Following the award ceremony on Saturday, 9 November 2019, the FFC will present the Polish submission for the "Best Foreign Language Film" 2020: BOŻE CIAŁO | CORPUS CHRISTI by Jan Komasa (PL 2019). A young man who is difficult to educate dresses in a priestly garment, reconciles a divided village with his unorthodox view of Christian mission and sets – not without sacrifices – a sign of hope.

The Awards of Astra Film Festival 2019 go to France, Belgium, Israel, Estonia and Romania! The winners of the 26th edition of Astra Film - Sibiu International Film Festival 2019 were announced on Saturday, 19 October, during the AFF 2019 Awards held at Filarmonica de Stat Sibiu. The juries of the 4 competition sections had to choose from a final selection of 46 films.

The 9th edition of US in Progress Wrocław will be held from the 6th till the 8th of November as a part of American Film Festival and thanks to the support of Polish Film Institute and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. We are also proud to announce our partnership with Polish Producers Alliance.

US in Progress aims to facilitate professional networking among European and Polish film professionals and independent filmmakers from the United States. It is held twice yearly (June edition takes place in Paris during Champs-Elysees Film Festival).

US in Progress Wrocław invite-only Polish pitchings will feature four projects with co-production potential. Polish producers selected to pitch their projects to the US producers and investors are:

• Lost Voice. Searching for Marcella Sembrich dir. Radka Franczak, prod. Dagmara Brodziak

• Naked Coast dir. Michał Krzywicki, prod. Dagmara Brodziak

• America in Your Footsteps dir. Łukasz Kowalski, Anna Tarnawska, prod.Łukasz Kowalski, Anna Mazerant 

• Turkey Hunting in Mississippi dir. & prod. Bianca Lucas 
  
  

Polish-American co-production meetings is a networking opportunity for Polish producers seeking partners from the US and US producers willing to work in/with Poland. American producers invited to talk on a round-table on Transcontinental Co-Production are as follows:

• Andrew Hevia (Moonlight, Leave the Bus Through the Broken Window)
• Zach Nutman (Short Term 12, It Follows, Paterson, Beach Rats)
• Monique Walton (Bull, We’re Still Together) 
• Stephanie Wilcox (The Other Lamb, Whiplash, Drive)
• Jay Van Hoy (The Witch, The Lighthouse, American Honey)

The day will  be complimented by presentations of Polish production incentives and the scouting tour of Wrocław and one-on-one meetings. 

To learn more or contact US in Progress team please email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or check www.usinprogress.com

CentEast Market celebrates its 15th edition at the Warsaw Film Festival with the screenings of new Polish films, selected projects in various stages of production and post-production, a programme for documentary filmmakers and workshops for young Polish filmmakers and critics.

"CentEast was initiated as a Polish-Russian joint venture back in 2005. And we are still friends with my Russian partner, Mr Gindilis, and the man who did the matchmaking, Mr Medvedev. Our friendship is still stronger than politics" – said general manager of the Warsaw Film Foundation Stefan Laudyn. "The beginnings were very modest. In 2000 we organised the first edition of Warsaw Screenings, showing a couple of new Polish films with English subtitles to a handful of festival programmers, who attended the Warsaw Film Festival. It worked. Years later Mr Kitanov told me that our little event inspired him to launch Sofia Meetings, which became one of the top events for film professionals in the region. At some point we introduced presentations of works-in-progress from the region. Again it went well. At some point the Ukrainian film Tribe, launched at CentEast, landed at Cannes. This is how the steel was tempered. This year’s CentEast will be quite modest. The funding decision was made only 16th September. But we hope the future will be bright. Welcome to Warsaw!"

THE PROGRAMME OF 15th CENTEAST MARKET:

Warsaw Screenings - 35th presentations of the newest Polish films (including co-productions) with international potential, to international sales agents, distributors and festival programmers.

Warsaw Works-In-Progress - presentations of selected projects in various stages of production and post-production

New Talents | Wajda School - presentation of the most interesting projects of the students of the Wajda School.

Doc Lab Poland – a programme for documentary filmmakers (directors and producers) who have already produced their first film. Organized by the Ślesicki Foundation.

Warsaw Next – 9th workshops for young Polish filmmakers, who have at least one short film to their credit; meetings with professionals from Poland and abroad, lectures, participation in CentEast Market.

FIPRESCI Warsaw Critics Project - 14th workshops for young and aspiring Eastern European journalists and film critics, organized in collaboration with the International Federation of Film Critics (FIRPESCI). Tutored by Amber Wilkinson i Tommaso Tocci.

Open Workshop "The Art of Film Editing" - 16th edition of an event for everyone interested in editing, organized with Polish Film Editors Association.

Presentation "Possibilities of cooperation on the Chinese market" - delegation of the Shanghai International Film Festival will talk about the prospects of cooperation with China.

CentEast Market is organized by the Warsaw Film Foundation, and the main partner is Polish Film Institute.

The sub-festival of Black Nights Film Festival selected a total of 42 short films to the animation competition programmes, with 27 in the International Animation Competition and the festival's student section entitled New Talents screening 15 animated films.

"There is a programme diversity and an interplay between narrative and more experimental animation shorts. Animation shorts dare to be longer in length, and at the same time, highly accomplished," notes Vassilis Kroustallis, PÖFF Shorts' new animation programme director.

The PÖFF Shorts animation competition will host the Baltic premieres for many acclaimed films including MEMORABLE (France) the Annecy Short Film and Audience Award winner directed by Bruno Collet, and ACID RAIN (Poland 2019) by director Tomek Popakul. a 26-minute experiential trip in Central Eastern Europe that premiered in Sundance and won the Grand Prix at Animafest Zagreb 2019.

Selection highlights include THE PHYSICS OF SORROW (Canada 2019) the latest film by the Oscar-nominated artist Theodor Ushev who received a special mention at 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. 

The New Talents competition will host a screening of DAUGHTER (Dir. Daria Kascheeva, Czech Republic 2019), a handheld-camera stop-motion film, recently awarded the Student Academy Award 2019.

The international short film and animation festival PÖFF Shorts comprises of three competition programmes: live action and animation with their respective student sections known as New Talents, and a National Competition to showcase the best of Estonian short form cinema.

The titles for the international short film competition can be found at https://mailchi.mp/poff/short-competition-announced-2019.

Full programme will be revealed online by November 8.

The international short film and animation festival PÖFF Shorts will be held from November 19-27, 2019.

For more information on PÖFF Shorts go to http://2019shorts.poff.ee/en/english/
For more information on Black Nights Film Festival go to: www.poff.ee
Press accreditation for the 23rd Black Nights Film Festival now open: https://vp.eventival.eu/poff/23
PÖFF Shorts 2018 Flickr gallery: https://www.flickr.com/photos/poffihunt/collections/72157700601395162/